Netflix (NFLX) is considering an expansion into livestreaming.
According to multiple media reports, Netflix is currently working on a livestreaming option for stand-up comedy specials and other live content that it would add to its platform.
Livestreams could open the possibility for Netflix to air live reunion shows and enable live voting for reality competition shows. Netflix could also use the feature to air live comedy specials and sporting events.
This year, Netflix held its first-ever live and in-person comedy festival, called the “Netflix Is a Joke Fest.” The Los Angeles-based event spanned several days and featured over 130 popular comedians, including Bill Burr, Jerry Seinfeld and John Mulaney, among others.
Netflix is set to start airing some of the shows it taped at the event later this month and into June, but a live option could give users at home the ability to watch shows as they unfold.
Disney+ (DIS), one of Netflix’s biggest rivals, has already gotten into livestreaming. In February, the Disney+ platform aired a live showing of the Academy Awards, a first for the service. It has also become the new home of the celebrity dance competition series, “Dancing With the Stars,” which is set to debut as a live series on the platform later this year.
In Netflix’s most recent earnings report, the streaming giant reported losing subscribers for the first time in over a decade, while Disney+ managed to add 7.9 million new users in the first quarter of this year.
To help counter a dip in revenue and subscribers, Netflix has hinted at potentially cracking down on password sharing, as well as adding a cheaper streaming option that would include advertisements, something the company previously said it would never do.
Year to date, Netflix’s stock is down nearly 70% at $187.64 a share.
