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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
The ‘Troublemaker' Behind Netflix's Biggest Gamble
When Netflix's leaders gathered in Reykjavik, Iceland, for a company retreat in 2019, Brandon Riegg, the executive in charge of nonfiction programming, didn't hold back. The company, he told the 150 people gathered there, should stream live events. He pointed to Amazon's sports deals with Major League Baseball and the N.F.L., and some hugely popular one-time spectacles. 'I think we need this,' he recently recalled saying at the meeting. Mr. Riegg's bosses didn't hold back, either. The company's top three executives at the time — Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, its co-chief executives, and Greg Peters, the chief operating officer — interrogated him: Why spend so much money and time on programming that would account for a small percentage of total viewing? Why invest in something anathema to on-demand viewing, Netflix's core business? What would it really add? 'Usually you get one of them, or maybe two, weighing in on these debates,' Mr. Riegg said. 'I was sword-fighting with the three of these guys.' He's not getting that treatment anymore. Live programming is now a major priority at the streaming giant — and Mr. Riegg, 48, sits atop the effort, making him one of the most-watched executives in the entertainment world. His growing corner of Netflix includes unscripted series, sports, documentary series, and efforts to integrate gaming technologies, which allow viewers to vote for winners of a show, into unscripted events. Together, he is helping to transform Netflix's binge-on-your-own-time service into something more like the traditional broadcast networks, but on a global scale. Netflix's live boxing match last year between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson drew 65 million U.S. viewers, making it the country's most-watched sporting event of 2024 after the Super Bowl. The company aired two N.F.L. games on Christmas Day, both watched by millions of people, and will again this year. It has also paid $5 billion for a decade of rights to weekly W.W.E. shows. And there is much more to come. In September, Netflix will broadcast a fight between Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford; it will premiere a live version of 'Star Search' in January, where viewers will be able to vote in real time; and has secured the U.S. rights to FIFA's Women's World Cup for 2027. 'Brandon has been a troublemaker his whole time at Netflix,' Mr. Hastings, now the company's chairman, said in an email. 'He was years ago trying to get us into live and into fights. As he nailed unscripted, I could no longer hold back his ambition for us. And darn him, he has been wildly successful. He was right; I was wrong. I love him for it.' But Mr. Riegg's strategy still comes with big risks, firmly inserting the streaming giant into the cutthroat, competitive world of sports rights. Those spectacles can produce outsize results: It is the one type of programming where subscribers will tolerate commercials, producing millions in advertising revenue. But sports rights are hugely expensive — and the company hasn't fully overcome the technical issues required to seamlessly stream live shows to its 300 million subscribers around the world. Some of these issues swirled in Mr. Riegg's brain on a recent Friday, in the hours before the latest Netflix boxing match, a second rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. The fight didn't have the pre-fight buzz that came with Tyson-Paul match, though many fans were hoping Ms. Serrano could pull off an upset after losing twice to Ms. Taylor. But it was the first time an all-female fight card had been presented to Netflix audiences live around the world. Mr. Riegg approached the on-air analysts, Laila Ali and Kate Scott, inside Madison Square Garden as they ran through a final rehearsal. 'Like I said at the weigh-in, this is just the beginning,' said Ms. Ali, referencing the magnitude of this event for the female boxing community. 'I almost want Amanda to win once, you know what I mean.' Mr. Riegg knew exactly what she meant. Like other top entertainment executives, he understands that good television is all about good storytelling. A win for Ms. Serrano would mean the underdog had triumphed, and the crowd would be ecstatic. That is another risk with sports, though. You never quite know what you're going to get: a crowd-pleasing story, a dud, or something in between. 'Sometimes a game or match is high-flying and close,' he said, 'and sometimes it's a 3-0 N.F.L. game.' Hollywood Beckons Mr. Riegg started far from Hollywood. The oldest son of a State Department economist, he spent time in Washington and nearby Virginia before hitting spots around the globe during his school years, living in Taiwan, Beijing, London and Sri Lanka. Friends used to record and send him VHS tapes of his favorite shows, 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' and 'Parker Lewis Can't Lose.' He credits those tapes, worn out from overuse, to sparking his affinity for entertainment. 'It was a way for me to feel connected still to the U.S. and it gave me a good perspective on other cultures,' he said. After graduating from University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Riegg moved to Los Angeles with hopes of working in feature films. Yet his résumé reads more as a timeline tracking the proliferation of reality programming. He worked with Mark Burnett, the producer of 'Survivor,' on show called 'Boarding House: North Shore.' He then moved to VH1, finding success with the celebrity reality shows 'Breaking Bonaduce' and 'The Surreal Life.' 'These were not the shows my parents were bragging to their friends about,' he said. Yet he credits those shows, 'Bonaduce' specifically, with elevating his name around the industry. 'It was pretty groundbreaking at the time,' he said. 'No one had ever done an unvarnished, unfiltered follow doc about a celebrity before.' Mr. Riegg then moved over to ABC, where he was responsible for 'Dancing With the Stars' and 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.' In 2010, he jumped to NBC, overseeing 'Biggest Loser,' 'American Ninja Warrior' and 'America's Got Talent.' He spent his summers in New York during Howard Stern's time on the talent competition show, serving as the shock jock's main point of contact with the network. 'He showed great success at dealing with talent, and I think that's when he got the confidence,' said Alan Braun, the head of unscripted television at Creative Artists Agency. 'That was a big job for him because that is such an important franchise at NBC.' Bela Bajaria, then the head of global television for Netflix and now its chief content officer, hired him in 2016, at a time when the streaming giant was just dipping its toe into unscripted content. Mr. Riegg was given pretty much free rein. 'It was like I showed up at the Netflix mansion and Ted walked me down the hallway, opened a door into a totally empty room and said, 'Here you go,'' Mr. Riegg said, referring to Mr. Sarandos. 'That is exhilarating to hear, but also terrifying.' Lightning in a Bottle? At Netflix, the first show Mr. Riegg released was a reboot of 'Queer Eye,' now completing its 10th and final season. He also debuted two successful cooking shows: 'Nailed It' and 'Sugar Rush,' proving that a variety of unscripted content can succeed on the service. 'They all blew way past any projection of what any unscripted show could do,' he said. But the biggest gamble he ever took, he said, was starting a reality show spinoff of the Korean drama 'Squid Game,' a global phenomenon and the company's most popular series ever. No entertainment company had successfully created a reality show based on one of its scripted shows. If his show failed, it could mar one of Netflix's crown jewels. But if he got it right, the show could possibly open up a new world of reality programming. 'This is either going to destroy both our careers or it's going to be a huge success,' Stephen Lambert, the producer of the reality show, 'Squid Game: The Challenge,' recalls Mr. Riegg telling him. The show wound up costing $40 million, one of the most expensive reality television shows ever. But viewers showed up in droves to watch 456 contestants play for $4.56 million. And it generated renewed interest in the scripted 'Squid Game' ahead of its next season. Season 2 of the competition series will debut in November, and a third season has already been ordered. Netflix will try to replicate that success with two upcoming shows: 'Monopoly,' and 'Willy Wonka: The Golden Ticket.' 'I don't know if we got lightning in a bottle, or if we actually cracked a little bit of the code,' Mr. Riegg said. 'Time will tell.' Avoiding a 'Westside' A common refrain inside Netflix is, 'If you're not failing, you're not trying.' Mr. Riegg's biggest failure in his nine-year tenure, the show 'Westside,' has become something of an urban legend within the company. The show, released in 2018, tracked the lives of nine struggling musicians in Los Angeles. Mr. Riegg describes it as 'The Hills' meets 'Cop Rock,' with each contestant breaking into song when their emotions overtake them. The show attracted so few viewers that Mr. Riegg initially thought it wasn't appearing on the service. He spent hours on the phone with the product team questioning the company's technology. That wasn't the problem. Mr. Hastings sent Mr. Riegg and his team the meager viewership figures with a note that simply read, 'Ouch!' Today the show's name is shorthand for a flop. Mr. Riegg said Mr. Sarandos, the company's co-chief executive, often quips: 'At least it's not a 'Westside.' ' No one thinks that Mr. Riegg's deals for live programming will result in another 'Westside.' But the stakes, and dollars involved, are much higher — particularly as the company weighs how deeply to invest in sports rights. Mr. Riegg insists it is a necessary risk for Netflix to add a robust new aspect to Netflix's programming with spectacles that bring viewers together en masse. Though he says he still isn't convinced that acquiring an entire season of a sports league is the way to go for the company. He considered the Taylor-Serrano fight, for example, to be a 'no-brainer.' Boxing had proved to be a sport Netflix viewers would tune into. The two women had fought as part of the undercard the night of Tyson-Paul match, with their bout becoming one of the most-talked about moments of the evening. Viewership of their recent rematch — yet another victory for Ms. Taylor — did not come close to the Tyson-Paul event, attracting 6 million at its peak. But Mr. Riegg suggested that the figure was encouraging. Now he's searching for ways to best the 'high-water mark' of Tyson-Paul. 'The competitive part of me would love to top that,' he said. 'The realist in me thinks something will beat it. I don't know what it will be and I don't know how quickly it will be.' But, he insists, he will keep looking. Read by Nicole Sperling Audio produced by Sarah Diamond.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cody Gakpo on Liverpool transfers, injury setbacks and honouring Diogo Jota
Like the rest of his Liverpool team-mates, Cody Gakpo was enjoying an end-of-season holiday when he learned of Diogo Jota's death. The Reds star was in the south of France, with his partner Noa to celebrate her 25th birthday, when the horrendous news filtered through. Jota was UK-bound in the early hours of Thursday July 3, travelling to a ferry terminal in Zamora, northern Spain, when he was involved in a fatal car accident alongside his brother Andre Silva. The hours and days that followed were bewildering and painful. Plans were hurriedly put in place for the majority of the squad to return from their vacations and fly to Portugal, as a club unified in grief and shock, to where Jota and Andre were to be buried. READ MORE: Mohamed Salah facing biggest challenge yet as Liverpool star looks to delay the inevitable READ MORE: Liverpool line-ups vs Athletic Bilbao as By the morning of Saturday, July 5, Jota and his younger sibling were laid to rest following a service at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar (the Mother Church of Gondomar), where the Bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, spoke at length to the famous faces in attendance about how much both men meant to the modest municipality. Alongside The Athletic, the ECHO sat down with Gakpo at Liverpool's team hotel in Japan on their pre-season tour, to gain a sense of just what the days that followed after Jota's unimaginably tragic death were truly like inside the camp. At the time of writing in Asia, it's just less than a month since the sudden passing of the popular Portuguese and with a club still in mourning, Gakpo is the first player of Arne Slot's Premier League title winners to detail exactly how it has been for the Reds' players in the days and weeks that have followed. On Monday, Liverpool will play host to two friendlies with Spanish side Athletic in the first fixtures back at the venue since Jota's passing and it promises to be a searingly emotional day once more, as everyone connected to the club continues to grieve. "It's been very difficult, for obvious reasons," Gakpo says. "I think a lot of us were still on vacation when the situation happened and we came together as a team and as a club as soon as possible. "We tried to be there as much as we could at that moment for the family and together as a team to help wherever we could. We still try to do that and everyone is still busy a bit more behind the scenes than what is in the news, to reach out and help as much as possible. "The family of Diogo, hopefully, felt the love we have for them and for Diogo and his brother. But yeah, you could see how we try to act as a club and a team, the supporters as well, the whole city, every football fan, that we as Liverpool try to be a family." Those with knowledge of the last month at Anfield say Netherlands international Gakpo has been a tower of strength, tapping into his deep faith and stoically providing comfort and support for those who have needed it. Liverpool are continuing to have dialogue over how best to honour Jota and after opening a book of condolences at Anfield in the immediate aftermath and freeing up greenspace for supporters to lay down their floral and gaming-inspired tributes outside the stadium, it was announced that the No.20 shirt was to be retired in his honour last month. A sculpture has since been commissioned, while the players themselves will display their own message through a specially-made 'Forever 20' emblem on the brand new Adidas kit, which was officially launched on Friday morning. It's all part of the process of remembering and honouring their friend and team-mate, who did so much to help bring home the Premier League trophy last season with some important goals and performances. Liverpool first returned to action after Jota's death on July 13, when they were hosted by Preston North End in a pre-season friendly. It was initially unclear if the game would go ahead and it proved to be a touching afternoon at Deepdale as the travelling support sang the famous terrace anthem reserved for Jota throughout the day in Lancashire, most notably at full-time in front of the players who thanked fans for their backing during such a traumatic period. Gakpo says: "I think [the emblem] is the least we can do. Obviously him, as a player, he was an outstanding player but him as a person was even more wonderful. Like he was such a great person with everyone, everyone loved him and that is also what you saw with how everyone reacted. "So yeah, I think it was more to remember who he was to us. Not as a player - because a player I think we can see the highlights on YouTube but more as the person he was. He will be missed this season but he will be missed by us, this club, this team and his family, for the rest of our lives. "The Preston game was emotional and yes, the song, I think we could play that song for 10 more days! It was beautiful and it showed once again the great character of our fanbase and we appreciate that, for sure." Last season was arguably Gakpo's best since joining from PSV Eindhoven in a deal worth around £40m in January 2023. The Oranje international scored 18 goals across all competitions, which was a tally only bettered by Mohamed Salah. Ten of those goals came in the Premier League and while an ankle injury disrupted progress around February time for a number of weeks, Gakpo was pleased with his overall efforts during a famous campaign that saw a 20th title brought home. "It was my best return so far but me as a player and as a person I always strive to do better and do more," he says. "Hopefully this year is going to be a better one. I am just trying to get more goals and more assists. "It was an ankle injury and it was difficult and I tried to come back as quickly as possible because we had some important game but unfortunately I had a setback again in training and then it took longer to get into the rhythm again and get confidence when you are in duels or shooting on target with the ankle and you are maybe not as confident at that time. "So that was not nice for the rhythm where I was before but this is also a part of football and you have to overcome it, so I think the last games of the season went better for my ankle, I didn't feel it as much before. So I think now we just have to start the season fit and move." Liverpool's forward line is undergoing something of a major transition this summer. Luis Diaz has been sold to Bayern Munich and speculation persists around Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa, while teenage winger Rio Ngumoha has caught the eye so far this pre-season. Hugo Ekitike has arrived to the tune of £79m from Eintracht Frankfurt, while the club broke their transfer record to land Florian Wirtz from Bayern Munich in a deal that could eventually be worth £116m. Meanwhile Alexander Isak of Newcastle United was the subject of a £110m bid, which was rejected by the Magpies. It's unlikely to be the end of the saga. Gakpo says he is relishing the chance to step up his seniority inside a rapidly changing frontline department and admits the club's transfer activity this summer cannot be seen as anything other than a serious show of ambition for the coming years. "I think those things are always in a process," he says. "You come to the club and settle in and everyone does it in their own time and some players it is very fast and some players it takes a little bit more time. "But I think after last season, which all the factors played in favour of our team and the slight changes of position for myself as well, I think we can build on that and become even better than we were last season and we can achieve even more. "I don't know how else we can see this otherwise, you know? If you have spent a good amount of money on quality players - this is only for one reason and that is to compete for every competition we are in. And yeah that is what the club wants, that is what we want as players and that is what we will fight for. "Do I feel the need to step it up? This depends on every player, everyone has a different mindset. Me, for myself, if a player comes in or no player comes in, I try to be better than last season. Obviously new players come in and they are either going to play or not play but I just try to be better than I was last season and then we will see where we are at." As champions, it's not likely that Slot's squad need any further motivation to defend their crown but the scenes of late April and May, when the title was officially confirmed before a memorable Anfield trophy lift at and subsequent city-wide parade attended by well over one million people, are marked indelibly on this group of players, Gakpo says. It's a period they all want to experience again. "After Tottenham, Anfield was amazing and after the last game of the season, Anfield was amazing again," Gakpo says. "And then we had the parade, which was amazing but obviously ended in a not-so-nice situation (on Water Street). No-one died, which was obviously a good thing, but those celebrations were amazing to have those as a team, you get hungry for more of those. So everyone wants more of those and that is what we will fight for. "Not everyone can experience this (parade). I think the last eight years, it was Manchester City every year and Liverpool in between and us now again last season, so it is not a given to win the league. So if you can do it and you have the quality to do it, you must go for it and try to get those experiences and get those trophies in and work as hard as possible to be as good as you possibly can be." While Liverpool are aiming to defend a first league title since the 1980s this season, the feeling persists that the Reds have unfinished business in the Champions League also, having been eliminated by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain on penalties at Anfield in March. Gakpo says: "Yes, it's true everyone was delighted with winning the Premier League but we lost the final of the Carabao Cup which was a shame. And then we lost against PSG, who are a very good team. "But if you can measure yourself with those guys, it was a close call in both ways. They played a very good game in Paris, I think we played a very good game at Anfield, so it could have gone either way but they won and they also won the Champions League. So it was also like: 'Oh, if we had only beaten them...' But that is also part of football and it is the reason why we are working so hard to try and win it."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Guardians visit the Mets to open 3-game series
Cleveland Guardians (56-55, second in the AL Central) vs. New York Mets (63-49, second in the NL East) New York; Monday, 7:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Slade Cecconi (5-4, 3.77 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 63 strikeouts); Mets: Sean Manaea (1-1, 2.08 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 22 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Mets -181, Guardians +150; over/under is 8 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets open a three-game series at home against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday. New York has a 38-18 record at home and a 63-49 record overall. The Mets have the fifth-ranked team slugging percentage in the NL at .408. Cleveland has a 56-55 record overall and a 27-28 record in road games. The Guardians have gone 27-44 in games when they have given up at least one home run. The teams meet Monday for the first time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Juan Soto ranks third on the Mets with 41 extra base hits (16 doubles and 25 home runs). Pete Alonso is 6 for 38 with a double, three home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games. Carlos Santana has eight doubles, 11 home runs and 46 RBIs for the Guardians. Steven Kwan is 11 for 44 with three home runs over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Mets: 5-5, .234 batting average, 4.59 ERA, outscored by two runs Guardians: 5-5, .272 batting average, 3.40 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs INJURIES: Mets: Jesse Winker: 60-Day IL (back), Max Kranick: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brandon Waddell: 15-Day IL (hip), Dedniel Nunez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tylor Megill: 60-Day IL (elbow), Paul Blackburn: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Griffin Canning: 60-Day IL (achilles), Jose Siri: 60-Day IL (shin), Danny Young: 60-Day IL (elbow), A.J. Minter: 60-Day IL (lat), Nick Madrigal: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Drew Smith: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christian Scott: 60-Day IL (elbow) Guardians: Lane Thomas: 10-Day IL (foot), Will Brennan: 60-Day IL (forearm), Andrew Walters: 60-Day IL (lat), Ben Lively: 60-Day IL (forearm), John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sam Hentges: 60-Day IL (shoulder) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
