(Reuters) – Netflix Inc will live-stream the annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards beginning in 2024, as it explores bringing live programming to its service.
The streaming giant stepped in to carry the SAG Awards, which had lost its broadcast home on cable networks TNT and TBS. Netflix will stream this year’s ceremony on its YouTube Channel and, next year, stream the awards show to subscribers via Netflix’s service.
“The SAG Awards are beloved by the creative community and viewers alike, and now even more fans around the world will be able to celebrate these talented actors,” Netflix head of global TV Bela Bajaria said in a statement.
Nominees will be announced at 7 a.m. Pacific time on Wednesday and the 29th Annual SAG awards take place on Feb. 26.
Netflix is in the early days of testing live broadcasts, as it contemplates bringing live sports to the platform. Its first live event will be a Chris Rock comedy special on March 4.
Co-CEO Ted Sarandos told the UBS Global TMT conference in December that he didn’t see a “path to profitability” in big sports – though he did not entirely rule out the possibility of bringing sports to the service someday.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Bradley Perrett)
