In the wake of Amazon’s hit “Beast Games,” starring MrBeast, Netflix has been soliciting ideas for competition shows involving digital creators.
The streamer has specifically name-checked the long-running franchises “Survivor” and “The Bachelor” as potential inspirations, four people familiar with the discussions told Business Insider.
Netflix is still in the early stages of its efforts, and while it mentioned those shows by name, it also asked prospective creator partners to riff on the formats, one person said.
“They have mentioned that ‘Beast Games’ is good and has done well,” this person added.
One criticism of big media companies’ earlier forays into leveraging the popularity of social-media creators has been that they tried to shoehorn influencers into old-school TV formats, with sometimes awkward results. Netflix seems to be flexible on the format and wants the creator to be active in developing it, three people said.
Netflix already streams some competition shows, including “Squid Game: The Challenge.” On the romance front, it’s garnered massive success with shows such as “Love Is Blind.”
Two people familiar with Netflix’s outreach in the creator space also said the streamer is interested in live concepts.
Its most recent foray into the live space, “Pop The Balloon” — an adaptation of a YouTube dating series — was met with lukewarm reviews. Host Yvonne Orji told Today that future installments would be “refined and renewed.”
Hollywood is awakening to YouTube’s impact
Netflix and other media giants have ramped up efforts to bring YouTubers onto their platforms. Netflix has been making the rounds with creator reps and has done deals with the Sidemen and preschool educator Ms. Rachel. Earlier this month, it premiered the docuseries “Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing,” centered on controversial vlogger Piper Rockelle.
At the same time, top execs at Netflix have been making the case — as recently as on Thursday’s earnings call — that it can be a better platform for creators than YouTube because it pays talent upfront and can amplify their reach.
“We’re looking for the next generation of great creators, and we’re looking everywhere,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on the Thursday call.
The charm offensive comes as Hollywood is waking up to the fact that young people are increasingly turning to YouTubers over more traditional fare.
The Google-owned platform has led the pack in TV viewership, doubling its share to 12% in March this year from 2021, the year Nielsen first started measuring the whole TV watching pie, including streaming. During the same time period, Netflix’s share has increased to about 8% from 6%.
Netflix needs to keep experimenting with new types of shows as its member growth in the US and Canada slows, said Alejandro Rojas, VP of applied analytics at the data firm Parrot Analytics. Competition shows are good at retaining viewers and attracting advertisers thanks to dramatic storylines, repeated formats, and the ability to integrate products.
He added that having a well-known creator at the helm could help bring in and retain new audiences. And if a show is successful in one market, like “Love is Blind,” the format can be imported globally.
“Competition shows can be as successful as a major scripted show,” Rojas said.
