As Netflix expanded into live sports, we needed a foundational understanding of an audience we had not previously served: live sports fans. What should we build, and where should we invest first?
If We Build It…
They Will Watch.
How expert interviews and a 16,000-person MaxDiff across eight markets put foundational fan needs at the center of Netflix’s live-sports roadmap.
NETFLIX / LIVE SPORTSBuild the foundation.
Earn the audience.A Field of Dreams–inspired research story
Earn the audience.A Field of Dreams–inspired research story
20expert interviews
16,000survey participants
8global markets
01 / LIVE SPORTS PRODUCT STRATEGY
A new field of play.
Advanced viewing experiences were generating excitement internally. But before committing resources, we needed to connect the technical and data needs of sports storytelling and production with the product and content experiences fans actually valued.
02 / LIVE SPORTS PRODUCT STRATEGY
A shared investment decision.
My role
I led the study, connecting expert discovery with global fan prioritization and translating the findings into product direction.
Product & design
Product leadership, including the VP of Product and VP of Design, needed evidence to prioritize the live-sports roadmap.
Content, finance & strategy
Content partners and finance and strategy stakeholders were deciding where to invest in live sports. The research informed those funding conversations.
03 / LIVE SPORTS PRODUCT STRATEGYFrom the production booth
From the production booth
to the global fan.
Start with the experts.
I conducted 20 expert interviews to understand sports production, storytelling, and the technical and data needs behind the experience. That work surfaced opportunities to bring richer player and off-field context into live sports.
Put the tradeoffs to fans.
I then ran a global MaxDiff survey with 16,000 people across eight top markets, including markets in Latin America. We assessed 15 potential product and content features to understand which needs mattered most.
The research connected two perspectives: what the industry could enable and what fans wanted us to prioritize. MaxDiff made the relative tradeoffs visible across three groups of opportunities.
Brilliant basics
Highlights, on-screen scoring, and mobile scores: the foundation of following the action.
Storytelling tools
Player stories and off-field context: opportunities to deepen understanding and connection, informed by the expert interviews.
Advanced experiences
Multiview and altcasts: more specialized ways to watch, whose value depended on the sport and fandom.
The cards summarize the opportunity groups discussed in the interview; they are not a reproduction of the full 15-item survey or a ranked results chart.
04 / LIVE SPORTS PRODUCT STRATEGYThe basics were
The basics were
the big opportunity.
Fans wanted the foundation first.
Brilliant basics rose to the top. Highlights and scoring mattered more broadly than the advanced viewing experiences attracting internal enthusiasm.
Advanced did not mean universal.
Multiview and altcasts had value for particular fandoms, especially around U.S. football. Their relevance was narrower than the foundational fan needs.
The roadmap needed a different order.
Mobile scoring had been a P3, with infrastructure not yet built out. Fan priorities challenged that position and made the case for foundational investment first.
05 / LIVE SPORTS PRODUCT STRATEGY
A different build order.
Highlights and scoring became P0. Multiview and altcasts were paused and moved to P1 or P2. The work redirected attention and investment toward the foundation fans needed before more advanced experiences.
| Opportunity | Before | After | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile scoring | P3 | P0 | Moved from a low priority to a foundational investment. |
| Highlights & scoring | Below advanced experiences | P0 | Elevated as needs to address first. |
| Multiview & altcasts | Prioritized advanced experiences | P1 / P2 | Paused and moved later in the roadmap. |
The documented outcome is a change in product priorities and funding direction. The interview does not establish a measured lift in viewing, retention, or revenue attributable to this study.
06 / LIVE SPORTS PRODUCT STRATEGYBuild for the fan.
Build for the fan.
Then build further.
Connect supply with demand.
Expert interviews made production and storytelling possibilities tangible. Fan research showed which opportunities deserved investment first.
Make tradeoffs explicit.
The value of the MaxDiff was in the comparison: it challenged assumptions about the relative importance of basics, storytelling, and advanced experiences.
Let the sequence change.
A compelling advanced experience still needs a strong foundation. The research helped the team change the build order around fan needs.
Case study reconstructed from Chris Munn’s October 2026 project interviews. Reflections are an editorial synthesis of the account.