Netflix, which is dipping its toes in the live-streaming water with a Chris Rock standup special in March, has committed itself to become the live-streaming partner for the awards event that originally put the streaming giant on the Hollywood trophy map eight years ago, the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Netflix will live stream the 29th Annual SAG Awards on its YouTube channel on Sunday, February 26. And starting next year under a multiyear agreement, Netflix will stream the event on its main platform -- which will ostensibly have built out a dedicated annex for live events by that time.
Warner Bros. Discovery cable outlet TNT had served as the exclusive live TV partner for the SAG Awards since 1998. But the heavily leveraged media conglomerate, in the midsts of $3.5 billion in cuts, elected not to re-up its contract with SAG.
“As we begin to explore live streaming on Netflix, we look forward to partnering with SAG-AFTRA to elevate and expand this special ceremony as a global live event in 2024 and the years to come," said Bela Bajaria, Netflix head of global TV, in a statement.
Traveling back in time to the more formative years of Netflix's original series expansion, it was recognition by the SAG Awards that preceded love from the Emmys and the Oscars.
In February 2015, House of Cards star Kevin Spacey received one of Netflix's first major showbiz awards when he won SAG's best lead actor in a drama series trophy. Spacey and co-star Robin Wright would go on to win both of the Emmys' dramatic series lead actor categories later that fall.
For the 29th iteration of the SAG Awards, Netflix has nominations in almost every major TV category, and some in some film categories, too -- including Eddie Redmayne for his title role in The Good Nurse.
