Netflix is duping creators by 'test' before they pay up

Netflix bought the next three live editions of Ibai Llanos’s La Velada del Año after he had built six. Netflix reports average viewership grew from about one million in 2021 to more than six million in 2026. The event had already found an audience before Netflix secured its exclusive live window for 2027, 2028 and 2029. Netflix’s announcement sets out both the audience growth and the deal.

That history gives Netflix a real reason to buy the event. A global platform can bring a proven live property to more viewers, and Ibai said the partnership could make it bigger while keeping its community. That is a meaningful potential benefit. The announcement does not show how much the deal pays, what rights beyond the live window it includes, or whether the audience will grow under Netflix. Those terms decide how much of the value created by the event returns to its creator.

Freevee licensed episodes while the team kept YouTube exploitation

There is a useful example of how a creator format can reach a streaming service without surrendering every route to its audience. Amazon says the first two seasons of German format 7 vs. Wild passed 200 million YouTube views. Freevee licensed new episodes for its ad-supported service, while further YouTube exploitation remained with the team, especially licensor and copyright holder CaliVision. Amazon’s announcement describes those rights.

The deal shows a platform can pay for distribution while the rights holder keeps another way to bring the format to viewers. That matters because a successful event or series can keep attracting an audience after its first platform window. The creator has something to sell again when the format returns, provided the contract leaves that route open.

La Velada is a larger property and Netflix’s announced live exclusivity is real distribution value. The strongest case for Netflix is that it can expand the event’s reach and give it a major live home for three years. The strongest case for Ibai is that he built the audience Netflix is buying access to. The announcement does not disclose the price or enough contract detail to judge whether the creator’s share reflects that contribution.

When I bought PSL livestreaming at Nestlé Pakistan in 2021, streaming rights had become a separate purchase from television. Buying the match on one screen did not buy every way the audience followed it. A creator event can also have distinct rights: the live broadcast, the format’s future editions and the creator’s continuing audience. The contract should say which of those Netflix is buying, and the price should reflect each one.

Ibai built six editions before Netflix bought the next three. A creator should sell Netflix the live window on terms that leave the format able to bring back its audience.