Netflix VP Says Sports Programming Game Plan Is About ‘Access and Authenticity’

Office With a View: “We’re not anti-sports, we’re pro-profits,” Gabe Spitzer says of the prospect of live sports, echoing co-CEO Ted Sarandos

Netflix's nonfiction sports vice president Gabe Spitzer (Courtesy of Netflix)
Netflix's nonfiction sports vice president Gabe Spitzer (Courtesy of Netflix)

Gabe Spitzer has always known that he wanted to work in sports media — but he never could have anticipated receiving a call from Netflix.

Now, since 2018, the executive has helped develop the top streamer’s sports strategy from the ground up.

Spitzer first broke into the industry in 2005 as a production assistant for ESPN, where he cut highlight reels for “Sports Center.” A year later, he landed a job at HBO Sports through a former colleague and went on to produce the docuseries “24/7” and co-direct “Legendary Nights: The Tale of Gatti-Ward.”

Speaking with TheWrap, he credited his experiences at HBO — both in edit rooms and in the field — with teaching him about the art of making documentaries and “directing on the fly” — a passion he would explore further when he launched his own production company, Beluga Pictures, in 2013.

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