Could Gordon Ramsay, Billie Eilish, Kevin Hart, And Shaq Sweating Over Hot Wings Ignite Netflix's Live TV Dreams?

Streaming giant Netflix Inc NFLX could add a hot wings eating competition that features celebrities to its growing slate of live media content, which includes two NFL games for the 2024 season.

What Happened: Shares of BuzzFeed Inc BZFD have been on a wild ride in 2024, getting a boost earlier in the year when former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy revealed he had taken a stake and was pushing for changes.

The diversified media company saw shares spike on Friday with a report that Netflix could be eyeing one of the company's assets.

"Hot Ones," which is one of the most-watched shows on YouTube, is drawing interest from Netflix for a live version of the show that features celebrities answering questions while they eat hot wings, according to a report from Variety.

For those unfamiliar with the show, the heat of the wings increases as the episode progresses, while host Sean Evans fires off questions.

First We Feast, which is the channel behind "Hot Ones" and part of the BuzzFeed library, has 14 million followers on YouTube with "Hot Ones" episodes regularly bringing in millions of viewers.

These are the current top viewed "Hot Ones" episodes through the first 24 seasons of the hit show.

• Gordon Ramsay: 128 million viewers
• Billie Eilish: 51 million viewers
• Shaquille O'Neal: 43 million
• Kevin Hart: 38 million
• Tom Holland: 35 million

According to the report, the negotiations are in the early stages, with Netflix hoping to land live episodes of the show, potentially for a series or for live specials.

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Why It's Important: Several past seasons of "Hot Ones" are available on various streaming platforms. The new episodes in questions would be made exclusively for Netflix. It is unknown if Netflix is hoping to land the rights to the current series and make the episodes live, or to launch something completely different from the current show and format.

A 25^th season of "Hot Ones" is set to begin on Sept. 19 featuring soccer legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Over the years, Netflix has shifted its strategy from acquiring third-party content to producing original programming in collaboration with partners, creating exclusive content for the platform.The streaming giant has also shifted its sports focus, going from airing sports docuseries to bidding on live sports.

In the past year, the company has aired several comedy live specials and also some live sports specials, including a recent hot dog eating competition featuring Joey Chestnut.

In the future, Netflix will also acquire the rights to stream World Wrestling Entertainment content and will broadcast two live National Football League games on Christmas Day.

One potential challenge in bringing “Hot Ones” to a live format could be how the show's dynamic translates in real time. Many celebrities have needed extra time to recover from the heat of the wings, while others are determined to avoid making faces or being turned into memes during their interviews. Live interviews while eating hot wings could give celebrities less control over how they are portrayed on the show.

BZFD Price Action: BuzzFeed shares finished 3.7% higher on Monday at $2.77 versus a 52-week trading range of $0.64 to $4.56. BuzzFeed shares are up over 150% year-to-date in 2024.

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