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\n\tNetflix has been on the cutting edge of live unscripted series in the last year or two with series such as Pop The Balloon <\/em>and Star Search<\/em> sitting alongside events such as its BTS live special and Skyscraper Live.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tJeff Gaspin, VP, Unscripted at the streamer, speaking at Deadline\u2019s Reality TV Summit, said, \u201cSports is always going to need to be live, but the question is what else beyond sports can really be eventized? Streaming, in general, was built for on demand, not for forced viewing, so you\u2019ve got to give the subscriber, the viewer, a reason to come to live.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tNetflix\u2019s most recent example was BTS: The Comeback<\/em>, which launched with 18.4M viewers. \u201cThat was hugely successful and we\u2019re just trying to find those quintessential moments that everyone talks about, and fans have been waiting for, as opposed to just a straight concert. We need eventized concerts.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOne of its other attempts in this space was Star Search<\/em>. The series was hosted by Anthony Anderson and featured a judging panel of Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chrissy Teigen and Jelly Roll. The show, which ran over five weeks, launched on Tuesday, January 20. However, it did fail to break into Netflix\u2019s global top ten and likely won\u2019t return for a second season. <\/p>\n \n\tOne of the positives to come out it, however, was the technology.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe just tried Star Search<\/em>,\u201d Gaspin said. \u201cUnfortunately, we probably won\u2019t have a second season of Star<\/em> Search<\/em>, but we did deploy new technology with our voting so you could vote with your remote. It was wildly successful. Over 80% of people who watched the show used the voting capability. They didn\u2019t have to download an app. There wasn\u2019t a second screen. We\u2019re only 10 years old in our reality journey, and so we\u2019re going to keep trying things. Some will work, some won\u2019t, but it\u2019s still an exciting time and place for us.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOne of Gaspin\u2019s challenges might be fending off competition from rival streamers and networks.<\/p>\n \n\tAt the Reality TV Summit, many of his peers also showed an interest in live reality shows.<\/p>\n \n\tAmazon\u2019s Head of Nonfiction Series said it\u2019s all about stakes. \u201cWhen you think about sports or you think about watching someone\u2019s life change on a talent show, or a guy scale a building, and you\u2019re wondering if he\u2019s going to fall off, it\u2019s lean in stakes.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDisney alternative boss Rob Mills pointed to the live shows that he already does for shows such as Dancing with the Stars <\/em>and American Idol<\/em>. \u201cOn those formats, it\u2019s making sure it\u2019s not live for live\u2019s sake, having stakes there. On streaming, it\u2019s figuring out, you can do things you can\u2019t do on a broadcaster, so what is the thing that hasn\u2019t been done, whether it\u2019s a show that\u2019s live and ends when it ends, things that you couldn\u2019t normally do on a broadcaster that makes it feel special on streaming. I think the big the big tentpole events, still feel like it\u2019s better to have a linear broadcast audience,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe real win is to figure out what\u2019s worth eventizing,\u201d Fox\u2019s Allison Wallach said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we talk about all of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n