Netflix 'Tudum' fan event reflects studio investment in global streaming

Los Angeles, United States -  Netflix continues to add more live content for viewers hungry for real-time entertainment, including the Tyson vs. Paul boxing match, National Football League games and, most recently, the "Tudum" live fan event that showcased upcoming TV shows.

"This is the first time we've done the show in this way, a live format," Shelly Gillyard, VP of Series Marketing for the U.S. and Canada, told Reuters at the Netflix Tudum fan event last Saturday.

"Previous years was on the ground fan activations," Gillyard added.

Tudum is named after the sound that plays before each Netflix movie and series.

For Netflix, is was important to ensure that they were incorporating talent from all over the world for the global fan event.

More than 100 Netflix stars and creators appeared in the show hosted by actor Sofia Carson, who starred in the airport thriller "Carry On".

The first two Tudum events took place in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2020 and in 2023. However, for 2025, it was relocated to Los Angeles, California.

The 2020 Netflix Tudum in Brazil drew 50,000 people in four days and the post-COVID numbers for the 2023 Brazil Tudum were 35,000.

Gillyard said the live event could take place somewhere else in the future and Netflix is focused less on where it is held and more on making it available globally.

With major titles like "Squid Game," "Stranger Things," "Wednesday," and "Emily in Paris," combined with a performance by Lady Gaga, the streamer capitalized on fan interest.

One of the largest draws for viewers was the premiere date announcements for Emmy award-winning series "Stranger Things."

The livestreamed event revealed that “Stranger Things” will have a fifth and final season split into three parts, with part one on November 26, 2025, part two on December 25, 2025 and the series finale on December 31, 2025.

(Reporting by Danielle Broadway; Editing by Stephen Coates)