YouTube Pirating of Sports Podcasts from Netflix Underway

arlier into Netflix’s foray into sports podcasts, a snag has already appeared. One of the shows that Netflix secured exclusive video rights for, 3 & Out with John Middlekauff, was illegally uploaded on YouTube for several weeks.

This YouTube channel managed to attract over 100,000 views by posting pirated videos of the podcast before they were eventually taken down. The show, hosted by John Middlekauff, is a key NFL and college football program from The Volume, which is Colin Cowherd’s podcast network.

Although the videos have been removed, the YouTube channel John MiddleKauff Podcast, which has about 2,680 subscribers, is still active. While the channel’s content violated Netflix’s agreement, fans who didn’t have a Netflix subscription expressed their appreciation for being able to watch the show on YouTube.

The situation came to light thanks to efforts to report and remove the unauthorized content, with a copyright strike issued against the channel. At present, this is the only instance of pirated Netflix sports podcast videos appearing on YouTube.

Netflix has a lineup of more than a dozen sports podcasts in its library, including popular shows like Spittin’ Chiclets from Barstool, The Zach Lowe Show from The Ringer, and The White House With Michael Irvin. Each show has its own unique circumstances regarding video distribution.

As Netflix continues to navigate this emerging issue, the streaming platform, along with The Volume, iHeartMedia, and YouTube, has declined to provide further comments on the matter. Despite this hiccup, the move to Netflix seems to have had minimal impact on John Middlekauff’s show, according to statements made ahead of the Super Bowl LX.