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- Creator of F1’s ‘Drive to Survive’ has also reportedly contacted individual clubs
- Premier League’s global appeal attractive to Netflix amid subscriber slump
The Premier League is considering a proposal to create a documentary series for the Netflix streaming platform, according to The Times.
The UK newspaper reports that English soccer’s top flight has been approached about the project by Box To Box Films, the British production firm behind Formula One’s popular ‘Drive to Survive’ show.
According to the report, Premier League clubs were notified of the approach this week and Box To Box has also made contact with individual teams.
A number of clubs, including Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, have previously featured in Amazon Prime Video’s ‘All or Nothing’ series, but the Premier League and its 20 teams are yet to be the subject of a documentary on one of the major streaming platforms.
The Times said that the Premier League’s existing global appeal is hugely attractive for Netflix, which announced a net loss of 200,000 global subscribers in April.
The clubs will now hold further talks to discuss the viability of the project, which will reportedly include conversations around how much behind-the-scenes access they will need to provide and rights to game highlights.
The 20 teams will then make a decision once those details have been confirmed.
Currently in its fourth year, Drive to Survive has been a huge success for Netflix and was recently extended for a fifth and sixth season. The show has been widely credited for helping grow interest in Formula One, which has been enjoying an increase in viewership and attendances.
The success of the series has encouraged other sports to go down a similar route. Box To Box is currently producing Netflix documentary series covering the 2022 tennis season, the PGA Tour and the recent Tour de France.
Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s head of unscripted programming and documentaries, spoke earlier this year about how tennis and golf executives saw the benefits Drive to Survive had brought to Formula One.
“With tennis and golf, the leagues took notice of the ‘Drive to Survive’ effect,” he told Bloomberg. “We were recruiting folks who’d never watched sports or never watched Formula One.
“[Drive to Survive’s] first season helped the show reach core fans, but the audience of the show has ballooned over the past couple years.”
At the time, Riegg also talked about Netflix’s approach to sports, stating that the company prioritises documentaries over live programming.
He said: “We’ve been very consistent and public about not getting into live sports. That said, sports is a huge category. Part of our remit is to serve as many audiences as we can. We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we weren’t accommodating something in the sports space.
“How long has ‘Inside the NFL’ been going on? Or ‘Inside the NBA?’ We’re trying to build the same virtuous cycle.”
