Netflix is having a rough year. The streaming behemoth reported back-to-back quarterly subscriber losses for the first time in company history. They recently got overtaken by Disney on a total subscriber basis (221 million vs. 220 million), and their stock is down nearly 70% since October 2021 — meaning they shed more than $200 billion off their market cap during that time.
But still, the cultural impact of Netflix shouldn’t be disregarded. Take Squid Games, for example. The series cost Netflix *just* $21 million to produce, but subscribers watched more than 2 billion hours of the series within the first month, and Netflix estimates that it provided nearly $1 billion in “economic value” to the company.
Another great example is Formula 1. The world’s most popular racing series teamed up with Box To Box Films and Netflix to release “F1: Drive to Survive” in 2019.
And it has transformed the sport. Sure, they tend to dramatize rivalries that don’t exist, and they often use footage from other races in places that don’t make sense. But the growth numbers speak for themselves:
- US viewership has increased more than 50% over the last two years, and ESPN recently signed a new deal with F1 that will pay $75 million to $90 million annually — up from just $5 million today.
- Out of the ~400,000 people that attended the United States GP in Austin last year, roughly 70% were attending their first Grand Prix ever.
- Formula One is the fastest-growing major sports property across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, Snapchat, Twitch, and Chinese social platforms, with total followers up 3% in 2021 to 35 million.
And most importantly, the average of a Formula 1 fan has dropped dramatically.
Of course, other sports leagues have seen the results and want in on part of the action also. So Box To Box films and Netflix have already signed deals (and began filming!) with the PGA Tour and the ATP & WTA for a similar style docuseries.
For example, the PGA Tour’s agreement couldn’t have come at a better time. More than 20 players have signed on to be featured on the show, and the series will include unparalleled access to Augusta National Golf Club. But it will also cover perhaps the most turbulent time in golf’s history — their multi-billion-dollar battle with LIV Golf.
Now, this style of content isn’t necessarily new—the NFL’s Hard Knocks series debuted more than 20 years ago—but we live in a different world today than we did even five years ago, and Netflix/Box To Box has taken it to a new level.
And now, the Premier League even wants to be involved. Because according to The Athletic, the Premier League is currently in discussions with Box To Box Films to create a behind-the-scenes show about the top flight of English Football.
This is interesting to me for a few reasons. First, we have seen clubs like Manchester City, Tottenham, and Arsenal featured on Amazon’s All or Nothing Series, but we have yet to see a docu-series that simultaneously follows multiple clubs or the entire league.
Secondly, NBC Sports recently extended its partnership with the Premier League, signing a six-year, $2.76 billion broadcasting deal. That places it within the upper echelon of media importance here in the United States — for comparison, the MLS-Apple TV deal is global and covers ten years at $2.5 billion.
So one could argue that the Premier League is America’s 4th major sport — ahead of the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer.
And thirdly, Netflix has over 220 million subscribers worldwide and a little over 73 million subscribers in the United States. That subscriber base could help the Premier League close any gaps in key markets worldwide, especially in the United States.
Netflix Subscribers By Region
The interesting part of all of this will be seeing how the docuseries is produced. For example, will they follow all 20 Premier League teams throughout the entire year (38 matches)? Or will they focus exclusively on the Big Six? Do global audiences care about teams that might be relegated? How about teams competing in the Championship?
I don’t necessarily know the answer to those questions. But my point is that this is a different beast than Formula 1, where you have teams, but the main focus is on individuals and everyone travels to the same circuit each weekend.
So we’ll see what happens. But regardless, I certainly don’t care that every sport seems to be copying Formula 1. We live in a world where content is king, and as a consumer, this level of access is amazing.
SOURCE: https://huddleup.substack.com/p/netflix-continues-to-infiltrate-professional-1eb