Netflix and the Premier League are reportedly in talks to produce a new docuseries. The production company that made the streaming service’s popular Formula 1: Drive to Survive docudrama already reached out to the league about the proposal.
According to The Times, Box to Box Films also contacted individual clubs about the proposal. This production company has experience in soccer with Steven Gerrard’s Make Us Dream.
The benefits of the potential docuseries on Netflix about the Premier League are clear. For the league, it is a chance to grow the popularity of the league not just in the United States, but around the world. Then, for Netflix, this is an opportunity to gain subscribers in a soccer world that grows increasingly towards streaming. The service previously declared a net loss of 200,000 subscribers in April. Nevertheless, both sides will be banking on similar success as the F1 doc.
Netflix and Premier League docuseries
Formula 1: Drive to Survive has been a massive success for Netflix. Introduced in 2019, the series featured exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at both the drivers and races of Formula One. As of July, the show was reportedly the second most-watched documentaries on Netflix for 2022. In just a two week period, the series supposedly had been watched for over 57 million total hours. Season four of the show was released on March 11th of this year.
Popularity of the show has made a huge impact on U.S. fans. Star F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo claimed that the Drive to Survive helped grow interest in the sport. “I definitely feel F1 is becoming much more of a thing here in the States,” claimed Ricciardo. “Drive to Survive put it on the map. Putting a face to a name, that helped.”
The Premier League will be hoping that a similar impact can be done with their documentary. Although the league is certainly growing here in the States, officials will want to continue this incline in interest. In fact, the 2021/22 Premier League season was the second most-watched campaign on U.S. TV history.
British soccer docuseries such as Sunderland ‘Til I Die, Welcome to Wrexham, and Amazon’s All or Nothing have all been a hit in the U.S. as well. The 20 Premier League clubs will have a final say on the potential show once the details are ironed out.
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