Before the engines start firing at full speed ahead of the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season, many fans have already watched the latest episodes Drive to survive on Netflix.
The latest series titled sports documentary tells the story of last 12 months’s competition, with cameras closely following teams and drivers during 22 races in 2023. The sports soap opera is a story of success, failure and redemption, in which heroes and villains live.
Drive to Survive has been watched by tens of millions of individuals since its premiere in 2019 widely understood be a work of high-quality television produced by expert documentary filmmakers. But it’s greater than just good TV. As a marketing tool for Formula 1 it was invaluable.
The show is credited with causing a surge in popularity sports audience and, most significantly, lowered the average age of Formula 1 television viewers 44 to 32. This is a change much appreciated by many commercial brands and broadcasters who fear that live sports on television should not attracting a Generation Z audience
This has not gone unnoticed by other sports which can be also looking (sometimes desperate) to expand their audience and fan base and have jumped on the behind-the-scenes Netflix bandwagon. Golf (Full Swing), tennis (Break Point) and rugby union (Full Contact) at the moment are competing for viewers on the streaming service.
However, Drive to Survive’s success could also be difficult to duplicate. It has stunning locations, multiple narratives, and a large solid of characters which can be difficult to recreate for individual sports.
The program received great support from the company that took over Formula 1 in 2017 at Liberty Media.
As we wrote in our upcoming book, Streaming F1 Competition: Sport in the Platform Agesince then, the American company’s purpose has been clear. It desires to attract latest fans to the sport, increase revenues and expand the racing calendar around the world, and specifically in the largest sports media market in the world – the USA.
In Drive to Survive, they quickly saw a great opportunity to succeed in an audience beyond traditional motorsports fans. In fact, it was a Liberty Media executive who approached Netflix with the idea of promoting the sport, a key element of which was giving film crews access to the inner sanctum of the Formula 1 paddock, the area where teams line up before a race.
In some ways, Formula 1 is an unsuitable sport for television. Visually, the drivers’ skills are partially hidden inside the automobile, and their facial expressions can’t be read behind the helmet.
In other sports, a televised event is all about getting up near the player so we will admire the technique and finesse, whether it’s Novak Djokovic’s forehand or Mo Salah’s dancing feet. We also see athletes’ harsh reactions to each success and failure.
In Formula 1, television has to work much harder. It is essentially based on detailed commentary, a multitude of cameras and access to communication between drivers and their engineers. The screen displays data graphics that try and make sense of a complex sport that mixes cutting-edge technology with pushing the limits of human endurance.
Streaming stories
However, even with these elements, some viewers may find watching the race lacking in excitement. Drive to Survive has stepped in to raise the sport by revealing human stories and giving viewers a likelihood to turn out to be emotionally invested in the drivers, teams and private competitions.
It was once newspapers provided that the narrative. Today, while print media still plays a role, rather more importance is placed on what appears online – whether through social media, podcasts and YouTube, or Netflix. It is these channels that provide chatter, which in turn increases interest in Formula 1.
Liberty Media understands this because they do not operate in the sports industry the way organizations like Fenway Sports Group (current owners of Liverpool FC). Liberty Media is in the entertainment industry and desires to supply entertainment.
But nothing will be guaranteed in sports. It is predicated on the unexpected and the feeling that at some point anything can occur. It’s a drama without a script, that is what distinguishes elite sport from other, more choreographed cultural events corresponding to live music live shows and theater.
However, these values and attributes don’t at all times align with broadcasters selling entertainment to viewers. If things turn out to be too boring and too predictable, fans and viewers may lose interest. Formula 1 rules are sometimes tweaked and altered on purpose to maintain things interesting.
He had a season last 12 months exciting racing, boring racing and every part in between.
And while Drive to Survive may make for a fun snack, Liberty Media might be keeping a close eye on how the motion unfolds on and off the track, hoping it proves exciting and entertaining enough to retain its old fans – and attract lucrative latest ones.
