A poll in 2022 of nearly 1,900 self-identified adult US Formula 1 fans showed that 53% credited the Netflix programme ‘Drive to Survive’ as a reason they became viewers of F1 races.
Arguably the show’s success is rooted in the trust placed in the production team behind it. Film crews seamlessly blend in to race weekends to such an extent that it brings a more intimate meaning to the term ‘fly-on-the-wall’.
The US is clearly gripped. In 2018, around 263,000 people attended the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas; in 2022, that number nearly doubled to 440,000. A few years later, ESPN renewed the media rights for somewhere between $75 million and $90 million annually, a sizeable increase on the broadcaster’s previous contract, worth $5 million per year. Formula 1 has capitalised on this by adding races in Miami and Las Vegas, meaning more races are held there than in any other country.
The ripple effect has been huge, with the show defining a new sub-genre of sports entertainment. Break Point, Full Swing, Sprint, Tour De France: Unchained, 6 Nations: Full Contact, Make or Break – an extensive, evolving list.
But what does it take to give audiences a front row seat to the greatest sporting spectacles on Earth? How do you get up close and personal with elite athletes when the stakes are at their highest? What will be the lasting impact of this ‘access-all-areas’ approach? Is it all glitz and glamour?
In this Royal Television Society Technology Centre event at IMG’s Studios at Stockley Park, we will speak to the Head of Sport and Factual at Box To Box Films, Warren Smith, responsible for overseeing and delivering their full slate of premium documentary series, including Full Swing, Sprint, Tour De France: Unchained, The Greatest Showmen (Matchroom wt), Simon Needs You (wt) and Drive to Survive. As well as Executive Producing the aforementioned series, Warren served as Showrunner on both Season 1 of Full Swing and Make or Break. Warren will be joined by a representative from IMG, the global sports and culture company.
Moderated by Pamela Cookey, former England netball Captain, Commonwealth and World Championship medallist, sports broadcaster, Chair of the Fearless Women Board, and one of the stars of the Netflix Documentary Game On: The Unstoppable Rise of Women's Sport (2023).
The session is produced by Kim Rowell, Managing Editor of News Production at ITN Productions, UN Women UK Board Member and Trustee, and Vice Chair of the Royal Television Society Technology Centre.
