Netflix helped create the instrument fueling the popularity of Formula 1 racing in the United States. It only makes sense that the company would want to make a move to become the sport’s exclusive media rights partner.
Just two months ago, Ted Sarandos, one of the company’s co-CEOs, said he didn’t see live sports as a priority for Netflix or as a path to significant profit.
Now it seems that view has changed. Business Insider reports that Netflix will join Disney, Amazon and NBCUniversal in a bidding war for the racing circuit’s US television rights.
Disney would very much like to keep the rights and keep races on ESPN. The company submitted an initial bid of $70 million per year. That is about $30 million per year less than what F1 owner Liberty Media thinks they are worth.
Netflix’s hit documentary series F1: Drive to Survive has been a key factor in creating new fans for the sport. That is why a marriage between the two makes so much sense. Netflix’s sudden interest may also have something to do with the streaming service beginning to lose subscribers.
That subscriber migration isn’t something that seems to concern Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei.
“It is interesting how the world fragmented with cable households, and how many there are compared to Netflix households and [Amazon] Prime households,” Business Insider quoted him as saying before the Miami Grand Prix. “The idea that the broadest audience is on cable — that’s becoming a lot less clear.”
What will be very interesting is Netflix’s path forward in sports if it does win the F1 rights. Would something like Drive to Survive shape the company’s entire sports strategy? Would Netflix create documentary shoulder content for every league partner?
There is also the question of how Netflix will handle advertising. The idea of airing commercials has been a part of what has turned the company off from live sports in the past. Would the content team be tasked to come up with a revolutionary new way of integrating advertising into games in order for the company to pull the trigger?
