The WRC’s bigger sibling, the FIA-governed Formula One, hit the bullseye when it partnered with Netflix. “Drive to Survive” delved into the world of Formula One and received an excellent reception from the general public, starting with its first season, which was released in 2019.
Since then, six seasons have been released, and there’s no end in sight.
The most significant aspect for F1 was that the series attracted new audiences to the sport. This is precisely what the World Rally Championship needs right now.
The WRC is currently seeking a new direction and new ways to engage more fans.
“Drive to Survive is a watershed moment, I think, in motorsport coverage. I think it hit the right time. But we need to be quite careful because producing one of those series doesn’t necessarily mean you’re automatically going to open up new audiences,” said Simon Larkin, the event director of the WRC Promoter, to selected media, including RallyJournal.com
Since the release of Drive to Survive, many sports series have tried to leverage streaming services as marketing channels. Some have succeeded like Formula One, while others have not.
“The series about Moto GP was not as successful as they wanted, given the input and the impact they invested in it,” Larkin highlighted as an example.
“We get pitched ten times a year by someone who says they can produce the next Drive to Survive for us. Unless you have that product placement on Netflix, Amazon, or something similar, no one is going to watch it.”
According to Larkin, discussions with Netflix have progressed, but one significant obstacle remains.
“Financial reasons from either side.”
“Drive to Survive’s numbers are softening. So the willingness from a platform or from us to invest in something that may not yield the desired result is also softening a bit, I would say. If you want to do this right, these things are very expensive,” Larkin noted.
