Netflix has announced an array of major sports shows are heading to the platform, including the Six Nations, FIFA World Cup, the Tour de France and Prince Harry's Invictus Games.
In total, the new documentaries will include fresh coverage of football, rugby, cycling, golf, tennis and motorsports.
Rugby in particular has long been hopeful of emulating the success of Formula 1's Drive To Survive series, which has helped dramatically grow the popularity of F1 globally since its launch in 2019 by giving fans a no-holds-barred insight into the teams, stars and feuds off the track.
Announcing a working title of 'Six Nations' for 2024, Netflix said: "That’s right – rugby’s getting in on the act! We’ll follow all six teams through one of the most iconic and hard-fought competitions in the sport. Six Nations (working title) will feature the upcoming 2023 tournament, and will launch in 2024."
The hope is that a product showcasing the showpiece of European men's rugby will not only drive a growth in popularity of the sport on this continent, but further afield, with America a big market yet to be fully cracked ahead of the men's 2031 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States ahead of the women's World Cup in 2033.
Onto the round ball, and an untitled FIFA World Cup series is set to air in summer 2023, with Netflix saying: "We're going behind the scenes at the Qatar 2022 World Cup! With privileged access and exclusive footage in and around all 32 teams, the series will show viewers the World Cup as never seen before."
New series Heart of Invictus, due in summer 2023, comes from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Archewell Productions and follows a group of extraordinary competitors from around the globe – all service members who have suffered life-changing injuries or illnesses – on their road to competing at the Invictus Games, which were founded by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, in 2014.
The streaming service also announced on its UK and Ireland account that the fifth season of F1: Drive to Survive will be launched on February 24, along with a first look.
Tennis documentary Break Point will allow viewers to get to know the next generation of tennis superstars after 20 years of Roger Feder, Rafa Nadal, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic. It will launch on January 13.
Meanwhile, Full Swing, released on February 15, follows the world’s best golfers through a truly historic season on and off the course.
Finally, a so far untitled Tour de France docuseries is also due in 2023, from the same producers of Drive To Survive. The series will chart the ups and downs of the teams of cyclists over the three-week gruelling tour.
“This eclectic group of new and returning series reinforces that we are committed to delivering the best sports stories to our fans,” Brandon Riegg, vice-president of unscripted and documentary series at Netflix, said. “By going behind-the-scenes of the world’s biggest sporting events with unprecedented access, we have a unique opportunity to share the triumphs, tribulations and drama of these iconic moments with our hundreds of millions of global members.”
Amazon Prime have also made their mark in sporting documentaries, with a series of All or Nothing programmes focussing on some of the biggest teams in the Premier League. The All Blacks rugby team have also been the subject of their own series.
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