Premier League clubs have rejected an offer from Netflix to film a docuseries similar to the popular Formula One show Drive to Survive. The film company behind the F1 series, Box to Box Films, approached top-flight teams earlier in the season, but despite months of talks, no agreement was reached. The proposed three-year deal was worth £5m per season, but clubs deemed the offer too low and feared that accepting it could affect next season’s domestic TV rights auction if broadcasters such as Sky Sports and BT Sport believed they had given too much access to Netflix. The proposal would have seen between six and eight teams give cameras access to interviews with managers, players and directors, as well as into the dressing room.
Although the 20 teams agreed at Thursday’s shareholders’ meeting in London to end shirt sponsors boasting betting and gambling firms from next season, they rejected the Netflix proposal. Last year, talkSPORT host and former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan called on the Premier League to launch a £9.99-a-month streaming service so fans could watch every match. He suggested that building a “Netflix of football” platform could generate £10-12bn per year by charging 100 million subscribers worldwide.
Jordan argued that the Premier League should own its own content rather than using third-party outlets such as Sky, BT and overseas deals. He said that while these broadcasters had taken football to a different level, their time was beginning to pass. Jordan added that he believed every game could be broadcast and that the Premier League needed to improve its digital thinking.
Saturday 1 April sees a busy day on talkSPORT, with Manchester City hosting Liverpool in a key Premier League game at 12:30pm, followed by Crystal Palace vs Leicester at 3pm. The day ends with build-up to the heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Jermaine Franklin.