Netflix Continues to Try Sports: Is it working?
Happy Friday World,
As the holiday season is in full swing and people have more time off, many start a new series on Netflix. There are so many Netflix classics to choose from, like Stranger Things, BoJack Horseman, or even a non-Netflix original like Breaking Bad. But for the first time in history, Netflix released an engagement report tracking viewership over the first six months of 2023, and of course, we have to look at the sports programming to see how it did.
The top sports programs by hours watched:
F1 Drive to Survive: S5, 90.2M
Full Swing: S1, 53.1M
McGregor Forever, 41M
Break Point: S1, 30.5M
Hustle, 25.7M
Home Team, 17.8M
F1 Drive to Survive: S4, 13.7M
F1 Drive to Survive: S1, 13.6M
Bill Russell: Legend, 9.9M
Last Chance U: Basketball: S2, 9.4M
Credit: The Red Ledger
Without a doubt, we all knew that Formula One's Drive to Survive would be up there, but having three different seasons in the top 10 is quite impressive. The brand-new spin-offs of Drive to Survive, Full Swing, and Break Point also draw in a good amount of viewership.
I am surprised to see Adam Sandler's movie Hustle so high up, considering the fact that there are considerably more hours of content for a 10-episode show than a 2-hour movie, but it showcases how good that movie was.
We also see a variety of documentaries make it into the Top 10, which is interesting. I am excited to see how the brand new Netflix Cup stacks up with these shows in terms of viewership hours as Netflix is trying to break into the live sports market.
At the end of the day, the winner here is the consumer, as we are at the peak of the streaming wars. Everyone is trying everything and everyone is trying to prove their dominance. Can't wait to see Netflix's next dive into sports as they host The Netflix Slam in Las Vegas as Rafel Nadal will go head to head with Carlos Alcaraz at the Michelob Ultra Arena this upcoming March.