Could Drive to Survive and F1 Face the Repercussions of Netflix’s Crashing Subscription Count?

Formula One is growing more and more popular around the world with each passing year. And most of this growth in the sport’s viewership and the fanbase is because of Netflix’s documentary series called Formula 1: Drive to Survive.

Recently there are rumors that Netflix is losing a lot of subscriptions. So, F1 fans are wondering if this drop in Netflix subscriptions can affect the viewership of Drive to Survive and, furthermore, affect Formula One.

Is Netflix losing subscribers?

There are reports that Netflix lost around 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of 2022. Everyone believes this might be the effect of the rise of new streaming platforms. Further, there are speculations that by the end of the year, Netflix can suffer a loss of two million subscribers. Meanwhile, Netflix’s stock price has also dropped 35%.

For many years, Netflix was the only platform for distributing original content with no advertisement. But looking at their success, many Hollywood studios came up with their own streaming platforms like the HBO Max and Disney+. On the other hand, many people still haven’t switched to a broadband connection and Smart TVs. Further, there is also a lot more competition from the traditional cable and TV Broadcasts.

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Also, the current tension between Ukraine and Russia has affected the subscriber count. With the rise in global tensions, Netflix has shut down its services in Russia. This led to them a loss of around 700,000 accounts. The ongoing conflict has also led to inflation in many countries, which is also greatly affecting Netflix subscriptions.

How influential is Drive to Survive to Formula 1?

Netflix released the first season of Drive To Survive back in 2019, which covered the 2018 season. Since then, it has been 3 more installments focusing on the last 3 seasons (2019, 2020, and 2021) of Formula 1. However, the most fascinating fact about the show is that it helped boost the popularity of Formula One.

The Netflix show especially affected the tremendous growth of F1 in the US. According to surveys, around 57 percent of the US adults became F1 fans over the past five years, which is around the same time since the show began streaming on Netflix. Further, most of the new fanbase ranges between the age of 18 to 34.

Even their popular American talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres got the McLaren driver, Daniel Ricciardo, on the show. She even revealed that she knew nothing about this motorsport. But Drive to Survive got her “hooked”. Undoubtedly, the show helped increase the viewership of the sport, but it mostly helped promote the sport in the US where F1 hasn’t been able to penetrate much in the past. By 2023, F1 is going to host three F1 races in America, the US Grand Prix, Miami GP, and the Las Vegas GP.

Will Drop in Netflix affect Formula 1?

So, the recent drop in the subscribers on Netflix raised the question if it will affect the F1 fanbase. So, those who have already become F1 fans are directly following the F1 season. But it will surely affect the boost that F1 has been getting. There might eventually be a drop in the amount of new viewership that the sport has been getting.

The drop in Netflix subscriptions will lead to a drop in viewership of DTS. So, Netflix can even discontinue its alliance with this motorsport. But if it happens, then F1 would have to look for other ways to promote itself.

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Formula One already knows how good the documentary series has been for promotions. So they might strike a new deal with another streaming platform. Amazon Prime recently came up with a MotoGP series, MotoGP: Fight To Succeed. So, if the current deal between F1 and Netflix falls off, then Amazon Prime or other streaming platforms might grab the golden opportunity.

Do you think this drop in Netflix subscriptions can affect Formula 1?