Formula 1 and Netflix: How many laps are left?

Drive to Survive transformed Formula 1's global footprint — the US now hosts three races, up from one in 2019 — and F1's valuation has grown from $4.4 billion when Liberty Media bought the sport in 2016 to roughly $20 billion by January 2023. Other sports are racing to replicate that success, with mixed results.

Chasing the Netflix effect

Tennis's Break Point and golf's Full Swing both followed F1's lead onto Netflix in early 2023, alongside upcoming series covering the Tour de France, the 2022 World Cup and Six Nations rugby — but early results suggest lightning is hard to strike twice: Break Point struggled for attention, while Full Swing fared better, cracking Netflix's global top 10.

Where Netflix draws the line

Despite building live-streaming capability for other events, Netflix has deliberately stayed out of live sports rights, with executives citing no clear path to profitability in "renting" major sports properties — leaving that battle to Amazon, Apple TV and league-owned platforms.

With so many docuseries now competing for attention, the bigger question may be how much appetite fans have left for more.