Could streaming platforms become the go-to for documentaries on football clubs?

 

Manchester City are currently in talks with Amazon Prime to release a highly lucrative fly-on-the-wall documentary series. Reportedly worth £10million to Manchester City, film crews for Amazon will have access to all areas of the club, however it remains unclear as to how this would work alongside Sky, who also own broadcast rights.

This news follows the announcement that Juventus have filmed a four-part documentary with Amazon Prime rival, Netflix. The Serie A champions hit the headlines as their behind-the-scenes documentary was given the release date of early 2018.

Juventus’ Co-Chief Revenue Officer, Federico Palomba, said: “Collaborations of this kind confirm our passion for innovation and being, in every sense, a ‘sport entertainment’ brand. We are determined to reach fans across the world and millions of Netflix users, who thanks to this docuseries can get to know Juventus from every angle.”

The benefits of streaming companies partnering with football clubs are endless, as live video and behind-the-scenes access are becoming increasingly valued in the sport. Growing fan engagement and interaction, this footage takes viewers to experience what happens off the pitch, growing clubs’ fan bases as well as the number of streaming platforms’ users.

For this reason, it is set to become an increasingly competitive market as the likes of Amazon and Netflix prepare to battle it out to cover the biggest teams and most followed footballers.

Erik Barmack, Vice President of International Original Series at Netflix, added: “Netflix is the home of passionate storytelling, and there are no more passionate fans than those in football. We are excited to have unique, exclusive access to one of the most important squads in the world.”