He is a tense manager who arrived in Denmark for the start of the 109th Tour de France. Despite his experience of major events, Marc Madiot, the boss of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team (which he created in 1997) does not lead far. “The Covid is making a comeback. We are being handed drastic security measures … And thereupon Netflix arrives”, lists the former double winner of Paris-Roubaix, emblematic figure of the peloton. Don’t see it as an attack on the powerful American video-on-demand platform. Simply one more problem to integrate into its meticulous itinerant organization. Because, new for this 2022 edition of the Grande Boucle, Netflix is immersed in the heart of the race!
Series drive to survive, which takes viewers behind the scenes of Formula 1, having been a worldwide audience hit (more than 50 million subscribers watched the last season), even sparking the interest of a neophyte audience for motor racing , Netflix has decided to spend the second in sports documentaries in order to expand its catalog. “Our investment in French creation amounts to 200 million euros per year. And we can’t do more impactful and “French” than the Tour de France. It’s a project that ticks all the boxes, for which work the production company of drive to survive [NDLR : Box to Box Films] and a French partner [NDLR : Quad Productions]“, recalls Dolores Emile, the European head of documentary series at Netflix.
“A cyclist is not like an F1 driver”
This diversification towards sport is a trend found among other platforms, which are multiplying initiatives to retain their butterfly subscribers. Because after the booster effect of the pandemic, streaming services are going through a more complicated period. Last May, this same Netflix laid off 2% of its workforce (150 people, most of them in the United States), just after the loss of 200,000 subscribers out of 221.6 million active accounts in the first quarter of 2022, a first in ten years. A sign that times are tough, its market capitalization has shrunk by 65% over one year and galloping inflation is not helping its business since households are cutting back on their leisure time at home.
In this context, it was time to begin the reconquest and, in this perspective, what better than to join one of the biggest sporting events on the planet? “We had been negotiating for three years, we were also very proactive on the subject”, assures Julien Goupil, the commercial and partnerships director of Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), the organizer of the Tour. Without the pandemic, the platform’s cameras would even already be there, but both parties wanted to take advantage of the excitement of the public to add atmosphere to the tragedy of the race, two essential ingredients. “Cycling is fighting with other sports to be even better exposed. Formats like Netflix do not cannibalize live, which remains the very essence of this sport. It will be complementary and it is also a mode of consumption which seduces young people”, says Julien Goupil.
One of the successes of drive to survive resides precisely in the narration, the storytelling and clashes between personalities. “True concepts” as they say in the industry, which are not without risk for these new sports players. “There are all the codes of reality TV. The facts told are sometimes exaggerated and caricatural. Drivers and team managers have seen their relations deteriorate very sharply after the broadcast”, confided recently Cyril Abiteboul, former boss of the Renault F1 team, in the columns of the Figaro. Central character of the first seasons, the French engineer (since thanked by Alpine) obviously had little taste for the heaviness of the project. What Marc Madiot was able to see on the first four days of filming before the Tour. “It’s more complicated than with a small TV crew. We start early in the morning, we finish late at night. There is psychological fatigue. When they put a sound box on us, we have it all the time. However, a cyclist is not like an F1 driver, he needs to recover”, testifies the manager, who is however not too concerned about the scripting.
80 people deployed over the three weeks of the race
It must be said that nothing is done under duress. Like the seven other teams chosen for this first season*, he threw himself into it willingly. Only the team of defending champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) declined. “Our condition was transparency and total openness. We prefer to have protagonists who play the game 100%. We have no regrets,” says Dolores Emile. “It’s really a quadripartite partnership between ASO, Netflix, the teams and France TV which will also broadcast a dedicated documentary before the 2023 Tour. It’s a big investment for Netflix because they will deploy 80 people over the three weeks of the race” , emphasizes Julien Goupil. If no figure has filtered, according to our information, Netflix pays the organizer well, who compensates the teams concerned. “We are not going to fill the coffers with Netflix, laughs Marc Madiot. It does not change our economic model. Besides, there is no guarantee that we will be there for season 2. We will see after the rendering.
On the other hand, ASO is convinced that the dramaturgy of the bicycle will find a favorable echo internationally, which could, in the long term, increase its own income. “The F1 series has had a colossal effect on broadcasting in the United States. TV rights have been increased,” notes an industry specialist. “Cycling can further expand its target, especially in America where European sports have room for improvement,” admits Julien Goupil. As for the sponsors, they welcome this initiative with open arms because their brands are thus exposed for hours on each viewing of the platform. For all these reasons, Netflix, which will broadcast its first season in the spring of 2023 (eight 45-minute episodes), intends to continue its crazy escape. Moreover, its screenwriters are currently working on other projects concerning golf, but also tennis.
*AG2R Citroën Team, Alpecin-Fenix, Bora-Hansgrohe, EF Education, Ineos Grenadiers, Jumbo-Visma and Quick-Step