OTT platforms have gained platforms over the years and the lockdown due to the pandemic has given them an even bigger boost in terms of revenue. Sports acts as an escape route for humans. The documentaries surrounding sports are more appealing for fans as it gives a strong insight into behind the scenes about an individual or an organisation.
Michael Jordon’s The Last Dance got outstanding reviews when it was released on Netflix in 2020. Along with individuals, outstanding teams are also appealing to OTT platforms. In the 21st century, football has become a commercially appealing sport. Ever since football clubs have started becoming commercial juggernauts, multiple creative industries have also dipped into the sport to extract more revenue.
For big clubs in Europe, a documentary series about a complete season has become a lucrative avenue. Earlier this week, Amazon signed yet another deal to produce a documentary series for a football club. Bayern Munich is the latest club to join hands for a documentary series that will cover behind the scenes of the club during the treble-winning campaign.
Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester City had a documentary series under the label All or Nothing produced by Amazon Prime in the last three series. Leeds United also had a separate documentary made by Amazon to cover their promotion to the Premier League. Both English reportedly earned up to £10 million guaranteed to allow Amazon to have cameras at the training ground, stadium, and dressing room.
Borussia Dortmund had similar web series on Netflix. In the next couple of years, more super clubs are going to look for such opportunities considering how badly finances have been impacted during the pandemic. The likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Barcelona will command even bigger fees than the previous clubs have done considering the popularity and enormous fanbases of these clubs.
From a financial point of view, a straight return on such a series makes it appealing for clubs. They do have to apply a filter to the videography since they cannot reveal confidential stuff in the series, but there is still a lot of available content that likes of Amazon and Netflix can bring for fans. A lucrative and appealing move for fans helps the cause of clubs, so it will not be a surprise to see more clubs dealing with OTT platforms in the near future.