The big business of sports documentaries

On the 1^st April 2020, in the middle of lockdown, my phone and social media lit up like a Christmas tree as the second series of ‘Sunderland Til I Die’ hit Netflix.

With everyone at home and not much else to do, the world seemed to be binge-watching the second season of the fly-on-the-wall documentary which followed the perils of the famous North East of England football club as they battled for promotion out of League One. At the end of episode three, one question remained… ‘Where is Sophie now?’

For two months, I was followed everywhere by cameras as I returned from maternity leave to my role as Corporate Communications Manager at the club and, on reflection, what was effectively a completely new job.

There were new club owners and a good chunk of the non-footballing staff – and my co-workers – had been made redundant. I had a new role and to be frank, a fight to prove that I could do my job and wouldn’t get the dreaded call from HR – all while battling mum-guilt, night feeds and general sleep deprivation.

The bonkers world of football

Many people ask, ‘what was it like?’ or ‘why did you do it?’. Well, those are good questions, especially for someone who has spent 20 years working in communications and PR and normally advises clients and colleagues to be cautious. I think my family thought I was mad.

The answer? Well, the world of football is bonkers. It is like no other business in the world. It has a routine but also doesn’t have a routine at the same time. As any football marketeer or comms professional will know, trying to market a football club to disillusioned fans when you have no control over what happens at 3pm on a Saturday is hard work. Some of the best made plans never make it out the door because the Lads will lose and the mood changes.

But behind every football club there is a world of brilliant, hardworking people and my job is about telling stories. I wanted to show the story of the staff and the people inside the club as we all battled with uncertain times. I wanted to show that we are human and what it was like to work in a male-dominated environment when management styles weren’t exactly as you’d see in a regular corporate workplace.

It was a tough time in Sunderland AFC’s history, though there was hope that we could lift ourselves out of the dungeon of League One. But there were some brilliant times too. Leading the comms and marketing to set the League One attendance record and have over 46,000 people in the Stadium of Light for a Boxing Day game is something I am still immensely proud of.

Make sure you weigh up the risks before deciding to go ahead

But why do clubs or businesses do seemingly invasive documentaries like this? What’s in it for them? Well it comes with risk but the rewards can be great and at the heart of it all is PR and brand growth.

The first series of Sunderland Til I Die was commissioned to attract a new owner. And it worked – albeit no one saw the back-to-back relegations coming. Series Two aimed to show the new owners in a favourable light to a very passionate fan base – arguably that didn’t work and at least one of them went viral for the wrong reasons.

Over the last decade, the fly-on-the-wall sports documentary has become a go-to genre for streaming sites.

Newcastle United’s recent documentary was arguably to counter the controversy surrounding their change of ownership. Some may think it worked but others may think it looked forced and staged, with too much emphasis on the owners, rather than the players and coaching staff.

But get it right and the opportunity for growth is huge. The F1 documentary, Drive to Survive, is said to have increased global interest in the sport from 44.9 million in 2019 to 49.2 million last year. In 2022’s Welcome to Wrexham, which follows Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny as they purchase National League side Wrexham AFC, the Dragons’ social media following soared with over 150,000 new followers across Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, followed by lucrative sponsorship deals.

The most recent Six Nations docu-series, Full Contact, has just been released and gives behind-the-scenes access to showcase rugby union in a new light, at a time when it has its own challenges with things like concussion protocols.

Being true to yourself is the key to success

But what sits at the heart of these documentaries is authenticity. The viewer can spot a PR exercise a mile off. Viewers fall in love with genuine people who have a passion for their sport or club. In Sunderland, it was the everyday fans – from taxi drivers to butchers – who showed their unwavering support for their club. What didn’t go down so well and went viral, was an ‘accidental Partridge’ moment when one new owner suggested changing the sacred walk-out music on a broken PA system.

There isn’t a single bit of this Sunderland ‘Til I Die s2 clip that isn’t *chef’s kiss* pic.twitter.com/2SxSqCeHsf

— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) April 1, 2020

A docu-series can also be lucrative for broadcasters – Arsenal, for example, allegedly netted a fee of £10 million for allowing Amazon to follow their 2021/22 season and McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown didn’t hide the fact that it ‘helps pay our bills’.

But if you’re thinking about opening up the doors to your business, my advice is to think twice. Be very clear on the story you want to tell and that you can tell it in a genuine way that connects with your audience. Too much PR control and it is staid, boring and poor viewing. Too little and it can become comedic.

On the back of my experience, I have used examples of my time being followed by a camera when I am media training senior executives, high-profile athletes and public figures. Whether you’re preparing for a 30-second local news interview or being followed by three cameras and a sound mic, the critical thing is to always be yourself.

Authenticity brings a connection to your audience; people can tell when something is forced for an agenda.

Four years on, while they no longer need a platform to sell the business, the Sunderland story has moved on and is slightly more positive, which may merit the latest series.  But it’s worth remembering the age-old adage that for a story to be compelling, it needs to be about people. That’s who I’ll be thinking about as I sit down to watch.