Report: Netflix close to deal with SEC on 'Drive to Survive' style documentary

Netflix has been hard at work in the sports space in recent years, producing some popular documentaries like F1’s “Drive to Survive” and golf’s “Full Swing.” An SEC documentary is now reportedly on the way.

The Athletic reports that Netflix is “closing on a deal with the SEC” to give it rights to record a similar documentary series for the upcoming football season.

It’s unclear what exactly that might entail, whether the show would feature the entire conference or just a smattering of teams and individuals during the filming period. The Athletic notes that schools will have to individually opt into the coverage.

The outlet also reports that access will likely be similar to the ‘SEC Insider’ series that currently airs on the SEC Network.

The SEC has been smart about leveraging its huge following with key television rights deals in recent years, recently reaching an exclusive agreement with ESPN that will begin this year. That will give the conference considerable reach with more flexibility in terms of programming.

SEC deal with ESPN begins in 2024

The SEC inked a 10-year deal with ESPN and ABC worth nearly $3 billion in late 2020, and in Summer 2021, OU and Texas announced their plans to leave the Big 12 to join the league. Now with 16 teams, its new look will debut with Florida vs. Miami on Aug. 31.

Last year, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey spoke about why the agreement is a big win for the league and said it goes beyond the $300 million per year. He mentioned the reach of the network going over-the-air, as well as the digital plans ESPN has going forward, as reasons why the deal came to fruition.

“What that does, and it’s something about which I’ve spoken but gets lost, is when we move to the ABC-ESPN group, we have access to more broadcast TV opportunities than perhaps we’ve ever had, certainly in recent decades,” Sankey said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. “In other words, 130-plus million households with access to broadcast TV, we could literally program an ABC game at noon Eastern, 3:30 Eastern and then, that primetime window on particular Saturdays. Now, ABC and ESPN have other contractual commitments. But that’s an illustration of the breadth of reach that we are about to experience.

“And we respect and appreciate our relationship with CBS, but our move to work under the Disney heading was about more than just revenue. It was about reach, so reach through broadcast TV, reach through cable and satellite, which obviously is a changing environment.”

The SEC was the first major conference to secure a lucrative media rights deal as figures began to soar and realignment winds blew. The Big Ten later agreed to a seven-year, $7 million contract with three networks – FOX, CBS and NBC – while the Big 12 extended its deal with FOX and ESPN earlier than expected.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.