‘Drive to Survive,' the most influential sports show, is back. Plus, Serena and Sabrina invest

New York Times

05-03-2025

MoneyCall Newsletter 📈 | This is The Athletic's weekly sports business newsletter. Sign up here to receive MoneyCall directly in your inbox. Read past editions here.
Welcome back to MoneyCall, The Athletic's weekly sports business cheat sheet. Name-dropped today: Charles Leclerc, Serena Williams, Sabrina Ionescu, Jimmy Johnson, Ilona Maher, Ben Stiller, Jessica Gelman, Katherine Legge and more. Let's go:
If the sports media story of the decade is the explosion of streaming, the defining example is 'Drive To Survive,' Netflix's signature sports series whose seventh season drops globally on Friday.
Perhaps a bit apocryphally (but also materially), DTS's Season 2 on Netflix drove F1 right into the U.S. sports fan consciousness, with the show's combination of eye-popping glitz, glib participants, watch-next-episode instant gratification and the alchemy of access. It helped that it released right in the middle of the pandemic, as fans had little to do but binge TV seasons.
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'It works more like a soap opera than it does a sports access show,' says Paul Martin, co-founder of production company Box To Box Films, which makes the show.
With exclusive access, The Athletic's Madeline Coleman observed Box To Box last fall at the Las Vegas Grand Prix to see how the show was produced, and the result is the most definitive story ever written about 'Drive To Survive.'
In the spirit of DTS showcasing F1 personalities like Red Bull principal Christian Horner, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and breakout star Guenther Steiner, I asked Coleman for her candid commentary:
Why does DTS resonate with fans?
Madeline: Martin, the executive producer, told me how the show has 'a stickiness' to it, and I agree. Co-EP Tom Hutchings said: 'It just gets under the skin of the characters that run the world of F1.'
Do drivers enjoy the production process?
It does seem that more have bought into the idea at times, though it is a case-by-case basis. Max Verstappen opted out of filming for a previous season.
Most interesting detail you learned?
How the cameraperson operates inside the garage. A producer took me inside Ferrari's garage and talked through the different spots he records from. When the cars are inside and team members are working, it becomes quite packed.
Season 7's best storyline?
Leclerc's Monaco GP win. It was raw and emotional, and I appreciate how his backstory was woven into the episode.
The series spawned its own subgenre: 'Drive to Survive for …' — a way to describe any TV show that could convert casual viewers into fans by way of behind-the-scenes access. Coleman's incredible story explains how the original does it. (Look for Coleman and Luke Smith's in-depth analysis of Season 7 coming later this week at The Athletic.)
Bonus quiz!
Test yourself by matching the sport to its DTS-esque series title. (Answers at the end of the newsletter!)
Big talkers from the sports business industry:
Related: The WNBA's embattled Connecticut Sun are positioning themselves to sell a minority stake, as WNBA team valuations continue to soar. Ben Pickman examined what's next for the franchise (and it's not clear!).
I totally tuned in live for the game ending, when the anthropomorphic mascot threw itself into the giant toaster and the players ate it. Does that sound like gibberish? Does that simply trigger a craving for a breakfast-ish snack? For all those reasons, Stewart Mandel's deep dive into the PTB is such a must-read.
💬 'My Fox replacement for Jimmy Johnson is … no replacement. At least, not yet. If Bill Belichick had stayed off the sidelines, then he would have been the choice. If Sean McVay or Mike Tomlin stop coaching, they would be high on Fox's list. But with no coach-turned-analyst of that caliber, I think Fox will just increase Rob Gronkowski's time on the big show and possibly add a Mike McCarthy type on its early show who could maybe sprinkle in on the noon broadcast.'
Other current obsessions: Ilona Maher's ability to carry an entire sport … Next iteration of NIL: taking less money to play for Deion … Legendary rap impresario (and erstwhile would-be pro hooper) Master P as a college basketball GM at University of New Orleans … Josh Allen, TV producer … Ben Stiller posting about the Knicks smack-dab during the Oscars …
Let's find out. This Friday and Saturday in Boston is one of my favorite sports-business events of the year: the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, now in its 19th year.
Check out this preview I wrote about the 2025 event (favorite panel title: 'Have the Nerds Ruined Basketball?')
I also got in touch with SSAC co-founder Jessica Gelman (a classmate of mine at Harvard Business School) to ask her a few questions:
If the collective brainpower of every SSAC 25 attendee could be harnessed to solve one consistently vexing sports business question, what would you pick?
Gelman: College sports is at a crossroads, and the potential impact on Olympic and women's sports is an area we should all be focused on. The impact of college sports participation on future business executives is well-documented: 95 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs were collegiate athletes, and 94 percent of C-suite women were collegiate athletes, so ideating on this is a collective imperative.
(Gelman would know: She was a hooper at Harvard in the mid-'90s and regularly schooled me in the HBS gym, and now she is CEO of Kraft Analytics Group. Read the full interview here.)
Time for a lightning round.
The Big Number: 94,751
That was the attendance for the NHL Stadium Series game between the Blue Jackets and Red Wings at Ohio Stadium in Columbus last Saturday. It was the second-highest outdoor attendance of an NHL game ever. The league's marketing momentum continues.
Related: An amazing conversation between my colleague Richard Deitsch and the two national play-by-play broadcasters on either side of the epic U.S.-Canada 4 Nations championship game. Incredible insights about an incredible game.
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Name to Know: Katherine Legge
Legge will become the first woman to drive in a NASCAR Cup Series race in seven years. (Previously, in MoneyCall, reporter Jeff Gluck told you how one of NASCAR's biggest challenges is a limited pipeline of female drivers.)
Date to Know: May 23
That will be the final episode of ESPN talking-head debate show 'Around the Horn,' which has been on the air weekdays since 2002 and an incubator for legions of on-air talent (plus one MoneyCall newsletter writer). Much more on this in May.
Ratings Point: 1.42M
That's the debut for IndyCar on Fox, up nearly half a million from last year's season opener on NBC. (And slightly above what F1 draws on ESPN …)
Kit Release: NWSL
The 2025 NWSL season kicks off March 14, but — as it is across the soccer/football/fútbol global landscape — the new kit reveal is always a huge deal, especially when it comes to driving new revenue for the league and clubs. Check out our team's kit reviews. (I'm a Spirit homer and like what they did with the neon alternates, but Bay FC really stood out to me as sharp.)
10-word TV Review: SC+ on Disney+
Appreciate the attempt. Fifteen-minute format is too long by half.
Beat Dan in Connections: Sports Edition
Puzzle #163
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'Pbew!' PHEW? You're better than that, Dan! A second straight week for you to out-play me, everyone. Try the game here!
Answers to the DTS quiz
Tennis: 'Break Point.' Golf: 'Full Swing.' NASCAR: 'Full Speed.' Rugby: 'Full Contact.' Surfing: 'Make or Break.' Tour de France: 'Unchained.' MotoGP: 'Unlimited.' MLS: 'Onside.' NWSL: 'For the Win.'
Great business-adjacent reads for your downtime or commute:
Speaking of my alma mater, it had a solid cameo in this fantastic piece by my colleague Rustin Dodd on how teams create culture, through the lens of the recent Luka Dončić and Jimmy Butler storylines.
Two more:
📫 Back next Wednesday! New challenge for all MoneyCall readers: Forward today's email to one friend or colleague with your recommendation they subscribe. And always check out The Athletic's other newsletters, too.