The long-rumoured America\u2019s Cup TV series has some great talent behind it – but will the arcane world of the \u2018Auld Mug\u2019 ever have blockbuster appeal, asks Toby Heppell ?A long-rumoured America\u2019s Cup TV series now looks set to be going ahead with a top-level studio and producers onboard. But will a docu-series drive eyes onto an event that can struggle to increase audience beyond the world of die-hard sailing fans?
\nWhen the 37th America\u2019s Cup protocol was first revealed in November 2021, outlining the plans for the next America\u2019s Cup in 2024, it contained a stated intention to produce a documentary series to accompany the event.
\nHowever, the confirmation was far from a guarantee, loosely stating:
\n\u2018With a view to opening the doors and the continued drive to increase the global audience of the America\u2019s Cup and the sport of sailing, a condition of entry to competitors is [that] they agree to be part of a potential behind-the-scenes documentary series. The intention of this is to bring the secrecy, the drama and all the teams\u2019 personalities into the limelight.\u2019
\nWith little mention of progress on this idea since, you may have been forgiven for thinking it had been quietly dropped, but last week the organisers of the next AC officially confirmed it would be going ahead.
\nA release from the America\u2019s Cup stated that:
\n\u201cAmerica\u2019s Cup and Skydance Sports have announced an exclusive partnership to produce an all-access, behind-the-scenes documentary series.
\n\u201cChai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the Academy Award-winning directors of the 2018 documentary Free Solo, will executive produce under their Little Monster Films banner alongside their Academy Award-winning Free Solo producer Evan Hayes and his Anomaly Content & Entertainment (ACE) production company, with David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold and Jon Weinbach of Skydance.\u201d
\nThis is big news for the world of sailing with serious talent backing a series based around the sport\u2019s most recognisable brand. David Ellison and Skydance have been responsible for some of the most successful blockbusters of recent years, including the box office record-breaking Top Gun: Maverick and Mission Impossible and Jack Reacher action movies.
\nAcademy Award-Winning Directors Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. Photo: America\u2019s Cup
\nFree Solo is an Oscar-winning documentary feature film about climber Alex Honnold\u2019s bid to free scale the El Capitan rock face in Yosemite, USA. It\u2019s a fantastic example of how a niche sport can be made appealing to a wider audience through incredible cinematography and story-telling.
\nNot only are some big names involved in the project, Hayes even arrives to the project with some sailing background. \u201cI grew up sailing and have long been fascinated with the America\u2019s Cup, one of the greatest international competitions in history,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe America\u2019s Cup is spectacular in every way. The human drama is intense, the scale is epic, and these boats have never raced faster. As the America\u2019s Cup has evolved, so has the untapped potential in telling the stories behind the Cup.\u201d
\nArticle continues below\u2026<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe AC75s, the America\u2019s Cup boats currently racing in the Prada Cup and that will be used for next month\u2019s\u2026<\/p>\n
The Drive to Survive factor
\nGiven how highly dependent America\u2019s Cup teams are on their designers and engineers to create the fastest machinery within a ruleset, America\u2019s Cup sailing has often been likened to Formula 1.
\nThis link has been formalised in recent years as F1 and America\u2019s Cup teams have joined forces in their hope to gain a technical edge in the competition for the world\u2019s oldest sporting trophy, and for the 37th America\u2019s Cup the ties between AC teams and F1 teams have become particularly close \u2013 INEOS Britannia partnering with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1, and Alinghi with Red Bull Racing.
\nWith this latest announcement it seems the America\u2019s Cup is again looking to the world of F1, and will hope to emulate the \u2018Drive to Survive\u2019 effect.
\nSince its first screening in 2019, the Netflix original, Drive to Survive behind the scenes F1 docuseries has been credited in significantly boosting the number of fans tuning into Formula 1 racing, particularly in the lucrative American market.
\nIt\u2019s no secret that many sports have been looking to do similar as the series continues to go from strength to strength, increasing F1 fan engagement.
\nAnd for organisers of the America\u2019s Cup in particular the appeal is clear. Both sports share many of the same hurdles when it comes to accessibility for new fans. The technological developments can make for one-sided contests, strategy is often opaque for the casual observer, and thus understanding who is leading at any given moment is not always instantaneous.
\nDrive to Survive has managed to make otherwise stale Formula 1 seasons into must-see entertainment by moving the focus from racing and putting the spotlight on teams\u2019 internal struggles and the rivalries that develop up and down the grid.
\nIt\u2019s easy to see how this human storytelling approach could serve the America\u2019s Cup well. However, Drive to Survive, for all its success, has not been without criticism. Often the series has been accused of sensationalism \u2013 even leading to current World Champion Max Verstappen\u2019s recent refusal to participate, although Verstappen has since come to a deal to return to the series.
\nRacing in the 2021 America\u2019s Cup. Photo: America\u2019s Cup
\nThe Cup conundrum
\nThe elephant in the room when it comes to broadening the appeal of the America\u2019s Cup is the unique circumstances that surround Cup racing.
\nThe type of boat to be raced, the venue, and the timeframe for the next America\u2019s Cup are all determined by the winner of the previous regatta (provided they can reach an agreement on these with the Challenger of Record, the first challenge offered to them after they win).
\nThis all serves to increase complexity for the casual viewer. Since 2010 there have been four America\u2019s Cups in four very different boats: 90ft multihulls; 72ft foiling catamarans; 50ft foiling catamarans; 75ft foiling monohulls.
\nAdditionally there has been a 3-year, 4-year, and 5-year gap between America\u2019s Cups since 2010.
\nIn recent years there have been attempts to force a more consistent approach, but part of the America\u2019s Cup\u2019s appeal \u2013 and a significant reason for its longevity \u2013 is this unusual setup.
\nThere is currently a rule in the protocol to try to force teams to sail the next event in AC75s no matter the winner, but should the winner not want to do so the likely outcome would be another long hiatus as any dispute is settled in court.
\nFor die-hard fans this is all part and parcel of the America\u2019s Cup. But it is hard to see how this might be made part of the intrigue for any new fans who have discovered a passion for the event via a new docuseries, presumably delivered at the close of the next AC.
\nAnd even if there is no hiatus, the class of boat is retained and the event is able to go ahead in a relatively short two- or three-year timeframe, would new casual fans remain engaged over that time period?<\/p>\n
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The long-rumoured America\u2019s Cup TV series has some great talent behind it – but will the arcane world of the \u2018Auld Mug\u2019 ever have blockbuster appeal, asks Toby Heppell ?A long-rumoured America\u2019s Cup TV series now looks set to be … <\/p>\n