Matchroom gets the Drive to Survive treatment in Netflix series
Barry Hearn, Eddie Hearn and the Matchroom sports promotions empire are to feature in a new Netflix documentary series from the makers of Drive To Survive.
The fly-on-the-wall show has a working title of Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen and is being produced by Box to Box, whose success has made them the go-to sports docs creators.
Matchroom is best known for its boxing business, which includes promoting fights for British former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua, but is also the leading promoter in darts and snooker.
“This is a game changer,” said Eddie Hearn, chairman of Matchroom Sport.
“For the first time ever, we have provided access-all-areas to a film crew to give fans an unprecedented glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes to power the Matchroom machine.
“We want to push storytelling to new heights across boxing, darts, snooker and multi-sports, so we are delighted to partner with a production powerhouse in Box to Box.
“In our continued pursuit for global domination in the sporting world, we cannot wait for an international audience to watch this exclusive series on Netflix.”
Barry Hearn started Matchroom in the 1980s focusing mainly on snooker, but more recently – and with son Eddie Hearn to the fore – it has been boxing and darts which have driven growth in the business.
Box to Box, founded by British filmmakers James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin, has become the biggest name in sports documentaries.
Its huge success with Drive To Survive, which is credited with attracting a new audience to Formula 1, has led to it making documentaries with golf’s PGA Tour, the ATP and WTA Tours in tennis, the Tour de France and Six Nations.
“At Box to Box we are privileged to have access to some of the world’s biggest sports stars, teams and organisations,” said Warren Smith, head of sport and factual at the producer.
“Now is time for the deal makers and there is none bigger than Barry and Eddie Hearn with their team at Matchroom. It’s a British success story that is going for global domination.”