Sunderland's shambolic 2017/18 season is the subject of a remarkable behind-the-scenes documentary on Netflix. As it turns out, the documentary has had a huge impact on the level of global interest in the club.
A year after being relegated from the Premier League, the club was also relegated from the Championship. The cameras of a locally owned production company were there to capture the chaos.
It substantially came out that the decision to allow Netflix film at the club was one not supported by the players. Then club captain John O'Shea told the BBC that it wasn't something the squad had been briefed on.
"From my point of view and I'd say 99% of the players, we didn't want it to happen."
However, the documentary has massively peaked interest in the club and opened up a wide range of new fans and markets.
Figures presented by managing director, Tony Davison, show a huge spike in interest from the USA in particular. This is unsurprising, given Netflix's predominate base is located there.
Impact of Netflix docu on @SunderlandAFC and the city huge interest .... massive pic.twitter.com/wsBMd2tWx4
— Nigel Wilson (@housingbeast) March 20, 2019
In an era where clubs are investing heavily in social media and audience engagement aspects, the documentary has given the League One side a big headstart.
There was also increases in countries such as Germany, Sweden and Denmark.
The figures go some way towards explaining why even if the players were not enthusiastic, the club allowed the documentary to happen.
On the field, Sunderland's search for promotion sees them seven points off the top in third, with a game in hand.
It looks like finally at the Stadium of Light, things are on the up.
