During his tenure at the WSL, former CEO Erik Logan made it a priority to chase the “non surf” fan, hoping to grow the WSL’s audience into the middle of America and beyond. More eyeballs equals more money equals a more robust WSL. It sounds good in theory, but in reality? Well, it’s a tough task, as Logan learned firsthand in his few short years running the show.
Remember the “Ultimate Surfer?” on ABC? Yeah, that was a one and done flop. A cheesy attempt at reality surf TV, it alienated the core surfer and confused everyone else. Then came “Make or Break” on Apple TV. From the same people that brought us the wildly successful “Drive to Survive” series about Formula 1 racing, “Make or Break” was a much better attempt at uncovering interesting storylines behind the scenes of the WSL. In fact, when it first premiered in 2022, it garnered a glowing review from Stab, and was generally accepted by the core surf audience as pretty good.
Despite that, it only lasted two seasons, with Apple TV choosing not to renew it for a third.
So, why didn’t it catch on with worldwide audiences the way “Drive to Survive” did? That’s the million dollar question. While the reasons are layered and many, surfing is a niche sport, and with only 52 full-time Championship Tour surfers, it could be that it lacks the athletes, storylines and drama of more robust sports like F1 racing, the NFL, etc. Plus, aside from watching comps in big waves and heavy tubes, it’s hard for a non-surfer to have any idea what’s actually going on.
While “Make or Break” is finished, the WSL will continue to produce its “Inside Pro Surfing” series in conjunction with ESPN+.