In the face of rising costs, Formula 1’s financial growth outpaces expenses, showcasing robust and continuous expansion under Liberty Media’s stewardship.
During the recent release of Formula 1’s latest financial results, which saw an increase in expenditures but an even greater rise in revenues, Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media and superior to Stefano Domenicali, provided an update on the American group’s commitment to F1.
A key takeaway is the growth of F1, which has surged in recent years, continues to be strong and vigorous. Does this mean no slowdown is in sight for Liberty Media?
“We are witnessing ongoing growth in the fan base. Just this week, F1 joined Threads and gained 2.8 million followers in just half a day.”
“Vegas was an incredible race. We were fortunate to see such an outcome, with a record 181 overtakes and the podium decided in the last lap. This is an excellent outcome for Formula 1. It has opened new business opportunities and generated fantastic global excitement.”
“In summary, the Vegas race exceeded our expectations in many ways, even though the first year’s costs were higher than anticipated.”
Stefano Domenicali, CEO of F1, delved more into the financial revenues of F1 as well as the overall popularity of the sport. So, the dominance of Red Bull and Max Verstappen hasn’t led to a drop in viewership?
“The 2023 season brought incredible races and record financial results. On the track, we once again commend Max Verstappen and Red Bull for their outstanding performance. The rest of the grid fought until the end.”
“The new regulations are increasingly benefiting competition across the grid, and we believe this will continue into 2024 as the benefits of cost capping and technical regulation continue to mature.”
F1’s Global Audience Surges
Regarding attendance at the tracks, as well as TV viewership, the indicators are green, according to Stefano Domenicali.
“Race attendance remained strong through to the end of the season, with attendance records set in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi.”
“As for television, the cumulative TV audience for the 2023 season, excluding digital viewership, was 1.5 billion viewers, and the average viewership per race was around 70 million viewers.”
“Our findings suggest that an additional 29% of viewers are not currently covered by traditional measures globally, representing nearly 20 million viewers on average per race weekend.”
“In the United States, the cumulative audience increased by 40%, up 4% from the previous year, setting a new record for cumulative TV viewership for the season.”
“It’s important to note that viewership among those under 35 and women has increased across all our markets.”
“For the fourth consecutive year, Formula 1 has been the fastest-growing major sports league on social media, with the highest growth rate compared to 11 other global sports, including the NBA, NFL, and the Champions League. The United States continues to be our largest audience on social platforms like YouTube and TikTok.”
Sprints significantly boost sponsor exposure
Listening to Stefano Domenicali, one also understands the appeal of F1 sprints, which greatly increase sponsor exposure…
“Our ‘sprint’ format races continued to drive increased engagement throughout the season, boosting TV viewership and attendance at race weekends.”
“For our sponsors, average exposure increased by more than 50% during sprint weekends.”
F1, Stefano Domenicali concludes, has also made progress on its priorities for sustainability and equal opportunities.
“Sustainability remains a high priority for Formula 1 within our organization, our commercial partner, and the F1 teams.”
“Progress continues towards having a 100% sustainable hybrid fuel, which will be introduced in 2026 and will be usable in road cars without modification, offering broader global benefits to the automotive industry well beyond the impact of Formula 1.”
“The nine European events of the 2023 season saw their freight carried by DHL using a new fleet of trucks running on biofuel, resulting in an 83% reduction in carbon emissions related to logistics.”
Formula 1 Financial Growth. Formula 1 Financial Growth. F1 2024 Formula 1 Financial Growth
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