Liberty in "good conversations" over F1's next US TV deal

The big streaming players are showing a keen interest in an F1 deal

Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang says that the organisation is in “good conversations” with potential partners over F1’s next media rights contract in the USA.

ESPN’s current deal runs out at the end of this year, and the major streaming services are already engaged in what could turn out to be a bidding war. It’s accepted that the final figures will far exceed what ESPN is currently paying.

F1 has relationships with Netflix, Paramount, Amazon and Apple, and others are also in the mix, including NBC.

There is a possibility that more than one player could become involved, which is a common practice in other sports.

In addition any deals would have to sit alongside the in-house F1 TV product.

“We are having good conversations with potential partners on the US media rights deal,” said Chang in a call with Wall Street analysts. “I think what's been sort of interesting here is the sport itself continues to grow, in particular in the US.

“Viewership across the weekend is up sort of 45% year over year. I think F1 TVs growth is up 20% here in the US. I think the overall health of the business continues to resonate.

“And what that means is I think – and not even this year and this renewal negotiation – what that means for the long term is pretty significant.

“I still think we're in the early stages of growth for F1 in the US, and having the take up of F1 TV being what it is in the US at this early stage, it speaks volumes about the passion for the sport, and I think puts us in a great position well into the future.”

Chang confirmed that how F1 TV fits alongside other players is a key element.

“When you zoom back in and think about how you balance F1 TV and a broader media rights deal, we will see how things play out,” he said.

“We will see what partners want in their deals, and we will see what makes the most sense for F1 in terms of balancing things like reach, but also having products like this for ourselves so that we can actually understand our customers as well as we can, because it goes beyond sort of what we're delivering to them on the content side, but what also we can deliver the most engaged fans across the board in terms of engaging with F1.

“So I think that the answer here, from my standpoint, is we actually see a ton of different ways this can go play out. But underneath it all, underlying it all, is extremely strong demand for F1 and the engagement from the fans here in the US. Which is great to see.”

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali agreed that there were several potential TV partners.

“First of all, it's always interesting to see the speculation going around with regard to moments where there were optimistic, negative comments and so on,” said the Italian.

“But apart from that, I would say we come back from this weekend in Miami really with a fact that we are engaging with multiple partners, and there is a lot of potential interest from many of them, which we need to hammer down, because we have the time to do it with the proper proposal.

“The F1 TV product is growing, and it's very, very positive. The feedback, mainly in the US, is very, very strong, and therefore we need to make sure that this is asset is right and very valuable.

“Therefore we are open to any kind of possible discussion, depending what will be the end and what we believe is the right way to make sure that we keep the penetration of the market as nice as possible, and making sure that we can monetise out of it.

“But the dynamics are very positive. So we keep working on with them. And I think that the next month would be crucial to see really where we going to be. But we come back from Miami, as I said with very good, positive vibes.

“Because I think the US audience figure in Miami that were very, very strong, shows the potential that we have. And I'm sure that the media partners understand that it's a possible asset also for them to develop another sport business together.”

Domenicali stressed the importance of social media: “I think that is definitely very important to recognise one thing and that is clear in our situation where we saw the growth in all our social platforms.

“We saw definitely the interest of the young generation to access to our content through YouTube, or other form of engagement.

“But this is relevant, and we need to make sure that this is becoming part of the global strategy on media rights, not only US, but all around the world.

“But it's definitely important to make clear the fact that our fans that are getting more engaged with us will have the chance to connect with the right product is really the key for our strategy and our decisions.”