Lucrative Pay TV deals mean that teams are still benefitting financially despite the loss of up to 25 million F1 viewers in 2014.
According to F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, the sport lost 25 million viewers last year however, he is largely unconcerned because this "reflects the move FOM has made towards Pay TV in several markets over the last three seasons," according to Forbes.
Over the last three years TV audiences have dropped as the sport has moved increasingly towards Pay TV broadcasters as opposed to free-to-air. However, because the Pay TV broadcasters are willing to pay more for the privilege of hosting the sport, which increases subscriber numbers, this has in turn increased the sport's prize money fund of which the team's share a 63% slice. Considering the fact that this came to $797.5m in 2014, we are not talking peanuts.
Since 2012, race fans in Britain who want to watch all the races live have had to subscribe to Sky Sports, the {i]BBC only showing half the races live. This deal alone is understood to have boosted FOM's rights fees by 110% to an estimated $105m, thereby encouraging the broadcaster to dedicate an entire channel to the sport - even if the majority of content is endlessly repeated (like much of Sky's content).
The success of the shared broadcast module in Britain sparked similar deals in Germany and Italy, while Spain followed suit last year. Each country saw viewer numbers fall last season, a massive 22.4 million viewers (12.4%) in Germany alone. This is backed up by the swathes of empty seats (pictured) at circuits such as Hockenheim- where attendance was down by 52% in 2014 - even though a German team was leading the championship and a German driver in serious contention for the drivers' title. That said, some blame 'F1 fatigue', on Sebastian Vettel's domination in recent years, particularly the latter half of 2013.
On the other hand, the TV audience in Russia increased by 24.5% to 15.4 million last year, no doubt driven by the country hosting its first Grand Prix and the success of Daniil Kvyat, who this year moves up to Red Bull.
Nonetheless, despite losing 5.6% of its viewers last year, dropping to 425 million, F1 remains the world’s most-watched annual sports series.
"Formula One remained one of the most watched sports in the world throughout 2014," says Ecclestone, according to Forbes. "Coverage of the championship in the major markets is virtually unparalleled; the depth of programming offered by Sky and Movistar (Spain), for example, has undoubtedly pushed standards forwards and set new benchmarks. Dedicated subscription channels, greater online availability and extended rights to accommodate out-of-home viewing mean that for many people, Formula 1 is available whenever and wherever they are."
The rider to that, of course, being that; F1 is available whenever and wherever you are... providing you can afford it. However, in these times of austerity, for some, indeed, for many, Pay TV is a luxury and, in times of such financial difficulty, the first thing one opts to do without when having to tighten one's belt.
Therefore while some will continue to fork out for their live fix of F1, those without the money, and those for whom F1 is not their number one sport, will seek alternatives. And while the teams might enjoy their 63% slice of the cake for now, the drop in viewer numbers will eventually impact the interest from sponsors, existing and potential.
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