More open F1 must also trumpet its technical achievements says Carey

06/03/2019
NEWS STORY

Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show, days after revealing that the sport has lost money for the second successive year since being bought by Liberty Media, Chase Carey has said that his main targets for the coming season are to make the sport more open and accessible as well as making the world more aware of its technical achievements.

Admitting that he has two priorities this year, he said: "The first is to build not just on our technological leadership, but the incredible achievements in efficiency and sustainability for our cars and hybrid engines.

"We'll continue to invest in opportunities to further reduce carbon emissions and other initiatives to be at the forefront of road relevant technology," he continued, bad news for the teams whose revenue has fallen in the last two years while the sport's bosses continued spending.

"Second, we want to continue to emphasise that Formula 1 is a sport for everyone," he said. "That means continuing to emphasise opportunities for females on and off the track and continue to expand as a global sport in every part of the world. We want to be a sport that continues to exude mystique and glamour, yet at the same time is open inviting to all.

"We'll continue to upgrade our traditional and digital offerings in new and compelling ways, new camera angles and graphics, and much more," he said. "We'll continue to elevate the sport beyond the race calendar."

While the sport's success in terms of the hybrid formula has never been given the mainstream recognition it so fully deserved, fans are unlikely to be convinced by a regime that continually appears to put style (and money) over substance.

Furthermore, in terms of the sport's push towards streaming, as one veteran US TV executive told Autoweek, "Formula One's audience is older, it's wealthier and it is very sophisticated but while they love technology in Formula One, they don't want to watch it on their phones, or their iPads or their computers. They want to watch it on a big screen. The average age of a Formula One fan in the US is 59 years-old and that viewer is not going out and buying apps especially if he can watch it for free on ESPN."

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Published: 06/03/2019
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