Formula One is firmly on the road to recovery and future growth, having learned from the mistakes of previous owners and management. Liberty Media has made a strong effort in increasing the sport’s popularity and, although there is still much to improve, their hard work has paid off.
The sport’s cumulative TV audience in the 2017 season was roughly 1.4 billion, which was a good increase compared to 2016. Italy saw the biggest growth in TV viewers, increasing by nearly 20%. Viewership for the races remained pretty much the same, while practice and qualifying viewership increased. More than 350 million people watched at least one Formula One event, which is the first increase in fans since 2010.
But the most impressive improvements were made in the social media market, with the number of social media followers increasing by nearly 55%, making Formula One the fastest growing sport brand on social media in 2017, well ahead of Formula E.
Further data shows that the Chinese Grand Prix was the top performing Grand Prix event in terms of unique users, while Singapore and the United States Grand Prix rounded up the podium.
“We are encouraged by the growth in audience numbers across linear and digital platforms during the 2017 season,” said Sean Bratches, the Managing Director of Commercial Operations in Formula One. “Central to our efforts last season was to improve the fan experience across our platforms and it is encouraging to see the engagement that fans around the world have with Formula 1 media. Our work continues as Formula 1 fans will see material changes in 2018 with respect to both incumbent experiences and the creation of new ones. It is a good time to be a Formula 1 fan.”
Further growth is expected in the seasons to come, with plans for a digital streaming service having already been announced for as early as 2018 and many other plans to increase fan engagement, mainly through the digital market, in the books also.
