Motorsport
Features
Formula One rights fee rebounds in Austria in Servus deal
Formula One’s media rights value in Austria has rebounded in the latest deal – with commercial broadcaster ServusTV for the 2021-23 cycle – following sharp declines in the previous two rights cycles.
‘Digital has become the free-to-air platform’ – F1’s Frank Arthofer
Liberty Media’s major investment into Formula One’s digital media operations has demonstrated its value during sport’s global lockdown, believes Frank Arthofer, the series’ global head of digital media and licensing.
Extreme E earns robust fee in Dutch deal with RTL
Extreme E, the electric SUV off-road racing series, has secured a strong media-rights fee in addition to substantial free-to-air exposure in its deal with commercial broadcaster RTL in the Netherlands.
IndyCar takes slight Brazil rights-fee hit in one-year Bandeirantes renewal
Brazilian broadcaster Bandeirantes has agreed a one-year extension to its IndyCar rights, paying a lower per-year and per-race fee for the Covid-truncated 2020 season.
Sky Italia pays small increase to renew exclusive F1 rights for two more seasons
Italian pay-television operator Sky Italia has extended its deal for exclusive rights to the FIA Formula One World Championship. The deal was agreed with Formula One Management, the Formula One Group subsidiary that handles the commercial rights to the series.
BeIN tests Mena appetite for IndyCar with one-year deal
BeIN Sports’ acquisition of IndyCar rights across the Middle East and North Africa is for just one year, a move designed to see if the property’s fanbase in the region remains after a year without a broadcast deal.
Extreme E negotiates one-year break clause in BBC rights deal
Extreme E, the electric SUV off-road racing series, has secured a one-year break clause in a two-year media-rights deal in the UK with public broadcaster the BBC, SportBusiness Media understands.
Eurosport Events swoops to end IMG’s long-standing FIM speedway relationship
The investment of Eurosport Events in global rights to the Speedway World Championships and Speedway of Nations series makes sense for the company on several fronts, independent experts say.
Dorna prioritises exposure over rights fee in NBC deal
Dorna Sports, the commercial rights-holder of MotoGP, has prioritised exposure over the rights fee in its deal with US network NBC for the 2020-22 cycle, SportBusiness Media understands.
Formula One closes North American rights cycle with Canadian fee rise
Formula One Management, the commercial rights-holder of Formula One, has rounded out a successful North American rights cycle by increasing its fees in Canada by roughly a fifth, while also earning a healthy rights fee in the US.
Formula One latest beneficiary of Nent’s aggressive strategy in Nordics
Formula One is the latest rights-holder to benefit from Nordic Entertainment (Nent) Group's acquisitions strategy, as a new deal boosts the value of its rights across the Nordics almost 50 per cent.
Formula E per-race fee in sub-Saharan Africa grows by a fifth in one-season StarTimes deal
Pay-television broadcaster StarTimes’s one-season deal for Formula E motor racing rights in sub-Saharan Africa has seen the per-race fee grow almost 20 per cent.
Canal, FOM activate option to extend F1 deal in France
French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus and Formula One Management activated an option to extend their F1 rights agreement by two years, to the end of 2022, SportBusiness Media understands.
Sky, Channel 4 keep terms steady for three-year F1 sublicence renewal in UK
UK commercial broadcaster Channel 4’s recent Formula One sublicensing renewal with pay-television broadcaster Sky extends their relationship for another three years, until the end of 2022, with the deal value unchanged, SportBusiness Media understands.
Women’s motorsport series goes for ‘reach over reward’ in inaugural season
W Series, the all-female motorsport competition, is prioritising exposure over revenue in its media-rights strategy for the series’ inaugural year, it has told SportBusiness Media, although it would be difficult for the series to adopt any other approach, according to industry experts.
Speedway GP maintains UK income despite lack of competition in BT renewal
The value of FIM Speedway World Championship rights in the UK held up in a new three-year deal, from 2019 to 2021, despite incumbent rights-holder BT Sport facing no serious competition.
DAZN attempts to bolster summer portfolio with motorsports deals
OTT streaming service DAZN’s acquisition of rights to World Rally Championship, MotoGP and IndyCar in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is part of its plan to avoid customer churn and bolster content in the summer months when its football coverage breaks.
Greece’s ERT to refinance F1 rights in ‘cash plus content’ deal with Cosmote
Greek public-service broadcaster ERT will recoup almost a quarter of its investment on the first two years of its deal for Formula One motor racing championship rights in a ‘cash plus content’ sublicensing agreement with pay-television broadcaster Cosmote.
Sky Deutschland listens to the demand of subscribers: bring back Formula One
Pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland has brought back the Formula One motor racing championship to its platform in Germany, Austria and Switzerland after a one-year absence that caused a customer…
More live coverage than ever in new Greek F1 deal
Formula One rights in Greece will remain with incumbent rights-holders ERT and Cosmote in the next cycle, after a brief period of negotiation with local rights-broker, the Asset Ogilvy advertising agency
WRC turns down highest offers to maximise exposure, retain content in Finland
The World Rally Championship turned down bigger offers for its rights in Finland in order to agree a deal with public-service broadcaster YLE that will allow it to hold on to content for its OTT platform,…
Manel Arroyo, managing director, Dorna Sports; Pilar Gancedo, director of media sales, Dorna Sports
Interview with Manel Arroyo, managing director at Dorna Sports, and Pilar Gancedo, director of media sales at Dorna Sports, about MotoGP's new deal with DAZN in Spain
Complex Ziggo deal helps Formula One secure huge percentage increase in the Netherlands
Formula One last week finalised a complex deal with Dutch telco Ziggo that could increase the value of the motor racing series by over 230 per cent from 2019
Eurosport’s hold on MotoGP rights across Europe weakens
Sports broadcaster Eurosport has had its grip on MotoGP rights across Europe weakened in recent times, despite its renewal of rights in the Netherlands.