Liberty Media expects limited attendence after corona crisis
F1 News
- GPblog.com
If everything goes according to plan, the Formula 1 season will start again in July. Initially of course without an audience, but even if that's allowed again, Liberty Media expects to notice the consequences of the corona crisis in the stands for a long time to come.
At least that's what CEO Greg Maffei takes into account. In a conference call with the shareholders, he explains that the long-term consequences are a very large 'unknown factor' at the moment.
Although he assumes that the world and sport will adapt to the new situation and therefore one can operate in the post-corona era, he has his doubts whether this can happen on the same scale as before.
TV rights and digital distribution more important than spectators
"We hope for the best when it comes to medicines and vaccines, but we don't count on that," says Maffei, and even if they do come, Grands Prix probably won't be at its old level. "Will the events be as large-scale or profitable as in the past? That remains to be seen. So we look at it step by step and take a cautious attitude."
So Liberty Media is covering for the shareholders for limited income from live events in the coming years. At the same time, they think they can compensate for this with the television ratings and digital distribution of races. For Liberty that has always been a more important source of income.