Formula One teams value media rights before Concorde talks

Formula One teams have appointed a company to assess the sport's media value ahead of crucial negotiations over the next Concorde Agreement.

The confidential agreement is set to expire at the end of next year, and the Financial Times reports that the teams - currently still united in their FOTA alliance - are "anxious to secure a larger share" of Formula One's income.

To that end, they have reportedly hired Evolution Media Capital, a boutique investment bank, to value F1's media rights before signing the new Concorde.

FOTA Fans

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"This sport is probably the second or third largest in the world and the teams who take all the financial risk receive a minority share of the revenues," said a source.

"There is so much value that these guys are sitting on that they are not realising."

Evolution Media Capital, reportedly to also look into the value of F1's "new media" impact, did not comment.

The company, affiliated with Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency, has reportedly advised on the recent sale of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team and other sports deals worth billions.

FOTA President Martin Whitmarsh

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The new Concorde negotiations will surely follow the high profile corruption trial of former F1 banker Gerhard Gribkowsky, which begins in Munich on Monday.

"It's going to be fascinating," said Liverpool University professor Tom Cannon, a Formula One finance expert.

"(Bernie) Ecclestone has found ways of resolving conflicts before they got to court; this time, he hasn't managed to," he told Bloomberg.