Liberty unwilling to abandon F1 pay TV push

With much of the decline of F1’s viewing figures being put down to the transition to pay TV channels, the sport faces a dilemma in how best to keep interest high while enjoying the lucrative financial offerings from big networks.

When asked by Motorsport.com about how to balance the money on offer from Pay TV against the smaller audiences, Bratches said: “I think it a dynamic that many sporting organisations are looking at – more so than not, organisations are finding themselves on pay [TV] because that is where the money is.

“But I think you cannot look at it with a broad stroke, you have to look at it on a territory by territory basis. There are some marketplaces where the pay to free-to-air penetration is extremely high. The economic benefits are there, and it makes it a little bit easier to make that move.

“There are also some markets where the pay television penetration is low relative to free to air, which makes those a little bit more difficult. We are working through those.”

He added: “I think there are ways to have an opportunity to create a free-to-air package that acts as a barker for the sport to create a brand awareness to a broad population

“The revenue on the pay side is difficult to ignore, but at the same time we are in a position in F1 where we are trying to build our brand and increase the number of sponsors who are investing in our brand, our belief and our vision. 

"To have a combination of both is an appropriate mix going forward. We will make that decision on a territory by territory basis.”

Asked specifically about plans for the UK market with Sky holding exclusive rights from 2019, Bratches hinted at digital platforms being used as an alternative for fans.

“There are going to be a number of consumer touchpoints going forward that we are going to be very proactive around, and one of them is going to be digital,” he said.

“We are in the process right now of re-imagining our entire portfolio of digital assets from web, Apps, to social, to OTT – and we really look at that as an opportunity to engage with fans on a very broad basis and really navigate fans around our eco system, in and outside a grand prix weekend.

“We are not looking at fan engagement from any one specific platform, we are looking at it holistically. And with the advent of digital and broadband and interconnectivity, and the adoption of digital, we think that is a big opportunity to complement and augment markets where we do tend to go a little bit more in the pay direction.”