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Thread: Liberty Media

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    Liberty Media

    How much of an effect do people think Liberty Media will (or may if I am wrong) have on F1? Will they be able to overturn this Sky exclusivity deal?

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    Quote Originally Posted by tommy2k8 View Post
    How much of an effect do people think Liberty Media will (or may if I am wrong) have on F1? Will they be able to overturn this Sky exclusivity deal?
    They won't turn over the exclusivity deal that Sky have at the moment and it's unlikely that F1 will be back on free to air in the future. I think their impact will be good. I wouldn't be surprised of we see a modified championship format where they introduce an equivalent of the Super Bowl to F1. And, to be frank, I think F1 needs new owners like them to spice it up. Come 2020 I think there'll be some big changes in the sport once the Memoranda of Understanding runs out which is badly needed.

    Hopefully Bernie Ecclestone will be gone from the sport. While he has done an amazing job in ways, he has been a complete disaster in other ways but I do think F1 needs fresh blood at the helm, it has been the same for far too long now.

    I'm excited about the new owners, I think or at least hope that they will do an amazing job with F1.

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    I'm cautiously optimistic. My hope is that the new owners will focus on growing the global presence of the sport and will make it more fan/customer friendly. But I'd prefer that they not tinker with the things that are not broken. And if they begin transitioning someone like Zak Brown into a deal making and leadership role, all the better. I've yet to hear a name come up that compares to him (not Horner, not Wolff and most certainly not Monisha Kaltenborn).

    But the biggest question on my mind has been whether (or when) F1 will get moved to one of Liberty/Discovery's channels here in the U.S. If that allows me to finally move to a skinny bundle, an a la carte option or cut the cord altogether, then I'd be largely OK with that. Other than F1, I just don't watch that much television anymore. Access to (and the cost to access) the F1 broadcasts is almost as important to me as the quality of the broadcasts.

    I don't think that the money men from CVC have done anything positive for F1 (the sport, not the business), so I can only hope that Malone, having something of a fan's eye, will. I hope...
    "Every generation's memory is exactly as long as its own experience." --John Kenneth Galbraith

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior View Post
    But the biggest question on my mind has been whether (or when) F1 will get moved to one of Liberty/Discovery's channels here in the U.S. If that allows me to finally move to a skinny bundle, an a la carte option or cut the cord altogether, then I'd be largely OK with that. Other than F1, I just don't watch that much television anymore. Access to (and the cost to access) the F1 broadcasts is almost as important to me as the quality of the broadcasts.
    What's the relationship between Liberty Media and Discovery Communications? I checked Wikipedia but it wasn't much help.

    I wouldn't mind seeing F1 on Eurosport, but they'd need another channel as they already have too much content. It sucks when they push British Superbikes coverage onto crappy standard-def Quest.

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    Senior Member Jag_Warrior's Avatar
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    Liberty Media and Liberty Global are controlled by John Malone - he's the Chairman of the Board of both companies. I believe there's a third Liberty asset that's in a tracking stock now, that holds some sports assets. But I'm not entirely up on that corporate structure. Discovery Communications is now the publicly owned company that Liberty used to own 50% of. Malone is still on the Board of Directors there too. Liberty and Discovery have done a number of joint ventures over the years since Discovery was spun off.

    As an American, although I'm not dissatisfied with NBCSports coverage of F1, it's funny to see the most technologically driven motorsport (F1) being topped by the least technologically driven when it comes to ontrack coverage: NASCAR. IMO, the current F1 offering (from the world feed) isn't that much ahead of where CART was in the 90's.
    "Every generation's memory is exactly as long as its own experience." --John Kenneth Galbraith

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    Quote Originally Posted by tommy2k8 View Post
    How much of an effect do people think Liberty Media will (or may if I am wrong) have on F1? Will they be able to overturn this Sky exclusivity deal?
    From where l am standing, Liberty Media looks very much in the mold of Sky. Profit may be the driving force in the future dynamics of the formula. I would be quite surprised to see any improvement on free to air television offering. But l expect that there would be refreshing changes to personnel and aspects of the sport to make it more globally appealing.

    The future of the formula depends largely on how the relationship of the new owners and the FIA shapes out. Inevitably, the new owners would want to tinker with various aspect of the sport. Hence, the relationships between the new owners and the teams is also significant. It would come down to who they choose to replace Bernie and how well that person commands the respect of the sport. If that individual have some historical experience of F1, then the chance of these relationships working out would be much greater. If it is some individual without some direct experience of f1, then l can see difficulties ahead.

    As with anything, change can be a very difficult thing for most.

  7. Likes: Jag_Warrior (10th September 2016)
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nitrodaze View Post
    From where l am standing, Liberty Media looks very much in the mold of Sky. Profit may be the driving force in the future dynamics of the formula. I would be quite surprised to see any improvement on free to air television offering. But l expect that there would be refreshing changes to personnel and aspects of the sport to make it more globally appealing.

    The future of the formula depends largely on how the relationship of the new owners and the FIA shapes out. Inevitably, the new owners would want to tinker with various aspect of the sport. Hence, the relationships between the new owners and the teams is also significant. It would come down to who they choose to replace Bernie and how well that person commands the respect of the sport. If that individual have some historical experience of F1, then the chance of these relationships working out would be much greater. If it is some individual without some direct experience of f1, then l can see difficulties ahead.

    As with anything, change can be a very difficult thing for most.
    As it stands Bernie has been asked to stay on for another 3 years once the new owners take over. I can see that being his last three years in F1 though as the new owners get to grip with F1 and its politics. These are smart guys that are buying F1 and I think they already have plans in place but need to complete these plans without destroying the DNA of F1. I'm sure they recognize the complicated politics and thus the reason Bernie is staying at the helm. After the three years is up, however, I do expect to see someone new at the helm. Whether it is someone already involved in the sport or someone external that will learn from Bernie over the coming years remains to be seen.

    Having someone external would be hugely beneficial in ways. They wouldn't carry any baggage toward any teams and be completely neutral. This could carry a lot of weight in itself. Putting someone like Christian Horner in Bernie's place, with his history in F1, might not be a great idea from that perspective.

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Black Knight View Post
    Having someone external would be hugely beneficial in ways. They wouldn't carry any baggage toward any teams and be completely neutral. This could carry a lot of weight in itself. Putting someone like Christian Horner in Bernie's place, with his history in F1, might not be a great idea from that perspective.
    The mentoring idea of having new blood into Bernies position looks credible on face value. Three years may be enough to break that individual into the F1 culture that dates back over eighty years. I suspect the teams and the FIA would do their best to welcome this new input to the sport. However, the current challenges are not going to evaporate with the change of ownership. The test is how they approach it and what sort of reactions they conjure up. There are clearly going to be very interesting and entertaining politics ahead. I am curious how it would shape out. But the signs suggest that it would be promising.

    I think that there are very credible candidates within the F1 world that could do the job and assure the protection of the F1 DNA as you put it. For instance, Speedbowl racing is not F1. Admittedly, it use to be. There are still remnants of oval tracks at Monza for instance. Also, l concede that current F1 tracks only offer a partial view of the race to attending spectators. The real problem is the performance gap between the teams. Reducing the chances that one team can run away with the championship without proper challenges from other teams is what needs to be addressed. F1 is not only a war of speed but also a war of technological ingenuity.

    Candidates that come to mind include Ross Brawn, Gerhard Berger, Alain Prost to name a few. These chaps are astute leaders and would make great promoters of the sport.

    Bernies longevity in his position stems from not only his ingenuity as a deal maker but also his deep connection with the formula. He was a team principle if you need reminding. I think realistic success would be assure with having someone with that level of connection to the sport to steer its future.
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 8th September 2016 at 12:47.

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    Cool Confiscation of the Holy Grail. Yes!!

    Who's says Americans are not much involved in F1?!

    Okay bad joke, sorry.....


    Quote Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior View Post
    As an American, although I'm not dissatisfied with NBCSports coverage of F1, it's funny to see the most technologically driven motorsport (F1) being topped by the least technologically driven when it comes to ontrack coverage: NASCAR. IMO, the current F1 offering (from the world feed) isn't that much ahead of where CART was in the 90's.


    I don't watch much of the tube anymore either, except during NFL season. I cut the cord about 4 years ago, and last year, oddly enough discovered that UniMás (Spanish language channel owned by Univision Communications) is the best I've ever seen - only because the broadcast of the races are virtually commercial-free. Only about three or four breaks during the entire race. I need to brush up more on my Spanish though.

    Anyways, I hope this is a good deal for the sport. It will be interesting to see how long Bernie lasts before he's sacked.
    FIDO - Forget It, Drive On

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nitrodaze View Post
    The mentoring idea of having new blood into Bernies position looks credible on face value. Three years may be enough to break that individual into the F1 culture that dates back over eighty years. I suspect the teams and the FIA would do their best to welcome this new input to the sport. However, the current challenges are not going to evaporate with the change of ownership. The test is how they approach it and what sort of reactions they conjure up. There are clearly going to be very interesting and entertaining politics ahead. I am curious how it would shape out. But the signs suggest that it would be promising.

    I think that there are very credible candidates within the F1 world that could do the job and assure the protection of the F1 DNA as you put it. For instance, Speedbowl racing is not F1. Admittedly, it use to be. There are still remnants of oval tracks at Monza for instance. Also, l concede that current F1 tracks only offer a partial view of the race to attending spectators. The real problem is the performance gap between the teams. Reducing the chances that one team can run away with the championship without proper challenges from other teams is what needs to be addressed. F1 is not only a war of speed but also a war of technological ingenuity.

    Candidates that come to mind include Ross Brawn, Gerhard Berger, Alain Prost to name a few. These chaps are astute leaders and would make great promoters of the sport.

    Bernies longevity in his position stems from not only his ingenuity as a deal maker but also his deep connection with the formula. He was a team principle if you need reminding. I think realistic success would be assure with having someone with that level of connection to the sport to steer its future.
    I am aware of Bernie's history in the sport. I actually think F1 needs a leader from outside its inner circles. I think it has come to a point now where the teams need to be told with a firm hand, this is the way it's going to be, take it or leave it. The big guns have too much invested in the sport to simply walk away right now, although it is possible they might do it, so it has to be treated in a firm but fair (or appearing fair) way.

    Among the things that needs to change is spectators access to drivers at race weekends. The only driver that really makes an effort at race weekends to mingle with fans is Lewis Hamilton and he doesn't interact with the fans every race weekend. All drivers needs to have fan time and the fans need that as, right now, they come, they go and that's it. That needs to change and the pitwall has to become less isolated. I'm one of the lucky ones that can get a pit pass to events when I go to a F1 race. This isn't the same for everyone. Most people don't ever get the chance.

    So there are huge amounts that can and need changing, and I do think Liberty Media are the right boys for this kind of transition. If don't correctly, they could make F1 a global phenomenon. And, you know what, I don't think they'll have too much resistance from the teams. More exposure and media coverage make for more money. No team will say no to money and it could very well benefit the likes of Sauber and Manor greatly, which would be fantastic, in my opinion. It just has to be done right.

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