Liberty Media seems to be cooling off on the prospect of continued Formula 1 growth in the United States, with the company pointing to new, potentially lucrative audiences.

At least, that’s the latest from Liberty Media’s new CEO David Chang, who pointed at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as an example of the disconnect between Liberty Media’s beliefs in its American audience, and its reality.

Liberty Media CEO targets new Formula 1 audiences

When Liberty Media — and American mass media company owned by billionaire John Carl Malone — bought the rights to Formula 1 for $8 billion in 2017, few people had any idea how drastically the sport was about to change.

Under previous owner Bernie Ecclestone, F1 retained an insular attitude, tightly protecting its image by restricting social media usage and television filming within the paddock. But with Liberty Media came a new mindset that centered around flaunting the inner workings of the sport to draw in new fans.

That mindset is epitomized by Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive, which was well poised to become a global hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Americans in particular seemed entranced by this elite, European universe, and when the world emerged from pandemic restrictions, there was enough interest to justify scheduling three US races per year on the F1 calendar.

Now, though, Liberty Media seems to recognize that the excitement is waning.

Dig deeper into Liberty Media:

👉 Who owns F1? All you need to know about Liberty Media and how F1 has changed since

👉 New president and CEO announced by F1 owner Liberty Media

New Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang — who recently attended the Miami Grand Prix after assuming the Liberty role in February of this year — recently spoke at the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media, and Communications Conference to discuss F1’s growth.

“In the US, we [F1] are not a major player, but globally, we are,” Chang explained.

“So I look at it, it’s sort of, ‘Where does the US fit into that landscape?’”

The initial question came as a result of concerns about F1’s expiring media deal in the United States. Sources have reported that Formula 1 is hoping for $180 million per year from its next US rights deal, but ESPN is prepared to let go of those rights, while other broadcasters like NBC have clearly stated they will not be making a bid.

After citing the growth of F1 in America due to DTS and the projected growth as a result of Brad Pitt’s F1 film this summer, Chang said, “What we’re looking for [is] a partner that can continue to grow the fanbase.

He did note that there’s still “headroom” for the sport to keep growing — but some concerning signs of slowdown have emerged.

One of Chang’s biggest surprises was the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

“The fall-off from the first year to the second year was a bit more dramatic than anticipated, but we see the path going forward now,” Chang said.

“We see the tickets moving better this year than we did [at this time] last year, so we’re cautiously optimistic that the game plan is playing out as we anticipated.”

The Las Vegas Grand Prix represents Formula 1’s first foray into Grand Prix event management and promotion — a task usually undertaken by the host venue or a local consortium dedicated to promoting motorsport in their region.

Despite putting on some impressive racing, the LVGP has come under fire for its uncomfortable schedule (particularly for fellow American viewers) as well as its sky-high ticket prices.

While there’s still plenty of hope that F1 will continue to grow in the United States, Chang also pointed out that the sport is trying to find inroads elsewhere.

“There’s some pretty big markets out there that we’re only really sort of scratch the surface on,” he explained.

“You look at a market like China where we’ve actually had a race, and we probably haven’t probably not invested what we should in terms of trying to build that market for ourselves.

“You’ll get a market like India, for instance, where the combination of sports, entertainment —  those are big businesses in India, it’s just not F1. So can we break through in a way?

“F1 brings a lot of what you see in a market like that, which is that juxtaposition of sports and entertainment and the Bollywood and sort of an IPL is a big sport there, clearly.

“But can you even scratch the surface of that?

“I think there are markets out there that we still haven’t fully even penetrated.”

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