Greg Maffei, the president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Liberty Media, has recently provided reassurance that the owners of Formula 1 have no intention of selling the sport. Addressing the speculation that arose a few months ago regarding Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund potentially acquiring a stake in the most important motorsport series, Greg Maffei stated that Liberty Media, as the commercial rights holder, is not seeking to sell Formula 1.
“Anyone says that our friends the Saudis are going to buy it next week or something like that, if anybody knows us, they should know that’s just not in our cards,” – Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei told the Moffett Nathanson Media and Communications Summit.
At the same time, the 62-years-old American businessman confirmed that Liberty Media is still confident it can further increase the income it generates from the series, which mean there would be no reason to sell Formula 1 at this stage:
“We are very enthused about where Formula 1 is now but [also] where it’s going as well. You look at the big revenue streams there, all have good direction. In broadcasting we have increased fans and we have increased distributors who want to push the product, including new digital distributors and the like. We have promoters who are our partners.” – he pointed out.
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“The gate was probably [25%] up in Miami. That’s not unique. They’re selling out everywhere, particularly the high-end experiences, the Paddock Clubs, all at better prices. So we are able to get upticks in what we get paid. We have been able to add a few races and there’s maybe a little more room left there. And then sponsorship has grown dramatically. We’ve opened up the number of global sponsors. I think we’ve gone from five to 12 of our biggest sponsor types. We are continuing to see traction there and I think we’re well set up. We have a new opportunity with what we’re doing in Las Vegas where we will be the promoter and we have a opportunity to learn about something and hopefully set the bar.” – the president and chief executive officer of Liberty Media concluded.
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