F1 sees upturn in TV, social media figures in Liberty’s first year

Formula 1 has seen a rise of 6.2% in total TV audience in 2017 compared to the previous year while becoming the fastest growing sport on social media.

Having been put under new management with the takeover of Liberty Media, one of the US owner’s initial targets had been to improve the sport’s standing on social media to give it a greater global presence.

While TV audience numbers grew in almost all areas, with the standout exception of Brazil’s unique viewership shrinking by 1.8% despite its aggregate average audience increase of 13.4%, the most impressive figures came from F1’s social media channels with an increase of 54.9% across all platforms compared to 2016.

As a result, Formula 1 stands out as the fastest growing sport on social media with Formula E in second with over a 40% increase. However, while the Premier League only enjoyed a 16% increase in social media followers it still has a huge market advantage over F1. The official Premier League Twitter account currently has 16.9m followers while F1’s official Twitter account sits on 3.4m.

Under the previous stewardship of Bernie Ecclestone a minimal interest and engagement was given to social media but since Liberty’s takeover to keen emphasis has been placed on the strengths of social media and Sean Bratches, F1's managing director of commerical operations is thrilled by the results.

“We are encouraged by the growth in audience numbers across linear and digital platforms during the 2017 season,” Bratches said. “Central to our efforts last season was to improve the fan experience across our platforms and it is encouraging to see the engagement that fans around the world have with Formula 1 media.

“Our work continues as Formula 1 fans will see material changes in 2018 with respect to both incumbent experiences and the creation of new ones. It is a good time to be a Formula 1 fan.”