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Liberty Media criticised by 16 F1 race promoters

Published on 29 Jan 2019 09:35
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By: Fergal Walsh

Formula 1's commercial rights holder Liberty Media has come under fire from 16 of last year's races. The Formula One Promoters Association (FOPA) held a meeting in London on Monday, in which it brought up its concerns with the current owners.

According to our sources, the promoters that attended the meeting were Australia, Austria (represented by Hungary), Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China (not present at Monday's meeting), France, Germany, Hungary, Italy (Monza), Mexico, Singapore, Spain, USA and the UK.

Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Russia, Monaco and Japan were not present at the meeting.

Following the gathering, a statement was issued in which it outlined its main worries for the future of the sport. This included the move away from free-to-air broadcasting, with the UK receiving just one race live (the British Grand Prix) in 2019.

The UK has become the latest country to lose free-to-air rights to broadcast F1 races: “It is not in the long term interest of the sport that fans lose free access to content and broadcasting,” FOPA said in its statement.

The statement also indicated that promoters are unhappy with Liberty's development rate, while new initiatives need more openness with the promoters: “There is a lack of clarity on new initiatives in F1 and a lack of engagement with promoters on their implementation."

Following the addition of Vietnam to the calendar for 2020 and an almost deal for Miami in 2019, promoters warned against introducing new races at the cost of making way for events already on the schedule.

"New races should not be introduced to the detriment of existing events although the association is encouraged by the alternative business models being offered to prospective events,” FOPA said.

“As we enter a new season of the sport that we have promoted for many decades, the promoters seek a more collaborative approach to the development of the championship and the opportunity to offer their experience and expertise in a spirit of partnership with Formula 1 and the FIA,” the statement closed.

FOPA is headed by Stuart Pringle, who also acts as the managing director of Silverstone. However, the British track is one of five circuits that doesn't have a contract beyond the 2019 season, having activated a break clause ahead of the 2017 event.

F1 News Bob Said

Replies (9)

ajpennypacker

Posts: 2,475
They never did this with Bernie, but they choose to do it with Liberty. I don't understand these people. They like to br abused, and pushed. Where were these morons when Bernie proposed bullshit races in countries where people don't go to races, or when he increased fees. Indiscriminately, or when he proposed stupid ideas like medals? Nah, I don't empathize
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- Jan 29 2019 - 15:12
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Well of course, thats because they are corporate people, innit? Now that the dic(*)tator is gone, they see a golden opportunity to get to be that court jester whispering honeyed words into the ears of their potential puppet, Lord Liberty. But there is one good point, but we cant blame Liberty for it really: the reduction of free access. Thats lethal to a sport like this, and only benefit shortterm incomes. Naturally Bernie didnt care about that, thats why he sold out to those shitty little vampires Viasat, innit? Will Liberty agree with the Dic(*)tator, pray tell?
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  Jan 29 2019 - 20:23
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  I love that you brought up Viasat, the hated is real Calle haha. But this is part of the legacy from Bernie, who gave exclusive access to Sky. Now at least, with F1 TV I am satisfied that F1 can be watched at an affordable price, independent of Cable/Satellite TV companies. I agree that free access should be part of the package though. Maybe for some of the big races, or local races.
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  Jan 30 2019 - 00:33
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Thing is, I too would love to have F1TV, because its a solid premium product, a proper service, and I'd gladly buy it. But Viasat have monopoly over F1 here in Sweden, meaning I cant even get it here, even with a vpn. And Viasat locked F1 behind their priciest package. I dont need Viasat Golf, what on earth am I to do with that? Suicide by boredom once the voices takes over again? So yes, not really fond of that rotten mediocrityburger garnished with worms.
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  Jan 30 2019 - 06:25
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  I don’t know Viasat but i hate thrm just from your accounts. What they do is so despicable, I didnt know F1TV wasn’t available there
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  Jan 30 2019 - 15:24
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Cheers, I appreciate your spite for them. ;) But F1tv not being accessible due to exclusivity deals aint exclusive to Sweden: many other countries have a similar situation, albeit not always with pay channels gating off F1. This is something Liberty must adress for F1 to live on.
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  Jan 30 2019 - 17:25
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  I'm just guessing here, but I would imagine those restrictions in certain countries are due to contracts that were already in place. I doesn't make sense from a business perspective to have a global service unavailable in key markets. I assume (hope) that when those existing contracts expire, Formula 1 will not grant exclusivity like the one Viasat enjoys, except maybe Sky in the UK
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  Jan 30 2019 - 20:12
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Oh they were alright. Many of those will run out either this year or next, so we could see a shift there. It all depends on where Liberty will take us from now on. I think gating off F1 to pay channels is lethal for any sport, and F1 need to get more into the kinda stuff football or hockey do, where whole families watch it to ensure that future generations will jump in. At least have F1TV available alongside at the very least, as a competitively priced quality option for us who dont need death by boredom channels. And England is a market that basically is the cradle of F1, so gating off that community, if any, could be a really bad idea.
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  Jan 30 2019 - 21:14
maalibu

Posts: 17
Back in the day... When i was bored of the RTL ...I just switched to Eurosport.
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- Jan 30 2019 - 09:05