More details have emerged of Liberty Media’s plans for an online streaming service of Formula 1.
F1’s new owners have told Autosport magazine that they have no choice but to pursue an ‘over-the-top’ strategy if they are to attract a bigger audience in future.
However, F1’s commercial chief Sean Bratches said Liberty would be launching the service in house, rather than going with an existing player such as Netflix as had previously been mooted.
Dedicated local services would launch in existing markets.
Significantly, the new offer would only be made available in territories not covered by existing rights offers. That means the service would not be seen in the UK where Sky Sports F1 is a dedicated channel that’s also available through Sky Go.
Autosport also reports nervousness from former US rights holder NBC that it might end up competing with the owner of the sport for viewers. A new US contract eventually went to ESPN.
