Formula 1 Drives Liberty Media to $2.19B Quarter

Formula 1 is off to a hot start this week ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, as its parent company reports a promising start to the fiscal year.

Liberty Media, also the parent company of the Atlanta Braves and SiriusXM, generated $2.19 billion in revenue in Q1 2022, a 6% increase year-over-year. 

The company’s F1 business pocketed $360 million in revenue during the quarter, compared to $180 million in revenue for the same period the year prior. F1 also secured new sponsorship deals in Q1 with software company Salesforce, tech giant Lenovo, and MSC Cruises.

• Liberty Media repurchased 348,000 shares of its F1 business in Q1 for $20 million.
• It announced the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which will join the F1 calendar in 2023.
• F1 extended broadcast deals in Q1 with Australia’s Foxtel Group and France’s Canal+. 

Liberty Media also posted growth in its Braves Group business, which generated $23 million in revenue in Q1, a 44% increase year-over-year. Its baseball revenue — ticket sales, concessions, media rights, suites, and seat fees — was $11 million in Q1.

Price Change 

In April, Greg Maffei, president and CEO of Liberty Media, said F1 will command a higher price for its next U.S. broadcast rights deal. ESPN has held U.S. rights to F1 since 2018, replacing NBC. In 2019, F1 agreed to a three-year extension with ESPN that runs through this year.

NBC paid $4 million annually from 2013 to 2018, but ESPN is currently not paying an annual fee.