Pecco Bagnaia began the season as he ended the last as he triumphed at the Grand Prix of Qatar.
While it remains to be seen whether Marc Márquez can turn his promising first race on a Ducati satellite bike into genuine title-contending form, how is the global motorcycling series faring away from the track?
The series has agreed a US media rights deal with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD)-owned TNT Sports, while it has also shown an awareness for delivering to receptive audiences by agreeing a free-to-air (FTA) broadcast deal with DF1 in Germany.
All the while, rumours of a sale rumble on. Formula One owner Liberty Media is reportedly among the interested parties looking at a €4 billion (US$4.3 billion) acquisition. Is this what MotoGP needs to take it to the next level?
BlackBook Motorsport delves into the data in SportsPro’s MotoGP commercial guide – a one-stop shop, exclusively for SportsPro+ premium members, to access the latest business intelligence and data pertaining to the series’ commercial dealings – to better understand what a successful bidder would be acquiring.
European heartland
It is perhaps no surprise that MotoGP can rely on strong fanbases in Western Europe.
Eight teams are based in Italy, home of the legendary Valentino Rossi and current champion Pecco Bagnaia. Elsewhere Spain can call on MotoGP’s current figurehead in Márquez, while races in France and Germany recorded the 2023 season’s highest attendances (278,805 fans and 233,196 fans, respectively).
It is no surprise, then, to see that all four countries represent the most lucrative TV markets for the series. Deals with DAZN, Sky Italia, Sky Deutschland, and Canal+ drive much of MotoGP’s total broadcast income, but the other market in the top five most valuable countries offers a glimpse as to why prospective buyers might be interested.
The new media rights deal with WBD in the US will certainly make MotoGP a more attractive proposition. Every MotoGP race will be shown live on TruTV and Max’s B/R Sports Add-On in 2024, but it is the potential that a deal like this offers that will particularly pique interest – especially with a new US-based team on the grid in Trackhouse Racing.
MotoGP doesn’t make official viewership figures readily available, but commercial rights holder Dorna revealed that the first 12 races of last season saw a 20 per cent year-over-year (YoY) increase.
While it is difficult to understand the magnitude of this increase without the values to quantify it, it is an increase nonetheless and highlights that MotoGP is heading in the right direction. The introduction of sprint races last season has certainly contributed to increased attention, but will the eyeballs remain once the novelty factor wears off?
International relevance
According to Ampere Analysis, a SportsPro commercial guide data partner, MotoGP is the second most popular series among motorsport fans across all markets.
Perhaps surprisingly, Indonesia has the highest percentage of MotoGP fans in the world. Ampere estimates that a quarter of the population follows the series, while MotoGP is also the most popular motorsport series in India.
The series has responded by bringing races to both countries, with Indonesia on the calendar since 2022 and India making its debut last year. This popularity has also seen Indonesian oil and gas company Pertamina step up its involvement through the signing of a global partnership with the series in 2022 and a title sponsorship deal with the VR46 Racing Team from this season.
Such interest highlights the potential in the Asian market – a region that other major motorsport series have mostly ignored in recent years - and adds further appeal for investors.
The financial picture
Analysing the finances behind MotoGP remains a challenge.
The series’ commercial rights are controlled by Dorna, which in turn is majority owned by Global Racing LX2, whose ownership is split between Bridgepoint (70 per cent) and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (30 per cent). The remaining shares in Dorna are held by multiple companies and Dorna management, including chief executive Carmelo Ezpeleta.
Ultimately, the controlling group amid this complex ownership structure is Bridgepoint. The London-based private equity group bought Dorna in 2006 in a deal that valued the company at about €500 million (US$635 million).
Then, under pressure to offload the property, Bridgepoint managed to sell Dorna to itself by transferring the company between funds in 2019, a move which reportedly valued Dorna at €2.5 billion (US$2.8 billion). Today, according to Sky News, the firm is looking to secure €4 billion (US$4.4 billion) from any sale of MotoGP.
After an extremely tough period caused by the pandemic, marked by a loss of €94.5 million (US$116 million) in 2020, the series has cause for optimism.
Recent figures are not yet available, but the Italian publication La Repubblica has reported Dorna’s turnover reached €425 million (US$453 million) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) hit €161 million (US$171 million) in 2022.
Conversely, while this growth is positive, any new owner would need to navigate a €975 million (US$1.07 billion) gross loan granted by BNP Paribas, which expires in 2029.
What about the faces of the series?
It’s all well and good having a stronghold European fanbase, promising growth in important markets like Asia and the US, and a healthier financial situation, but it is the athletes who carry a sport’s message far and wide.
Marketing has always been MotoGP’s problem – something that new owners may fix in the way Liberty Media managed for Formula One – but right now it remains an issue.
The shadow of Valentino Rossi looms large over the series’ current crop of riders. Márquez is far and away the most popular rider in MotoGP at the moment with a combined social media following of 11.2 million, which dwarfs the rest of the field by a considerable margin.
But ‘The Doctor’ boasts over 20 million followers across the social channels covered in the graph below, more than the combined followings of the 21 riders in MotoGP not named Marc Márquez.
Notably, Márquez appears to be the only rider to have attempted to engage with TikTok, and now boasts 1.5 million followers on the platform. The next highest is Jorge Martín with 151,100 followers, highlighting the progress still required to get the younger generation engaged with the personalities in MotoGP.
The series’ overall following of 3.4 million – higher than any motorsport property outside of Formula One – presents a clear opportunity. All it needs is a guiding hand from a media-savvy owner who can help maximise that undoubted potential.
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