Formula One revenues for the year ending 31st December 2023 rose 25 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to US$3.2 billion.
Confirmed:
- Revenue for Q4 2023 hits US$1.23 billion, a 63 per cent increase YoY
- Overall operating income increases 164 per cent to US$153 million in Q4 and 64 per cent to US$392 million for the year
- Team payments increase to US$1.2 billion for the season, although this represents a decrease as a percentage of adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA)
- Fan attendance increases five per cent YoY to six million
- Global TV viewership falls marginally to 1.5 billion, a 2.5 per cent YoY decrease
- Social media followers hits 70.5 million in 2023
Context:
Sponsorship revenue saw a vast increase as a result of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which was a huge contributor to the 63 per cent increase in Q4 revenue. Digging into the total revenue for the Liberty Media-owned series in 2023, the primary income drivers were race promotion fees (US$944.05 million), media rights fees (US$1.04 billion) and sponsorship fees (US$579.96 million).
Multiple race promotion deals were secured towards the end of the financial year, including a new ten-year agreement signed with Madrid and extensions with the British, Japanese and Brazilian Grands Prix.
For media rights, a ten-year deal was recently reached with pay-TV broadcaster BeIN Sports in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Turkey, but a second annual fall in global TV viewership will be concerning for series executives.
Formula One also agreed a multi-year extension to its ‘US$40 million-a-year’ contract with DHL, which locks in all of the series’ global partners beyond the end of this season.
The attendance figures for 2023 also point to some struggling races. Monaco, Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi did not release official figures last season, though Monaco reportedly averages around 200,000 fans per year. The official total for last season, factoring in the rumoured attendance at the Monaco Grand Prix, is 5.89 million. This means that around 110,000 fans in total attended the races in Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi.
Comment:
Stefano Domenicali, president and chief executive of Formula One, said: “2023 marked another incredible season for Formula One. We had strong engagement across all platforms, with record race attendance and F1 holding its position as the fastest growing league on social media for the fourth consecutive year.
"F1 saw continued fan growth especially in the US market, strengthened by the successful Las Vegas Grand Prix, and across a younger and more female audience.
"Our sustainability initiatives remain a priority for F1 and our partners, and we look forward to running all seven F1 Academy races this season alongside the F1 calendar. We are excited for the 2024 season as we focus on deepening our relationships with fans and optimizing our commercial partnerships to bring incremental value.”
Coming next:
The 2024 Formula One season gets underway this weekend, with the Bahrain Grand Prix taking place from 29th February to 2nd March.
Go deeper:
- The SkyPad, Martin Brundle interviews, and remote production: Inside Sky Sports’ award-winning F1 coverage
- F1 Academy and Charlotte Tilbury: Why brands need to up their game when it comes to sponsorship
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