According to Liberty Media Corporation, the new owners of Formula 1, the departure of former CEO Bernie Ecclestone will take motorsport in a new digital direction.
The ‘kingpin’ of the F1, Bernie Ecclestone, leaves his position as CEO (although he will become President Emeritus) of the big competition after the acquisition by the American company Liberty Media, an act that represents a different turn for a Formula 1 that is not exactly going through its best moment and that, from now on, will work to improve its digital strategy. Ecclestone’s business model was based mainly on television rights, but the new approach seeks new sources of income, betting on a greater digital effort. “They really didn’t have the digital action organized. I think there are a lot of things that can be done around games, virtual reality and augmented reality. There is a huge amount of video and data about the races that we are already capturing that we are not processing in any way for the dedicated fans,” commented Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media.
“F1 has enormous potential with multiple opportunities yet to be exploited. We will work to improve the racing experience and add new dimensions to the sport.”, commented Chase Carey, new CEO of Formula 1. Among his plans are to accelerate marketing efforts and build more fan loyalty, and it is that offering the possibility of living the races from another perspective that only immersive technologies are capable of offering can be a success. In fact, last year Tata Communications, the official connectivity provider, launched a contest that sought ideas that will use VR or AR to improve the fan experience and the work of the teams.
