Liberty Media, who owns the commercial rights to Formula 1, has announced a deal worth in excess of $4billion to acquire the rights to MotoGP.
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Liberty Media confirmed the acquisition in a press release today, that they have entered an agreement to purchase Dorna Sports, S.L. (“Dorna”), Dorna is the exclusive rightsholder of MotoGP.
We are thrilled to expand our portfolio of leading live sports and entertainment assets with the acquisition of MotoGP. MotoGP is a global league with a loyal, enthusiastic fan base, captivating racing and a highly cash flow generative financial profile. Carmelo and his management team have built a great sporting spectacle that we can expand to a wider global audience. The business has significant upside, and we intend to grow the sport for MotoGP fans, teams, commercial partners and our shareholders
Greg Maffei, Liberty Media President and CEO
This is the perfect next step in the evolution of MotoGP, and we are excited for what this milestone brings to Dorna, the MotoGP paddock and racing fans. We are proud of the global sport we’ve grown, and this transaction is a testament to the value of the sport today and its growth potential. Liberty has an incredible track record in developing sports assets and we could not wish for a better partner to expand MotoGP’s fanbase around the world.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna
The deal is said to be completed by the end of 2024. When the deal is complete Liberty Media will own 86% of MotoGP, with the remaining 14% staying with MotoGP’s management.
The Deal Might Face Scrutiny
CVC partners, who sold F1 to Liberty Media, were cleared by the European Commission to purchase F1 in 2006 but only on the condition that they sold Dorna.
Liberty Media will hope that the fact that Dorna will remain an independently run company linked to their Formula 1 Group tracking stock and continue to be based in Madrid.
The Formula 1 effect?
An article in the Sports Business Journal shows the effect that Liberty Media had on Formula 1, in 2018 Formula 1 generated $1.83billion revenue, with $913billlion distributed to the 10 teams. In 2022 revenue had risen to $2.57billion with $1.16billion shared between the 10 teams.
These increases in revenue could be attributed to Liberty Media and how they drew a younger and more diverse following and their push to establish the sport in America.
A big part of the increase in Formula 1’s popularity is the Netflix series “Drive to Survive” the behind the scenes docu-series which made F1 more accessible. Clearly Dorna saw the effect that Drive to Survive had on F1 and used it as a template for MotoGP Unlimited an 8 episode docu-series streamed on Amazon Prime. The series has proven to be popular with an 7.9/10 rating on IMDB, with some stating that it is better than Drive to Survive.
MotoGP has a problem, with TV viewing figures dropping, In-person attendance slumping and media coverage all but non-existent. The slump is made worse by the growing popularity of Formula 1.
In an effort to increase popularity, MotoGP added sprint races to all events in 2023, with new fan engagement also added to race weekends, these changes are a small part in the right direction, however there is much more work to be done to bring MotoGP to a similar level that Formula 1 is enjoying at the moment.
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