05/05/2018
NEWS STORY
The very fact that F1 has sought to trademark the 'Shoey', gives you some idea of the direction the sport is heading under its new ownership.
While Bernie Ecclestone and CVC had a certain reputation, it is clear that Liberty Media is seeking to monetise as much as possible as it recoups its $8bn purchase.
With the season generally ending in mid-to-late November, and not resuming until mid-to-late March, other than the current eight days of testing, this means that there is no F1 for around four months... and no F1 means no money.
Consequently, it comes as no surprise to hear that Liberty is looking at various ways of monetising those four 'lost' months, including the increasingly popular NFL Draft.
"One of the ambitions we have is to figure out how we make this sport something that engages the fans twelve months a year," said Chase Carey at a promotional event.
"But it doesn't mean we will race," he continued, "our season is not going to go twelve month.
"One example would be the NFL, which is not playing right now but they just had the NFL Draft," he added. "That is a big event. They have created events that are interesting for fans even when they are not in the season.
"So I think for us, we would like to determine, how do we create more interesting things for fans, whether it is unique competition or unique events, or things that are around the sport that continue to build interest and enable fans to engage more?"
Putting aside the fact that those four 'lost' months give the various crews and drivers some much needed breathing space in the wake of a 21-race, ten month season, the fact is that behind the scenes teams are preparing for the season ahead, in terms of building their cars, passing the various crash tests, seeking out sponsors and much more and are unlikely to react well to being told that they must carry out further promotional work for the sport.
Furthermore, at a time F1 has yet to get the teams to agree on its plans for the 2021 engine formula, not to mention a budget cap and redistribution of the prize fund, one can only guess how they might react to being told who will drive for them, for under the NFL Draft this is what happens.
Though the Draft goes back to the 1930s, it is only in recent years that the event, which is essentially the league's most common source of player recruitment, has drawn huge TV audiences over the course of the three nights of coverage, with ESPN the main broadcaster.
Insisting that the basic calendar is fine 'as is', and that he neither wants to start the season earlier or end it later, Carey claims that any such events as a Draft should not detract from the sport's raison detre but merely add to fans entertainment and excitement… while also relieving them of their hard-earned.
"The 21 races that we have will always be the highest profile, but we think we can do other things that enable fans to connect with the sport," he said.
"We have a pretty full season, our season goes from March to the end of November so it is a long season, and we have to recognise that there is a lot of wear and tear on that season.
"But I would say we think it would be a good thing to find ways to engage fans in the sport. It may not be a competition on track, it may be other aspects of the sport, but there are some unique ideas for various forms of competition that we are engaged with and talking to various parties about."