Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Harte
Don't overlook the fact that as far as most, if not all, teams' principles believe that F1 is a business; they are not in the least concerned about "fans" because fans do not contribute financially in any significant measure. The teams rely on commercial sponsors and FOM for their income, although I do appreciate that firms such as Red Bull do, in theory, contribute to many "sports" to boost the sales of their products.
However, I do believe that most sponsorship money comes from businesses that are corporate in that it is aimed at other corporate entities. That is why so many F1 race meetings take place in countries that, in reality, have very little "fan" interest; it's all aimed at the money people in those countries.
And fans and/or spectators have been the losers for a long time with FOM, whether under Mr E or Liberty, have been constantly ramping up the race licence fees which, in turn, forces the local promoters to vastly increase admission prices!
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I think the fans do contribute financially, though indirectly. One of the big issues IndyCar faced after series reunification in 2008, was dwindling track attendance and poor TV audiences. The latter was partly due to races being broadcast behind a pay wall. The overall result was a lack of sponsors and reduced TV advertising revenue. Advertisers/sponsors need a viewing audience and they don't want to see lots of empty seats on TV screens.
Things have vastly improved since 2008. Most races are now FTA and NBC, who have the broadcasting contract, have reported increased viewing figures for 2023, up on the previous year.
For the sake of argument what would happen F1 if there was a serious decline in track attendance and TV viewers?