Breaking news

Formula 1

F1 reports TV and digital growth for 2018

Formula 1 has released figures to outline a “significant increase” in audience figures across TV and digital platforms in 2018, the second year of Liberty Media’s ownership.

Edited: Jan 21, 2019, 1:37 PM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C37 and Romain Grosjean, Haas F1 Team VF-18 collide at the start of the race

Figures released by the championship state that 490.2m unique figures were registered during 2018, a 10% year-on-year increase.

The increase was most pronounced in India, France, Russia, the USA and China, with the latter benefiting from a return to free-to-air broadcasting on CCTV.

Brazil, China and the USA were the most popular TV markets despite none of the countries featuring a representative on the 2018 Formula 1 grid.

Brazil accounted for 115.2m unique figures, ahead of China (68m) and the USA (34.2m).

An increase was also reflected in the TV cumulative audience, which stood at 1.59bn, a rise of 3%, with Brazil, Germany and Italy leading the way in this division, which takes into account the top 20 global markets.

Formula 1 also reported growth in its digital markets, an area which was under-utilised until the final few years of Bernie Ecclestone’s reign, and which has received an enhanced push since Liberty Media’s takeover.

The total number of followers across the primary social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube – is now 18.5m, a year-on-year rise of 53%.

It means Formula 1 is the fastest-growing sport on social media, and also benefited from new-for-2018 features such as the Beyond the Grid podcast and the post-race F1 Twitter show that was broadcast through the platform at nine Grands Prix.

The push for greater digital reach has been a primary ambition under Liberty Media, which now believes Formula 1 has an average fan age of 40, bringing it in line with other major sports.

According to data gathered by IPSOS 61% of new fans attracted to Formula 1 in the last two years are under 35 years of age, with 36% under 25, citing the new-for-2017 eSports Series as an initiative that has opened the sport to a younger audience.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article F1 teams discuss PM letter as Brexit fears grow

Next article Ferrari adds Mick Schumacher to F1 junior programme

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Nasser Al-Attiyah



Dakar 2026, Stage 2: Toyota scores 1-2-3-4-5 but Nasser Al-Attiyah takes overall lead

Dakar

Dakar

Dakar 2026, Stage 2: Toyota scores 1-2-3-4-5 but Nasser Al-Attiyah takes overall lead



Martins Sesks rejoins M-Sport for WRC Saudi Arabia finale

WRC

WRC

Rally Saudi Arabia

Martins Sesks rejoins M-Sport for WRC Saudi Arabia finale



Al-Attiyah in a "lot of stress" after navigator mistake dents Dakar hopes

Dakar

Dakar

Dakar

Al-Attiyah in a "lot of stress" after navigator mistake dents Dakar hopes

More from

Toyota Racing



Toyota answers critics who doubted it could win in WEC’s competitive Hypercar era

WEC

WEC

Barcelona

13 h

Toyota answers critics who doubted it could win in WEC’s competitive Hypercar era



How Toyota destroyed the competition to seal the WEC crowns

WEC

Barcelona

How Toyota destroyed the competition to seal the WEC crowns



WEC Barcelona: Toyota scores dominant 1-2 to seal manufacturers’ title

WEC

WEC

Barcelona

WEC Barcelona: Toyota scores dominant 1-2 to seal manufacturers’ title

Latest news



Barcelona set to host IndyCar race in 2027 under multi-year deal

IndyCar

Indy IndyCar 9 h

Barcelona set to host IndyCar race in 2027 under multi-year deal



Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II

11 h

Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix



Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 11 h

Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello



Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

11 h

Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"

Feature

Discover prime content



How levelling the playing field isn’t antithetical to the principles of F1

Formula 1

By Pat Symonds

How levelling the playing field isn’t antithetical to the principles of F1



Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027



Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Formula 1

By Kevin Turner

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense



Why Christian Horner sees history repeating itself for Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Ronald Vording

Why Christian Horner sees history repeating itself for Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe