At left, in a July 8, 2011, file photo, John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media arrives at a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. At right, in a July 9, 2016, file photo, Formula Ones’ chief executive Bernie Ecclestone smiles at the racetrack in Silverstone, England. Formula One is getting a new owner, one based in the United States, no less. The change at the top should mean that Liberty Media will take a new approach toward bringing the racing league into the North American market. (AP Photo/File)
A U.S. company that owns the Atlanta Braves is buying Formula One and that bodes well for Circuit of the Americas and Austin.
Liberty Media Corp. is purchasing the worldwide motorsports giant for $4.4 billion. Liberty, which said it values F1 at $8 billion including debt, aims to promote the sport in the United States.
“The commitment to the U.S. will be even stronger, which is good for us,” COTA chairman Bobby Epstein told the American-Statesman in a telephone interview from Spain on Thursday night.
“The American sports experience has evolved over the years and most owners have done a very good job in building their base and promoting their sport. I think an American owner, armed with the knowledge and combined with the appeal of F1, has a chance to make it work in this country.”
The U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas is the only Formula One race in this country. The fifth edition of the USGP will be Sunday, Oct. 23, at the Southeast Austin track.
Mexico City has a race the week after the USGP in Austin.
Long-time F1 mogul Bernie Ecclestone will continue his role as F1’s chief executive officer.
“The new owners will take advantage of Bernie’s strengths,” Epstein said. “They’ll look hard at how they can promote the sport on a broader scale.”
Ecclestone will have a new boss, though. Instead of F1 shareholders, it will be new chairman Chase Carey, executive vice chairman of Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment conglomerate 21st Century Fox.
Liberty is expected to give the sport, which enjoys enormous world-wide acclaim, a boost in the United States, where interest lags.
“I hope they do a lot because they are American and have had dealings in television in America for a long time,” Ecclestone said of Liberty. “They have dealings with a lot of sponsors because of their TV networks and social media which we haven’t done (as much) in the past.”
In 2012 COTA struck a 10-year deal for the U.S. Grand Prix, but at times the contract hasn’t seemed totally secure.
“I am very, very happy Liberty can come in and do things (for the sport),” Ecclestone told The Associated Press. “I have been trying to do things in America for years but not very successfully … maybe they are the people that can get it done.”
Liberty chief executive John Malone, a 75-year-old U.S. cable-industry pioneer, has wide-ranging holdings in sports and entertainment, including the Major League Baseball Atlanta Braves and radio company Sirius XM. Malone also has investments in U.S. cable company Charter, which recently bought Time Warner Cable, and various cable-TV companies.
Epstein said Liberty’s expertise will help Formula One in the States, though he believes there is still one key missing ingredient.
“For the sport in this country, you have to take a very long-term view,” Epstein said. “You cannot instantly create fans.
“What we really need is an American (driver) champion. A terrific formula would be combining American entertainment ingenuity with an American champion. That would take it to the next level.”
Liberty’s buyout is expected to be completed by March 2017. F1’s biggest current shareholder, investment fund CVC Capital Partners, and the other sellers will still own 65 percent of Formula One Group stock but will cede control of the sport to Liberty, which will have all the voting shares.
NASCAR remains the dominant form of racing in the United States, though Ecclestone told AP, “They are the people that should be concerned, of course,” with Liberty’s expected F1 push in the States.
Note: Epstein said ticket sales for this year’s U.S. Grand Prix “are going great and pushing our year 1 totals.” Taylor Swift will do a concert on qualifying day, Oct. 22, and Grammy-winning The Weeknd will do the post-race show Oct. 23.
