Formula 1 F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 20, 2022. General view during the race.
Tayer Al Sudani | Reuters
The 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix of Formula One attracted over 1 million U.S. viewers for Sunday’s season opener, making it the most watched F1 race on ESPN since 1995.
ESPN reported that the Bahrain Grand Prix drew an average of 1.3 million U.S. viewers and peaked at 1.5 million viewers from approximately 12:30 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET as the race entered its last and most dramatic leg. . According to ESPN, the number of viewers per race has increased compared to the same race in the 2021 schedule, which was watched by an average of 927,000 viewers.
The network used metrics from measurement and analytics company Nielsen to report the number of F1 viewers in the US. Sky Sports owns the rights to broadcast F1 racing in the UK.
Scuderia Ferrari and Monaco driver Charles Leclerc won the Grand Prix with 26 points at the start of the season. Leclerc beat Spanish teammate Carlos Sainz, who finished second with 18 points, and the team scored 44 points on the first weekend. Mercedes driver and British-born Lewis Hamilton finished third with 15 points.
Hamilton is aiming for a record-breaking eighth F1 World Championship this season after losing the last race of the 2021 season to Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands.
The 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix drew more cable viewers to ESPN than any other since the 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix, which averaged 1.74 million viewers, according to the network. It’s the most viewed race on any Disney-owned network since F1 returned to ESPN in 2018.
Formula One’s popularity and viewership have skyrocketed in the US since the behind-the-scenes Netflix series “Drive to Survive” debuted in March 2019. The series’ fourth season, wrapping up the 2021 season, became available to stream on Netflix on March 11.
The racing company set a new viewership record last season, with an average of 934,000 viewers per event on ESPN and ABC, up 54% from 2020 F1 racing. F1 viewership in 2021 included an average of 1.2 million viewers at the US Grand Prix in Austin, which aired on both ESPN and ABC.
The previous spectator record was set in 1995 when Formula One averaged 748,000 spectators per race.
In 2019, before the pandemic put global sport on hold and pushed more American viewers to F1, the sport averaged 672,000 viewers on ESPN. In 2018, after ESPN reintroduced racing, F1 races averaged 554,000 online viewers.
Formula 1 F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 20, 2022 Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in action during the race
Tayer Al Sudani | Reuters
F1 adds more US racing
Liberty Media acquired F1 in 2016 for $4.4 billion, gaining access to a global fan base of over 400 million. It trades F1 as a controlling stock under the ticker “FWONA” on the Nasdaq. Stock tracking is used by companies to measure the success of a particular division in their portfolio.
Last month, Liberty reported that the racing league’s 2021 revenue was $2.1 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2020. And F1 should be able to increase revenue with a new race added to the North American roster.
In April 2021, F1 entered into a 10-year deal to host the Miami Grand Prix, the second U.S. race on the schedule. The first race in Miami is scheduled for May 10th. The deal’s financial details were not disclosed, but CNBC reported that motorsports insiders estimate the auto racing league is making between $17 million and $20 million a year under the deal.
F1 did not race in the US from 2008 to 2011 but returned with the 2012 Austin US Grand Prix. The Miami Grand Prix brings four races to North America as F1 also races in Canada and Mexico.
And F1 could expand again in the US.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the racing company is keen to return to Las Vegas. This could happen as early as the 2023 season, and for the first time since 1982, Las Vegas will host an F1 race.
F1 did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the possibility of hosting the Grand Prix in Las Vegas.
F1 plans to run 23 races this season, but longtime sports head Chris Lencheski predicted the number could rise to 25 or more with the addition of a Las Vegas race, another event in China and a potential return to India and Africa. .
Lencheski, chairman of private equity advisory firm Phenicia, served as CEO of sports and entertainment marketing firm SKI & Company prior to the agency’s sale in 2008. The company has formulated sponsorship of F1.
Lencheski said the Netflix series has increased support for F1 racing and said two would-be manufacturers – Audi and Porsche – are also generating hype.
“Both of these have a global impact on vehicle performance. So if they show up [to F1]“This is a huge amount of corporate investment that would allow Formula 1 to expand the teams,” he said.
F1 also increased its affiliate income in 2021, including a deal worth over $100 million with blockchain platform Crypto.com.
The next Formula 1 race, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, is scheduled for Sunday and the Australian Grand Prix on April 10th.
Disclosure: Comcast owns CNBC’s parent company NBCUniversal and Sky.