How will Liberty Media broaden the appeal of MotoGP to achieve growth of market audience? On the eve of clearance for Liberty Media’s acquisition of the Grand Prix Motorcycling Championship, the all encompassing question prompts further examination on what will be the main points of focus to elevate, expand, and extend the reach of MotoGP to a wider global following.
Starting with the current approach by Dorna Sports, whose principle of thought has been to showcase the thrilling action on track via Media coverage of racing which reaches and engages fans through paid subscriptions, along with snips of pre-during-post racing clips of rider’s experiences shared on social media platforms.
The strategy has been based on Dorna Sports exclusive commercial and television rights from 1991 to the present day, which commands centric management on Media coverage of MotoGP to be shared to an established fanbase whose passion has resided in following MotoGP Champions over the course of 75 years.
With Liberty Media’s successful implementation of increasing fan and geographical reach from 2017 to the present day, the equivalent two-pronged approach would act as a catalyst to leverage increased share of market audience outside MotoGP’s known fan base.
Data released on the percentage of sports fans following MotoGP by Age and Country state Indonesia, Italy, Spain, and South Africa generate the highest following at 23.8%, 18.1%, 17.3%, and 9.1% respectively. At the other end of the scale, Mexico, China, USA, and Canada garner 3.5%, 2.8%, 2.1%, and 1.2% following, respectively.
Taken in context of 2024 MotoGP race calendar, out of 21 Rounds – over half take place in Europe, 5 in Asia, 1 in Australia, 1 in the Middle East, 1 in Eastern Europe, and 1 in America. Rider line-up boasts out of 22 rider’s – 10 are from Spain, 6 from Italy, 2 from France, 1 from Japan, 1 from South Africa, 1 from Australia, and 1 from Portugal.
If Liberty Media’s emphasis pertains to increasing fan following, expansion of the race calendar into new or increased number of races with large populations makes logical sense. Only question being – which venues will be set aside in favour of expansion when a 22 race calendar remains more than ample to maximize fan engagement?
The second pronged approach to re-vitalize MotoGP by Liberty Media would be de-centralization of Media coverage pre-during-and post racing. The strategy by Dorna Sports to utilize the massive following that rider’s have achieved over the course of their careers – Italy’s Valentino Rossi, and Spain’s Marc Marquez – falls by the way-side when rider’s retire, are injured, or under-perform.
As Liberty Media has proved, the open-door opportunities for driver’s, Teams, Brands, and personal staff to share content on happenings on and off the track at F1 Rounds appeals to viewers, followers, and tech-savvy Gen Z newbies to the sport.
Visual and audio clips of real-time prep from Friday through to Sunday not only ignites an immersive experience for anyone watching around the world for free, but also promotes inclusivity for the sport as confirmed with F1 Instagram followers of 27.8 million.
With the status quo shifting on how to produce upswing of fan engagement for Motorsport, Liberty Media has proven record for turning a loss of public interest in Formula One, full circle. Will the same apply for MotoGP? Time will tell.
Header Photo MotoGP 2023 Image: MotoGP
Words: Sharon Cox.
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