Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said that race sanction fees, broadcast rights and sponsorship "can all contribute to increased revenues for the F1 Group," and stresses that the "biggest source of growth" will be from digital exploitation, according to Adam Cooper of MOTORSPORT. Maffei has "even earmarked gambling as a potential source of income that has yet to be tapped by the sport." While new F1 Chair Chase Carey will be working hands-on with F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone on the day-to-day running of the sport, Maffei will play a "key overseeing role and will provide a link between the sport and the company's other business." On Thursday, he gave "the most detailed insight yet into what direction Liberty's management is planning to take." Maffei: "Opportunities to grow the business, I think there are a bunch. Starting with broadcast revenue, the largest source of revenue." Maffei was "keen to point out that F1 can do much more to exploit official sponsorship deals," citing the small size of Ecclestone's sponsorship staff. He said, "I think we have 17 sponsors, and we have three people working in sponsorship in F1. In contrast at Major League Baseball, a business we have some familiarity with through the [Atlanta] Braves, there are 75 sponsors, just in the U.S." Maffei hinted that the current calendar "could be expanded beyond 21 events," but also suggested that "more attractive" venues may be chosen in the future to better complement "the needs of broadcasters and sponsors." Expanding on the potential for new races in the U.S., Maffei added, "You think about places where it would have natural appeal -- I would argue Miami, Las Vegas are very interesting places for the long term. But that isn't going to get solved in a week. I'd like to hope that being Americans -- Chase, Liberty -- that we can help with that process." Inevitably Maffei stressed that digital "would play a big role in all three main revenue streams." He said, "Something that intersects all of these is less than 1 percent of the revenues are from digital, they really have no organized digital effort" (MOTORSPORT, 9/22).
