Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said that the company is "looking to expand" the number of Formula 1 races, "hoping to cash in on the glamorous appeal of its newly acquired asset," according to Harro Ten Wolde of REUTERS. Formula 1 has a record-equaling 21 races this season and teams have "historically been reluctant to go beyond that number," but Maffei told investors at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecoms conference that "there was room for more." He said, "There is a general line of interest if you increase the number of races to a point. The FIA makes more money, the teams make more money, we make more money." F1 "faces a major shake-up after Liberty Media agreed to take control of the cash-generating sport." Liberty Media has acquired an initial 18.7% stake from controlling shareholder CVC Capital Partners and "plans to complete a cash and shares deal" by the first quarter of '17. The deal, which has an enterprise value of $8B, is "expected to lead to a new push to develop the U.S. market and win fresh audiences around the world." Maffei said that expanding the racing calendar "may be a way to do this." He said, "Obviously there is a limit on how much you can do. Just getting the cars around the world, but I think we can expect to grow the amount of races to a mild degree" (REUTERS, 11/16).
