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McLaren CMO Praises Impact Of New Formula 1 Owner Liberty Media

When Bernie Ecclestone "finally handed over the keys" to the F1 brand, marketers "delighted at the previously unthinkable prospect of a revamped commercial model" under Liberty Media, according to Katie Deighton of THE DRUM. And "going by the account of McLaren, the changeover’s new regulations appear to be exactly what the sport has been looking for." Rules on sponsorship that were developed and "staunchly protected by the old guard" were infamously restrictive and "one dimensional," according to CEO Chase Carey. McLaren Technology Group CMO John Allert said, "The old fashioned model was a team like McLaren was [seen as] a rights holder, and access to the drivers, access to the team, the car ... all those kinds of things were seen as rights. Now ... we're treating all of our sponsors as partners. We're not as worried about specifically what those rights are so much as what their ambitions are for the program. We're working with them much as an agency would do to help them." Outside of sponsorship, "the world of owned media is opening up to McLaren now that regulations on content ownership have also been relaxed." Digital and social opportunities "have been widened -- for once, the team can provide fans" with what they are asking for. Allert: "In the old world of Formula 1 we were oddly prevented from using any kind of moving image footage that was taken at races. In an era where fans are demanding not just rich content but immediate content, it's been hugely fortuitous for us that we now have new commercial owners who share the team's visions for meeting the demands of their customers and their fans, as well as new fans, by using moving images, highlights, clips with the drivers ... to bring people closer to the sport." This "newfound ability" to self-distribute content "is also an antidote to Sky’s hold" of the F1 broadcast rights, which "immediately limited the amount of people who can watch a race due to the network’s pay-to-view model" (THE DRUM, 3/25). 

TODT SPEAKS OUT: The BBC reported FIA President Jean Todt said that F1 is "too expensive, too complicated and the cars are too reliable." He added that it was "the responsibility of the FIA to make the rules, in the context of a desire by new commercial rights holders to make changes." Todt added that it was "essential" there was "less disparity in pace between teams" (BBC, 3/26).

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