F1 "is now steeped in a process of soul-searching as it seeks to become more fan-friendly," according to Brad Spurgeon of the N.Y. TIMES. As F1 "has become a global event with a worldwide television audience, competing with other global sports like soccer and tennis or even with popular entertainment for fans and advertisers, the series has become more sensitive to the idea of catering to fans and their evolving tastes." Evidence of a decline in F1’s popularity among fans "can be seen in a television-ratings drop in some of the series’ major markets, including Germany and Italy." For the first five races of this year, ratings in Italy were down 20% compared with last year, according to the Spanish sports daily Marca, and in Germany they fell 10% last year and have continued to drop a further 3% this year. Meanwhile, F1 "has not effectively turned to the Internet to reach fans." But the Internet "is now the only mass medium that can replace television to give sponsors exposure to the sport’s hundreds of millions of fans around the world."
One reason F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone "has not turned to the Internet is because he does not know how to make money from it." Sauber F1 Team Dir and part Owner Monisha Kaltenborn said, "We have to be careful and assess very carefully how we open it and how we can still monetize on it, because these are revenue streams which, if they come in correctly and the distribution is also the right way, it has, of course, an impact on all the other issues we are combating right now" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/4).
