interview - Italy-America Chamber of Commerce, Southeast

BUSINESS
Formula One or Formula Money?
WHAT’S THE BUSINESS TURNOVER OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE SPORT IN THE WORLD
BY CINZIA RIZZI
Quando si parla di Formula 1, non si può che parlare
di soldi, la vera benzina di uno degli sport più seguiti
al mondo. Con una media di 580 milioni di spettatori
televisivi all’anno, non ci si può di certo aspettare uno
sport economico, o che badi a spese. Le statistiche
dicono che ogni Gran Premio di F1 produca in
media un guadagno di $229M, circa 10 volte il
suo più prossimo avversario, l’NFL, che ne genera
“solo” $24M ad evento. Considerando quindi un
campionato, come quello attuale, composto da 19
gare, il profitto complessivo di una stagione di F1 è
pari a $4.3B.
Ma da dove arrivano tutti questi soldi? Semplice: diritti
commerciali (race sponsorship, corporate hospitality
and broadcast fees), rendite dei team (sponsorship
and contributions from partners and owners) e
profitti dei circuiti (ticket sales and sponsorships).
When we speak about Formula One, we cannot help but speak about money, the
real fuel behind one of the most followed sports in the world. With an average of
580 million television-viewers per year, forget about it being an inexpensive sport,
moreover a mindless expense. Law of averages says that every F1 Grand Prix generates,
on average, $229 M which is nearly ten times that of its closest competitor - The NFL
- which generates “only” $24M per game. Therefore for a championship such as the
current one, composed of 19 races, the gross amount of a F1 season is $4.3B.
Andiamo con ordine. La Formula 1, come si sa, è
tutta nelle mani di un unico uomo: Mr. “$3.7B”
Bernie Ecclestone, presidente della FOM (Formula
One Management). Per essere più precisi, è nelle
mani sue e in quelle del gruppo finanziario britannico
CVC Capital Partners, che dal 2005 detiene il 70% del
Formula One Group. Ecclestone e CVC possiedono in
pratica i diritti commerciali e finanziari della Formula 1;
controllano l’organizzazione delle gare; provvedono
agli investimenti parziali su circuiti e scuderie;
mantengono i diritti commerciali sui nomi delle
scuderie, il logo ufficiale della Formula 1 e detengono
infine i diritti televisivi. Diritti che rivendono poi a circa
80 emittenti in tutto il mondo. Per fare un esempio,
la televisione inglese ITV, che aveva l’esclusiva per la
Gran Bretagna fino al 2010, paga intorno ai $57M
all’anno alla FOM per poter trasmettere le gare e
tutto ciò che gli gira intorno. E non è poco.
But where does all this money come from? It is simple: commercial rights (race
sponsorship, corporate hospitality and broadcast fees), team gains (sponsorship
and contributions from partners and owners) and circuit incomes (ticket sales and
sponsorships).
To begin, Formula One, as everyone knows, is entrusted to one single man: Mr.
“$3.7B” Bernie Ecclestone, FOM’s (Formula One Management) President. To be
exact, the entire management is in his hands and in CVC Capital Partners’ hands,
the British financial group that since 2005 has held 70% of Formula One Group.
Ecclestone and CVC basically own Formula One’s commercial and financial rights.
They keep the commercial rights of team names, of the official F1 logo and of all
broadcasting rights, rights that they resell to about 80 television stations worldwide.
For example, British ITV, which had a corner on F1 for Great Britain until 2010, pays
FOM nearly $57M per year to be able to broadcast all the races and everything
related to them; it is not an inexpensive price.
When we speak of the teams, we first ask ourselves, how much does it cost to
build up a team from scratch? Tony Fernandes, Lotus F1’s new team principal, said
he accepted this challenge despite the economic crisis because according to him,
“Formula One is a great business for other business to sit on as a platform”. To begin,
he needed a budget of $55M only for the first year. Indeed, for an entire season
teams must pay out higher prices, even on the basis of results. Top teams reach nearly
half a million dollars (McLaren $445.6M, Ferrari $433.3M, Renault $393.8M); smaller
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