Liberty Media, Formula 1's owner, has voiced "disappointment" over the financial performance of its flagship Las Vegas GP, despite the sport's booming popularity.
Sky Deutschland touts surging viewership in new and exciting demographics. "We have more than doubled the numbers in the target group of 14 to 29," sports editor-in-chief Alexander Rosner told SID news agency. "And we now have three times as many female viewers."
And yet, Liberty's stock dipped by more than 5 percent recently, a drop CFO Brian Wendling pins on Vegas. "We can't comment on the specifics," he said, "but the majority of the miss that you guys are calculating based on the team payment was Vegas-related."
New CEO Derek Chang concurred: "I think we all here were disappointed by some of the financial metrics in the early going here."
Launched in 2023 as a uniquely Liberty-promoted event on its own land, the race "missed internal expectations on revenue," Chang admitted.
"We now have two years of real data to understand what tickets and products sold well, the demographics of the fan base and the overall cost structure of the event," he added. "We have a clear handle on near-term priorities for Vegas to improve and we are confident in the value it provides."
Wendling cited sluggish ticket sales—set at unprecedented F1 highs—and "softness" in "certain hospitality offerings" as key issues.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, though, remains steadfast. "As I have always said, this is an incredible grand prix on which we need to keep working and make sure that it will stay as we believe at the top of the range," he said.
"We need to make sure that we focus our attention on the cost structure of the situation that we have to manage in Vegas. We also need to have even a better local relationship because that's the key of the success."
