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Motorsport: Why Formula 1 is losing viewers in Germany

Motorsport: Why Formula 1 is losing viewers in Germany

Fewer and fewer people watch motorsport. The decline in the current Formula 1 season is surprisingly high and is not only due to the TV contract, from which only one person benefits. And how does it continue?

Many motorsport fans have obviously lost interest in Formula 1. The last race on free TV in Germany was watched by just 2.043 million people.

Like the German drivers in the world’s most important motorsport series, the live broadcasts from RTL have seen much better days. And soon Formula 1 will even disappear completely behind the payment barrier.

The racing series is in a downward spiral in this country. In the last season with all races live on free-to-air television 2020, RTL had an average of almost four million viewers. Last year with only four Grand Prixs on free TV, the average was only 3.28 million – and after the last RTL broadcast in 2022 on Sunday from the Brazilian Grand Prix for this season it should be significantly lower.

Bertling: “From a German perspective, there are no successes”

“The big German drivers and stars are missing, and the name Schumacher alone is not enough,” said media expert Thomas Horky. The professor at Macromedia University in Hamburg added: “Football is increasingly crushing smaller sports in Germany, including earlier media sports such as Formula 1.”

His colleague Christoph Bertling from the German Sport University in Cologne sees it in a similar way: “From a German perspective, there aren’t any great successes or winners.” Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel last won a race in 2019 and will retire at the end of the year. Mick Schumacher is threatened with Formula 1 after just two years.

A shortage of supply leads to an increase in demand – this market logic does not fit at RTL. It is more in line with Sky’s exclusivity strategy. Since the offer on free TV shrank to four races last year, the numbers for the pay TV provider have increased.

In the first season, the number of viewers grew by 50 percent, this year by another 20 percent to more than a million viewers on average. “Formula 1 has become even more radiant,” commented Sky sports director Charly Classen: “Our ratings have developed positively above average.” Most hardcore fans are obviously subscribed now, but overall viewership is falling.

RTL still “very satisfied”

Despite the drastic drop in reach on free TV, an RTL spokeswoman said: “We are very satisfied.” After all, the market share, which is important for television broadcasters, was recently above the overall average of RTL. Regarding rumors that the transmission on Sunday would be the last on RTL, she said: “We will comment on the future in due course.”

Sky only has to ensure that four races can be seen on free TV in the coming year. The new media contract from 2024 to 2027 offers the pay station even more exclusivity, only one race in Germany should be free to air. What does that mean in the long term for Formula 1 in the car manufacturer country?

The disappearance behind the payment barrier means “a short-term major financial injection,” said media scientist Bertling. “In the medium to long term, however, there is often a loss because attention deficits arise.” The media expert Horky also sees the exclusivity of a pay channel for Formula 1 as “not a good marketing position”. The Hamburg professor also said: “The possibility of introducing new, young viewer groups to the sport is certainly greater via free TV or live streaming.”

Source: Stern

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