Liberty Media achieves record figures in 2024 and expects further growth from the anniversary Formula 1 season – slump in Las Vegas ticket sales
Liberty Media, the owner of Formula One rights, released its financial results for the past calendar year on Thursday. Liberty Media’s record season of 24 races has also allowed it to reach new financial milestones. In addition to record revenues of $3.4 billion, record profits of around $500 million were also recorded.
In a press release, Liberty Media attributes the growth in financial figures to several factors, in addition to the record calendar. On the one hand, the contracts with China, Zandvoort, Belgium, Monza and Monaco were extended for one or more years, and on the other hand, new sponsors were acquired. In addition, the number of visitors to the race tracks increased by nine percent to a total of 6.5 million.
However, due to the higher turnover, payments to the ten Formula One teams have also increased from $1.215 billion (2023) to $1.266 billion. By way of comparison, when Liberty Media bought Formula One in 2017, $919 million was distributed to the teams.
Domenicali: Business as robust as never before
Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali expects further growth in the current year: “We are equally optimistic for the year 2025, when we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of Formula One, which will give our brand additional momentum.”
“Our sponsor base is the strongest in the history of the sport and the commercial pipeline remains solid. This commercial success goes hand in hand with excitement on the track, as we expect more intense competition and welcome several rookie drivers after last season’s hard-fought championship.”
The largest revenue item in Formula 1 remains the allocation of media rights (32.8 percent of sales), closely followed by revenue from race promotion (29.3 percent), while sponsorship revenue accounts for around 18 percent of sales.
As Liberty Media notes, they were able to increase their income from race promotion compared to 2023, but the Las Vegas Grand Prix – in which Liberty Media itself acts as a promoter – generated “lower ticket revenues” in 2024 than in the race’s first year.
It is also emphasized that the purchase of MotoGP is to be completed this year. After an official announcement, the deal was repeatedly postponed due to monopoly concerns of the EU Commission, since Liberty Media would then own the two largest racing series in the world with Formula 1 and MotoGP and could therefore have too much market power.
