Formula 1's recent drop in television viewership can be blamed on Italy's move from free-to-air TV to subscription service according to Chase Carey, who insists it has nothing to do with declining interest in the sport.
F1 reported a four per cent drop in audience numbers compared to the previous season, which Carey explained was down to a switch in how F1 is broadcast in Italy, and if those numbers are excluded, audience numbers actually increased.
"That [drop] is largely due to our move from free to pay television in Italy," Carey said during an investor call. "Excluding Italy our television viewership is up three per cent year-on-year and our Saturday viewership for qualifying is up even more."
He added that the USA and China showed "particularly strong uplifts" in the amount of people watching live coverage.
While televisions audiences might be down overall, Carey reported that live race attendance had risen.
"Live attendance in aggregate is up 4 per cent year-on-year at the 10 tracks where we raced last year," he added. "And attendance at the two tracks we did not have in 2017, which are France and Germany, was well in excess of expectations. In Germany, the promoter even had to build new grandstands to meet demand."
Liberty Media's research also showed that fans believed the sport had improved in 2018 compared to previous seasons.
"44 per cent of our average fans are more interested in the 2018 season than they were in 2017 versus only 7 per cent a year ago. 66 per cent of fans believe F1 has improved versus two years ago, just 15 per cent say it’s worse. And 67 per cent of fans say F1 is in good hands with Liberty while 10 per cent disagree."
