Latest in Formula One

Bernie Ecclestone has said he would “take a bullet” for Vladimir Putin and called the Russian leader a “first class person,” while criticizing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. intervention. Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain earlier, the 91-year-old former CEO of the Formula One Group, who has…

U.S. media rights to Liberty Media’s rising auto racing circuit Formula 1 have reportedly been renewed by ESPN through 2025 after the Disney-owned sports operation outmaneuvered Netflix and other tech suitors. The pact is worth in the area of $75 million to $90 million a year, according to Sports Business Journal…

On Friday afternoon, a bidding war kicked off amongst Hollywood’s major studios over an untitled racing film that has Brad Pitt attached to star, Deadline has confirmed. The film will be helmed by Top Gun: Maverick‘s Joseph Kosinski, with that Paramount blockbuster’s screenwriter Ehren Kruger and its producer Jerry Bru…

Liberty Media CEO and SiriusXM chairman Greg Maffei said Thursday that the satellite broadcaster's star host Howard Stern, whose contract ends this year, is likely to re-up and apologized that a recently announced top management reshuffle was handled too abruptly. "I think we were surprised by the market reaction and…

Live events like concerts, baseball games and car races will remain a healthy and viable business over the long term despite the 2020 impact of COVID-19, in the view of Liberty Media chairman and billionaire media sage John Malone. “The thesis of live events is still a good one,” Malone said at his company’s annual…

Formula E, the electric motor racing championship, has suspended the 2019/20 season for two months, citing the challenge posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Auto-racing governing body the FIA made the decision with Formula E. The org has also taken the decision with Formula One to suspend the three opening fixtures on…

Chinese exhibitor Jiangsu Omnijoi has inked a deal to install an additional 40 IMAX theatre systems in new multiplexes across Tier One to Tier Four cities in China. The companies expect the majority of the sites to be open by the end of 2020, with the remaining sites to open by the end of 2021. The agreement will…

Don’t be surprised if Liberty Media introduces a direct-to-consumer streaming service featuring Formula One racing once the the John Malone-controlled company acquires the league. Liberty’s “very excited about the idea,” CEO Greg Maffei told analysts today in a quarterly earnings call. A streaming service “makes a lot…

Liberty Media’s John Malone just crossed the finish line in his effort to craft a deal to buy the Formula One car racing circuit — potentially positioning it to challenge NASCAR’s domination of the U.S. racing market. Malone’s company agreed to pay $4.4 billion, giving Formula One an enterprise value of $8 billion…

Channel 4 has picked up the broadcast rights to Formula One in the UK after the BBC, under pressure to make spending cuts, pulled out of its deal three years early. Channel 4, which faces its own uncertain future as the British government decides whether to fully or partly privatize it in the new year, has closed a…

Michael Fassbender has gotten behind the wheel to narrate the racing film 1. The Formula One documentary is produced by Exclusive Media's Spitfire Pictures. "We are honored that Michael has agreed to lend his voice to our film. He is one of the most talented actors in the world today as well as being a Formula One…

Fox’s deal announced today extends its current pact with NASCAR by eight years to 2022 and is worth $2.4 billion, the first fee increase for these racing rights in a decade. The network will pay about $300 million annually beginning in 2015 and keep its Daytona 500 , add TV Everywhere digital rights that had resided…