Formula E has made substantial business changes
Heading into season five, anticipation is high for the second generation car.
From the end of last year’s Formula E season to the beginning of this year’s pre-season testing, Formula E has boasted some impressive strategic business partners. Heineken, Bosch, Sony, and Mediaset are just a few of the announced partnerships.
Heineken is a globally known brand with large amounts of marketing dollars invested in the motorsport industry. At every Formula 1 race there are a dozen examples of Heineken branding. This kind of credible money input is excellent news for the financial health of Formula E.
While manufacturer support is great for on-track action and overall attention for the sport, large brand deals help pay the bills throughout the year. Thankfully, many of the manufacturers that participate in the sport have also invested in sponsorship opportunities. These manufacturers include BMW and Mercedes EQ.
Not to mention an estimated £18.7 million investment made by Allianz last year for a 3.5% stake in Formula E Holdings. This gives Formula E Holdings an estimated valuation of £534 million. Media deals have also been a big focus for Formula E in the past few months.
Formula E has made large-scale deals in India, Ireland, and Italy. Mediaset operates in Italy and according to Formula E, had 1.2 million viewers during the inaugural race in Rome. The deal encompasses a five-season contract to provide live Formula E coverage in Italy.
Sony Pictures India signed on for an additional two seasons. Select live coverage will be shown across India including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Viewership will likely continue to increase with more media focus and the success of Mahindra, the championships only Indian team.
“We’re thrilled to extend our partnership with Formula E after the positive response and viewership we’ve seen over the past year” — Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer Distribution and Head — Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India
Ireland will also see more Formula E action after striking a deal with Virgin Media Ireland. The provider has an estimated 270,000 television subscribers, according to the Irish Times in early 2018. This also comes after the company completed a re-brand from TV3-Group. While these numbers are nothing notable in the grand scheme of things, it represents a further improvement in global Formula E awareness.
However, Formula E has come under question for their recent decision to continue with the season five opener in Saudi Arabia. The issue arose when the country was allegedly responsible for the disappearance of a Washington Post journalist. This caused many global business titans to cut ties with the nation.
“Referring to the incident, we obviously have no comment to make. At this moment there are no plans to change the Formula E calendar this season. Of course, we are monitoring (the situation).” — Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag told The Associated Press
So obviously not everything has gone perfectly in the last few months, but financially, Formula E is still looking healthy. Not to mention the most recent news of Formula E partnering with YouTube influences to boost viewership numbers amongst younger audiences. These are just a few of the more corporate changes to be aware of ahead of season five.
