Streaming the Formula 1 Rivalry

Taking the global sport of Formula 1 (F1) motor racing as a sustained case study, Streaming the Formula 1 Rivalry examines how the relationship between the sport and the media has evolved in this new digital environment. Starting with a map of the political economy of F1 and its complex commercial relationship with sponsors, investors, and the media, shows how new media owners have aimed to use social and digital media strategies to deepen the global reach of a television sport previously thought of by many as in decline.

Drawing on original interviews with key stakeholders across the media and sports industry, including journalists, broadcasters, and those working within F1, this book places the sport within its broader historical context, identifying the central role that the media, particularly television has played in its history, structure, and governance. This book also explores the range of media representations and key narratives that the sport offers and how its relationship with other television genres, such as the Netflix series Drive to Survive is impacting the nature of the sport and its audience.

As sport enters a new age of digital engagement, this investigation of the intense relationship between F1 and the creative industries shows us not just how the media are changing, but also that what we understand by the term "sport" is also being altered.

This is a penetrating case-study of media-sport relations in the context of major technical, cultural, and economic change. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Boyle and Haynes offer a hugely informative but also enjoyable account of the challenges and the opportunities surrounding Formula 1 as it undergoes inter-related shift s in the terms of its organization and in the scale and character of its media visibility. The authors get ‘inside’ their topic with clarity and depth.

— John Corner, Professor of Communications, University of Leeds

Formula 1 has witnessed a huge transformation in recent years. Streaming the Formula 1 Rivalry successfully unpicks the way in which the changing global media landscape has both shaped and communicated the sport’s growth. Whether through the Netflix Effect or social media’s ability to turn any fan into a pundit, influencer or content creator, this book explores the complex factors impacting the way in which the narratives and storylines around Formula 1 are built. Streaming the Formula 1 Rivalry makes essential reading for any student of global sports media or Formula 1. Uniquely, it explains the media revolution which has taken place in one of world most sophisticated sporting competitions.

— Mark Gallagher, Formula 1 Executive and Managing Director, Performance Insights