Following an unprecedented 2020 season, Formula 1 successfully delivered a revised 17-race calendar and was the first international sport to safely resume last summer. Our fans reacted to the revised season, and new venues, very positively and while many sports have struggled with large viewership declines this year, our viewership trends compare well to other sports that experienced similar temporary shutdowns, and particularly those with an international footprint.
Alongside this, Formula 1 has seen impressive growth on our social platforms compared to other major sports. According to Shareablee, we are the second fastest-growing major sports league on the planet in terms of follower growth, we have 35m total followers and have seen by far the fastest growth in engagement compared to other major sports with a 99% increase in 2020. To achieve these results in a challenging year is a very strong achievement.
TV audiences: Despite the fact that the revised 2020 season had four fewer races than 2019, Formula 1 has maintained a strong audience position with our average audience per Grand Prix in 2020 at 87.4m. While this is marginally down at -4.5% on 2019, the average per Grand Prix was 87m in 2016, 2017 and 2018, 80m in 2015 and 83m in 2014 and therefore our 2020 performance was very much in line with the average for the past seven years despite the challenging circumstances.
The average audience figure for the 2020 season was largely driven by the fact our season took place in Europe and the Gulf which meant a number of regions did not host their own Grand Prix, race start times were not always suited to certain markets and the usual audience uplift we see from particular races did not occur. However, we have seen strong results in a number of key markets with +43% YoY in China, +28% YoY in the Netherlands, +10% YoY in the UK, + 71% YoY in Russia and +5% YoY in Germany.
The USA also saw a +1% increase even with no local time zone events and no US Grand Prix which would have benefited from wider ABC audience exposure. Unique viewers for 2020 were 433m (-8% YoY), driven by fewer races as well as the reasons mentioned above.
The cumulative TV audience for 2020 was 1.5bn compared to 1.9bn in 2019 and this reduction is a result of the fact we had 17 races last season compared to 21 races in 2019. It does not reflect a drop off in audiences in general but is a result of fewer races and therefore fewer events to watch on TV. The highest audience figure for a race in 2020 was 103.7m for the Hungarian Grand Prix, +7% higher than the same race in 2019, and we saw strong figures for the new races that joined the revised calendar with 100.5m for Portugal, 98.1m for the Bahrain outer track and 89.1m for Turkey.
In addition, Formula 1 has continued to improve its overall perception and satisfaction with fans. Out of 6,000 fans surveyed[1], 72% think F1 has improved over past 2 years compared to 52% in June 2019, 68% believe F1 is in good hands under Liberty Media vs 56% in 2019 and 71% rate their satisfaction with being an F1 fan as 8 or higher vs 44% in 2019.
Furthermore, fans believe Formula 1 handled itself very well during the global pandemic, with 90% believing the safety measures put in place to allow races to go ahead have been handled well, 81% believing F1 has communicated well with fans during the shutdown, 73% believing F1 has handled the absence of fans at the races well and 88% feeling positive about the calendar in 2020.
The F1’s core digital platforms: Formula 1 have made significant gains across digital, making us the second fastest-growing major sports league on the planet across the four major social platforms. In 2020, followers (across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, Snapchat, Twitch and Chinese social platforms) were up 36% to 35m, video views up 47% to 4.9bn and total engagement up 99% to 810m.
Additionally, total video views across F1.com, the F1 app and social media were up +46% vs 2019 to 4.9bn, unique users were up +26% to 70.5m and pageviews were up +13% to 1.3bn. In China we also saw very strong digital growth with followers on Chinese platforms (Weibo, WeChat, Toutiao and Douyin) up +133% to 1.9m.
The biggest drivers of the digital growth have been fuelled by a 20% uplift in video uploads, new races during the revised 2020 calendar and also the excitement during the races that resulted in increases in traffic and activity during a race week. The results mean that Formula 1 is now strongly outperforming other major sports in the digital arena including La Liga, NBA, PGA tour and the Premier League. The digital share of total minutes (including broadcast and digital) has grown from 7% in 2019 to 10% in 2020.
The F1 Esports Series 2020 rounded off a very successful year as a record number of fans tuned into the action, achieving a total of 11.4m live stream views across all digital platforms, representing a 98% increase on 2019. The nail-biting Grand Final also reached a staggering 1.7m social media engagements, an all-time record for any F1 Esports Series event, culminating what had already been a hugely successful campaign regarding social media interaction, as the Pro Series achieved 291m total social media impressions, a 151% increase on the 2019 season. Additionally, the series recorded 23.8m video views, up 29% on 2019, which was aided by increased social media output for last year’s campaign.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO, Formula 1, said:
“Last year was an unprecedented time for everyone and Formula 1 had to adapt to the challenges presented by the pandemic. We delivered 17 races, something many thought impossible earlier in the year. We did it safely and brought excitement and new races to our fans around the world. The audience figures for 2020 show the strength and resilience of our sport, with average audience figures in 2020 at 87.4m and a total season cumulative audience of 1.5bn. We had strong growth figures in China, the UK, Netherlands, Germany, and the USA, combined with the huge boost in our digital figures. We saw only a marginal reduction in TV audiences, caused by multiple reasons but clearly driven but a shortened and limited geographical calendar compared to 2019, but something every major sport has experienced in 2020. We are proud of what we delivered in 2020 and know we have an incredibly strong fan base and audience platform to grow in the coming years. We are delighted our fans feel a strong satisfaction with the sport, our season, and the way we responded to the global pandemic. We are looking forward to the start of the 2021 season after the winter break and we know our fans are as excited as we are to get racing.” –corp.formula1.com
[1] *Source: Goodform biannual F1 Attitudes survey amongst 6000 avid fans on F1 Fan Voice
