SUMMARY
- Liberty Media becomes the richest sports empire in the world.
- Liberty Media have made some controversial decisions to make the sport more profitable.
Liberty Media took over as owners of F1 in 2017. Since then, they have made a lot of changes in the sport. Whether or not the fans are happy with them, they have made a ton of money since 2017. This has allowed them to be the most valuable sports empire in the world.
Over the past few years, Liberty Media has taken several steps to ensure its revenue every year. They have quadrupled the value of the sport since taking over in 2017. While this has earned them a lot of money, the fans are not very happy with the decisions that have made.
Liberty Media declared the most valuable sports empire
In 2017, Liberty Media bought the commercial rights for Formula 1 for around $4 billion. The next season, they signed an agreement with Netflix to allow them to film the Drive to Survive documentary. This documentary was one of the first decisions taken by Liberty Media concerning the sport.
The Drive to Survive series has brought in a lot of new fans to the sport. While they continue to love the drama in the series, Formula 1 fans who have been following the sport for years are not very fond of it. They believe that Netflix over-dramatizes the sport by adding tension between 2 drivers when it’s not there.
Liberty Media, F1’s parent company has maintained the top spot on Forbes’ list of the world’s most valuable sports empires for 2024, with a valuation of US$18.22 billion.#F1 pic.twitter.com/KPxNb17jmh
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) January 29, 2024
Liberty Media has also increased the number of street circuits on the calendar. This was done to increase revenue for themselves. However, this has also not sat well with the fans. Although street races sound and look good, they don’t do much for F1 racing. Today’s Formula 1 cars are bigger than what they used to be. Street circuits usually consist of narrow and bumpy tracks. This deteriorates the experience for the drivers and does not give much entertainment to the fans.
Liberty Media has also increased the number of races in the US. This was also not a popular move by the sport. Although all of these decisions were not popular, they have made a ton of money from this. This shows that the sport’s motive has changed from good quality racing to money. However, these decisions have made Liberty Media the biggest sporting empire in the world.
Owners of Lewis Hamilton’s fanboy club take 2nd spot
Lewis Hamilton has been a fan of Arsenal since he was 6 years old. The Arsenal FC is owned by Kroenke Sports and Entertainment who happens to be the 2nd most valuable sports empire in the world. Kroenke also owns the Denver Nuggets who are the reigning Champions of the NBA.
The World’s Most Valuable Sports Empires 2024
A sports empire can take the pressure off any single team a sports owner has, acting as a hedge for rebuilding years. And it almost always pays off. https://t.co/5trIB3LZpS pic.twitter.com/6ETTLnZEfd
— Forbes (@Forbes) January 26, 2024
Kroenke bought the famous soccer team in 2011. Since then, the team has not won a Championship. However, the owners have profited a lot from the investment.
Kroenke Sports and Entertainment is owned by billionaire, Stan Kroenke. He owns a number of sports teams around the world. His most successful one is the Denver Nuggets who won the Championship last year. From the way things seem, there is a good chance that they will win it this year as well. The team’s star player, Nikola Jokic is performing at an MVP level and could take that trophy as well.