But it was true. It confirmed growing rumours that the two-wheel series was on the market, including confirmation from Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta. Paddock pundits weren’t quite sure how to react. Had the rules changed? Was this good for bike racing, or bad? And in the end, will it make any difference?
Well, Liberty took over F1 in 2016, and while not everyone agrees that the series has improved post-Bernie Ecclestone, the numbers have. Particularly bums on seats (in this case, the sofa in front of the TV), while clearly focused social media targeting has grown YouTube subscribers from fewer than 300,000 to around seven million.
Another major success stemmed from Netflix’s generally well-thought-of “Drive to Survive” series. This not only attracted new fans but also reduced the average age, expanding the market significantly for sponsors and advertisers.
The improved penetration has been remarkable. An attempt two years ago by MotoGP to emulate the Netflix series with Amazon fell far short, stumbling for a variety of reasons including uninspired editing and difficulties in overcoming the predominance of Spanish conversation. Technical changes to F1 have not met with universal approval, but Liberty certainly brought a fresh approach, and can clearly bring much to MotoGP too.
Then again, Dorna has been successful without outside intervention since acquiring the rights in the 1990s. The Spanish company, led by charismatic figure Carmelo Ezpeleta, has prevailed over some major landmarks. Most notable, the switch from those wonderful but basically irrelevant 500cc two-strokes to the four-stroke MotoGP class in 2002; and Ezpeleta’s attack on the prevailing Japanese factories, to break their stranglehold on success.