After rumours started circulating that Formula 1’s owners Liberty Media have been planning something big on the promotional front in the Far East, the company has now confirmed that it is indeed in advanced negotiations for such a venture.
Liberty has now revealed details that point to a joint venture in China, with F1 commercial boss Sean Bratches stating that it will be the only regional hub to rival F1’s new London headquarters in St James, size wise.
According to Reuters last week, Liberty Media were in talks with firms including Chinese based sports and entertainment company Wuhan DDMC Culture Co and the conglomerate Suning over the new Far East venture.
This was after multiple sources said talks over a joint venture to help manage the business development and management of Formula 1 in the Far East were at an advanced stage.
In a surprise move, Bratches has now corroborated that such talks are indeed ongoing and are at an advanced stage. And, while unwilling to confirm or disclose identities of the partings that Liberty are talking to, he confirmed that he has held talks, both in Shanghai and Beijing, with a “number of entities.”
“What we will do is effectively set up a similar structure to what we have in London,” Bratches said. “With a head of marketing, a head of licensing, a head of media rights, a head of sponsorship, a head of digital, etc. and really activate the brand here like its own entity.”
And while Liberty Media are also planning to establish local offices in the United States and other parts of Asia, Bratches said setting up a parallel entity similar in scale to its new London HQ would be unique to China.
And while Bratches refused to name any of the parties Liberty are speaking to in China, he did confirm that Formula 1’s existing partnership with local company Juss Events, which currently organises the Chinese Grand Prix each year, will continue.
“What we will be doing for the years to come in the rest of the world is developing the brand, developing the sport,” he added. “But we think there’s opportunities in China to develop another grand prix, driver development schools, [and] certainly digital.”
