Formula 1 (NASDAQ: FWONK) looks to rev up audiences, and its bottom line, with forthcoming Brad Pitt flick
Formula 1 (NASDAQ: FWONK)—the international racing league known for the world’s fastest cars—is chasing Hollywood harder than ever to woo US viewers and land a better deal for its lucrative broadcast rights. The latest attempt features Brad Pitt starring in a summer blockbuster set to premiere between marquee races in Miami and Las Vegas.
Simply titled F1, the film was shot in IMAX (NYSE: IMAX) format during actual Grand Prix weekends and also stars renowned Spanish actor Javier Bardem. Pitt portrays the fictional Sonny Hayes, a “nomadic racer-for-hire” who’s lured back to the sport in a last-ditch attempt to save a struggling Formula 1 team.
“The movie is serving the super fan, but also driving this mainstream,” Derek Chang, CEO of Formula 1-owner Liberty Media, told the Financial Times in a recent interview. “Anytime Brad Pitt’s in a movie people pay attention.”
Liberty Media, which has been expanding the use of show business to promote the racing brand, is an entertainment giant with a large stake in event ticketing behemoth Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) and recently spun off interest in satellite radio operator SiriusXM (NASDAQ: SIRI).
Drive to Survive
The upcoming film follows the success of the hit Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) docuseries Formula 1: Drive to Survive, now in its seventh season, which has helped expand the sport’s reach in the US beyond its traditional European stronghold. The recent addition of the Miami and Las Vegas races has also helped raise the sport’s profile among fans who might usually prefer stock car racing favorite NASCAR.
While last year’s Miami Grand Prix drew Formula 1’s largest-ever US television audience with 3.1 million viewers tuning in, the Las Vegas Grand Prix saw a 30% drop in viewership, hurt by sluggish ticket sales and time zone challenges. Formula 1 shares have declined 10% over the past month, although they gained a solid 49% in 2024. The league saw total revenue rise 6% last year to $3.4 billion, with fan attendance up 9% amid 1.6 billion cumulative TV viewers.
Formula 1 also made waves late last year when it secured its biggest sponsorship deal ever, signing a 10-year agreement with French luxury titan LVMH (CBOE: MC) that will bring some of the world’s most well-known brands like Moët champagne and TAG Heuer watches to the racetrack.
‘The absolute best’
Help from Brad Pitt—who’s had both recent commercial hits and flops—would be welcome news for investors, as they wait to see just how the US numbers turn out this year in Miami (May 2-4), Austin (Oct. 17-19) and Las Vegas (Nov. 20-22). Chang suggested that Formula 1 wanted to use rising popularity to improve on the $85 million it gets a year from ESPN—owned by Disney (NYSE: DIS)—to air the races to American viewers, with Citi analysts believing the annual rights could be worth $121 million.
F1, in theaters on June 27, is also noteworthy for being produced by Apple Original Films (NASDAQ: AAPL). That means Disney, Netflix and Apple all have a stake in the F1 brand, which could make for an interesting bidding war especially as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is also believed to be in the game.
With so many potential high-profile suitors, it’s no surprise why everyone wants a piece. As the trailer for the film proclaims, Formula 1 is “the only place you can say, if you win, you are the absolute best… in the world.”
