Prepared remarks
Welcome to Liberty Media Corporation's 2025 Q1 Earnings Call. As a reminder, this conference will be recorded, May 7. I would now like to turn the call over to Shane Kleinstein, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Thank you, and good morning. Before we begin, we'd like to remind everyone that this call includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual events or results could differ materially due to a number of risks and uncertainties including those mentioned in the most recent forms 10-K and 10-Q filed by Liberty Media with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this call, and Liberty Media expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Liberty Media's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. On today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures for Liberty Media, including adjusted OIBDA.
The required definition and reconciliations for Liberty Media Schedule 1 can be found at the end of the earnings press release issued today, which is available on Liberty Media's website. Speaking on the call today, we have Liberty's President and CEO, Derek Chang; Liberty's Chief Accounting and Principal Financial Officer, Brian Wendling; Formula One's President and CEO, Stefano Domenicali, and other members of Liberty Management will be available for Q&A. I'd like to turn the call over to Derek.
Great. Thank you, Shane. Good morning, everyone. It has been a great start to the year at Liberty. Importantly, the priorities we have outlined for 2025 are progressing well. Namely, number one, we are working towards the close of the Dorna acquisition; two, continuing our path towards structural simplification. And three, we continue to drive momentum at Formula One. Starting first with the Dorna acquisition. We are progressing with the Phase II regulatory process and working constructively with the European Commission. We hope to receive approval by the long stop date of June 30, 2025. The MotoGP kicked off 2025 with its first-ever season launch event in Bangkok. The event generated massive buzz bringing together all 11 teams to showcase MotoGP as a thrilling sport and premium entertainment brand. MotoGP will host a 22-race calendar in 2025 compared to 20 races last year, which were impacted by race cancellations necessitating 2 replacement races scheduled mid-season.
The season is off to a great start with incredible on-track action and growth independence across the first 5 races completed to date. The Argentina Grand Prix set a new attendance record for the track with over 200,000 spectators. Our attendance was up 15%, and COTA hosted its largest crowd since 2018. We saw the highest attendance since 2015 with 24% growth over 2023. The company announced several commercial agreements to start the season, including Pirelli as the new tire supplier starting in 2027 and the extensions of the Barcelona French and Valencia GPs through 2031. Our second priority is continuing to progress our structural simplification, including the planned split off of Liberty Live. Our third priority is continuing to drive momentum at Formula One. The confluence of excellent racing and commercial momentum is benefiting engagement and financial results in 2025. There are several areas currently in focus worth highlighting.
We are seeing continued momentum in sponsorship and licensing to start the year. An excellent showcase with the LEGO partnership last weekend in Miami, where all 10 teams rode in fully drivable LEGO F1 cars for the drivers parade. The project took over a year to come to life and required 400,000 LEGO bricks per car. It was an amazing collaboration that captivated our fans and the Internet and our drivers loved it. Looking ahead, pulling the sponsorship pipeline forward has allowed our team to focus on 2026 and beyond and emphasize securing blue-chip names aligned with the F1 brand. The appeal and breadth of the F1 brand are uniquely resonating with sponsors across B2B and consumer brands alike. Second, we are focusing on improving LVGP stand-alone economics and maximizing the overall benefit to the F1 ecosystem. Tickets went on sale in early April and volumes are trending ahead of this time last year.
Lower initial ticket prices are driving momentum, which we expect will drive greater sell-through. With the first 2 years having demonstrated clear benefits to the wider Vegas ecosystem. We are engaged in encouraging discussions with key local stakeholders to ensure their support and best position the event for future growth. Finally, our current U.S. media rights agreement concluded at the end of 2025, and we are in active and productive discussions for a new deal. F1 is a strong product for broadcasters with solid growth in the U.S., including this season and an attractive demographic with 1/3 of viewers under age 35, females representing 42% of the fans. We remain focused on finding the right partner to continue to innovate on broadcast offerings and sustain our momentum in the U.S. While it's early in the year, performance to date is strong. The contractual nature of Formula One's cash flow provides high visibility into our business performance for the next several years and will be especially important in this macroeconomic climate.
As of March 31, Formula One had $14.2 billion of future revenue secured under contract. Advanced ticket sales for our promoters and hospitality tickets for the remainder of the season remain strong. We continue to actively monitor changes in consumer sentiment, though historically, Formula One's business model has proven resilient in times of economic uncertainty. We are encouraged by the strength of the business and look forward to completing the rest of an exciting season. Now, I'll turn it over to Brian for more on Liberty's financial results.
Thanks, Derek, and good morning, everyone. At quarter end, Formula One Group had attributed cash and liquid investments of $2.8 billion, which includes $1.5 billion of cash at F1 and $69 million of cash at Quint. Total Formula One Group attributed principal amount of debt was $2.9 billion at quarter end, which includes $2.4 billion of debt at F1, leaving $526 million at the corporate level. F1's $500 million revolver is undrawn and their leverage at 3/31 was 1.2x. As a reminder, all MotoGP transaction-related financing is in place and deal contingent. Turning to the Formula One business, I'll make brief comments on the quarterly results. Though as we all know, the business is best analyzed on an annual basis given variability in the year-over-year race calendar and timing of events. Note that every quarter in 2025 will have incomparable race count and mix, which will impact year-over-year comparisons of quarterly results throughout the year.
Most of the variability in year-over-year results is due to the 2 races held in Q1 2025 compared to 3 races in Q1 2024. Race promotion revenue decreased due to the mix of races with Australia and China occurring in the current period compared to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia in the prior year. Media rights and sponsorship declined as only projected season-based revenue was recognized compared to last year. Sponsorship is also impacted by the calendar shift as the Saudi Arabia and Bahrain races both have race-specific local title sponsorships and recognition of that race-specific revenue shifted with the timing of those races. However, the decline in sponsorship revenue was largely offset by strong underlying growth from new and renewed deals impacting 2025. Media Rights revenue is benefiting from contractual increases in rights fees and continued growth in F1 TV, benefiting from the launch of the new premium subscription tier.
Other revenue declined during the first quarter as a result of one less Paddock Club event and the mix of races held. Adjusted OIBDA declined alongside revenue during the quarter driven by the calendar variance. Other costs of F1 revenue increased due to higher freight costs with longer routes flown and increased commissions and partner servicing costs, servicing the overall primary F1 revenue growth as well as higher costs for Grand Prix Plaza due to more activity compared to Q1 2024. On a full year basis, we expect other costs of F1 revenue to be consistent with prior years as a percentage of total revenue. SG&A increased in the first quarter due to marketing costs associated with the season launch event at the O2 and should be viewed as a percentage of total revenue for the full year. Team payments decreased in the first quarter due to the lower pro rata recognition with 1 less race held partially offset by the expectation of higher full year team payments.
As a reminder, a reminder that team payments as a percent of pre-team adjusted OIBDA was 61.5% in 2024, and we expect that percentage to continue to come down as we complete the term of the current Concorde agreement at the end of 2025. In connection with all 10 teams signing the 2026 Concorde Commercial agreement, Formula One paid a total of $50 million to the teams in the first quarter. This cost is excluded from adjusted OIBDA and presented separately from team payments. Although revenue and adjusted OIBDA were lower year-over-year due to the calendar variance, we are seeing a strong financial start to the year and are tracking well against our internal plan. Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas officially opened its new year-round activations on May 2. Revenue from these activations will be recognized at the F1 OpCo level that we expect results will have a modest impact in 2025 as we scale that business.
The vast majority of the CapEx required to build out Grand Prix Plaza activations was incurred in the first quarter. Total F1 CapEx was approximately $33 million year-to-date, including slightly less than $20 million incurred related to Grand Prix Plaza. Looking briefly at Corporate and Other results in the first quarter. Revenue was $53 million which includes Quint results and approximately $6 million of rental income related to the Las Vegas Grand Prix Plaza. Corporate and other adjusted OIBDA loss was $12 million and includes Grand Prix Plaza rental income, Quint results and corporate expenses. Reminder that Quint's business is seasonal with the largest and most profitable events taking place in Q2 and Q4. Q1 has modest event activity while still incurring ordinary course operating expenses. Quickly turning to the Liberty Live Group. There is attributed cash of $314 million and $400 million of undrawn margin loan capacity relating to our Live Nation margin loan.
As of May 6, the value of our Live Nation stock held at Liberty Live Group was $9.3 billion. We have $1.15 billion in principal amount of debt against these holdings. Liberty and F1 are in compliance with their debt covenants at quarter end. With that, I'll turn the call over to Stefano to discuss Formula One.
Thanks, Brian. Formula One is off to a great start in 2025. We are six races into the season and continue to witness exciting on-track action. Wins have been distributed among teams, making the racing more competitive than anticipated. Although it is still early in the season, we expect the excitement to persist. The strong on-track performance has enhanced fan engagement, with attendance surpassing last year's figures as we have seen sellout crowds at nearly all races so far. We set a new record for crowd attendance at the Australian Grand Prix, attracting an impressive 465,000 attendees over the weekend. Demand for the rest of the year is also robust; Mexico sold out within hours for the tenth consecutive year, and Montreal demonstrated strong interest with many returning guests from 2024. Hospitality product demand remains high, with over 12,000 tickets sold at Tower Paddock Club so far this season, alongside strong advanced sales for the remaining events.
We are focused on exploring opportunities to increase capacity and are developing innovative hospitality products where demand exceeds supply. Looking at viewership, Live TV viewership grew for the first five races. We recorded over 60 million cumulative linear TV viewers during the opening Grand Prix weekend in Australia, with significant growth in the U.S. ESPN viewership rose by 45% across these races, and the Australian Grand Prix became the most-watched edition of the race for the U.S. audience. Other markets experiencing notable growth in linear viewership include Brazil, France, and Australia. Highlights viewership on the F1 YouTube channel increased by 31% year-over-year, showcasing the rising significance of our digital channels as fans engage with our content on and off the track. We now have 100 million social media followers, reflecting a 30% year-over-year growth, mainly driven by platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
In March, Nielsen released new fan data indicating a continuous rise in F1 fandom, with our total fan base exceeding 826 million, adding nearly 90 million new fans in 2024. These engagement figures reflect the growing global appeal and genuine interest in our sport, validating our initiatives to enhance F1 for our supporters. The positive engagement aligns with our commercial success, and I am pleased to report that we continue to maintain strong momentum. Regarding race promotion, we are finalizing our 2026 calendar, with the renewal of our Mexico race through 2028 and Miami through 2041, marking our longest secured contract and affirming our success in the U.S. market. Most of our races now have medium to long-term contracts, and we are actively evaluating new opportunities from potential race hosts. The Netherlands will host its final race in 2026, and Spa will alternate races starting in 2027, creating an opening on the calendar for 2028.
Tickets for Las Vegas went on sale on April 9, featuring new pricing and offerings. General admission tickets now start at $50 for a single day and $400 for a 3-day pass in the Flamingo zone, with clear communication to fans that prices won't decrease from the initial sales, driving urgency in purchasing. Our sales in Vegas are significantly surpassing last year's figures. Our media rights business reflects the growing competition for premium sports rights, with F1 TV subscriber growth remaining strong, up by 4% year-over-year, especially in the U.S. market, where it rose by 20%. The launch of our new F1 TV Premium tier has exceeded expectations, particularly in key markets like the U.S. We are engaged in positive discussions regarding our U.S. media rights with multiple partners and look forward to sharing updates once agreements are finalized. We also have additional series like Formula 2, Formula 3, the Sprint, and the F1 Academy, which provide broadcasters with enhanced value.
Viewership for Sprint races has shown consistent growth year-over-year, with the Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix attracting over 1 million live viewers on CCTV in China, and viewership in Italy doubled when Lewis Hamilton celebrated his first win for Ferrari. Outside of race weekends, Drive to Survive Season 7 reached Netflix's Global Top 10 for another consecutive year and appeared in the top 10 lists across 39 countries. The F1 Academy docuseries will go live on Netflix on May 28, and an Apple movie announcement is set to premiere on June 16, with the film soundtrack and merchandise released last weekend in Miami. On the sponsorship side, we started the year with high visibility and a strong growth potential pipeline. Recent agreements include Barilla pasta as an official partner and PWC as our consulting partner, who will help enhance our performance and operational efficiency. Our team continues to focus on both 2025 and 2026 pipelines, making progress on numerous high-value renewals and new partnerships.
Our licensing initiatives are also growing. Our new partner, LEGO, has seen high demand for its F1 products, with an average of one piece sold every second in March. We had an exciting activation in Miami where drivers participated in the parade in fully drivable LEGO cars. The F1 Arcade continues to expand, with Boston and Washington, D.C. venues hosting sold-out watch parties for the Australian Grand Prix. A new arcade will open in Philadelphia on May 29, followed by openings in Denver, Las Vegas, and Chicago later in the year. The F1 exhibition has sold over 530,000 tickets in the past 12 months, with Buenos Aires and Amsterdam seeing strong ticket sales upon their openings. We launched new activation experiences at the Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas, providing fans a year-round immersion into F1 and a new engaging daytime venue for the local community. This includes an F1-inspired cartoon experience, an immersive exhibit, a racing simulator, a casual eatery, a retail store, and private event spaces, generating revenue outside of Grand Prix events.
Regarding sustainability efforts, we recently issued a progress report for the 2024 season, with a full impact report due later this year. We have significantly invested in sustainable aviation fuel, with 90% of our promoters enhancing access and travel options, and all promoters collaborating with local organizations on youth-oriented programs. Starting in 2026, F1 cars will be powered by 100% sustainable fuel, a crucial step for the automotive sector as countries seek to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Our recent power unit manufacturing meeting in Bahrain underscored our commitment to the planned 2026 engine regulations, collaborating with all parties to ensure the best racing experience. We anticipate that all F1 teams will begin focusing on the 2026 engine as the season unfolds. Looking ahead, while we are early in our 2025 calendar, we are already considering 2026.
We have agreed on Cadillac's entry into the championship in 2026 and have also established a new Concorde agreement with the teams from 2026 to 2030, progressing well on governance terms. Both the commercial and governance proposals are financially favorable, aligning with the F1 ecosystem's interests and reflecting the collaboration we've built with the FIA and teams to grow F1 for mutual benefit. In conclusion, we are very pleased with our start to the 2025 season, as our strong on-track performance, expanding fan base, and solid financial results position us well for an excellent 2025 and beyond. Thank you.
Thank you, Stefano and Brian. A very quick note and exciting news. Please save the date for this year's Liberty Media Investor Day. Changing things up this year, Investor Day will be held alongside the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Thursday, November 20 in Las Vegas. We will have more details to share in due course and look forward to seeing many of you there. We appreciate your continued interest in Liberty Media. And now I'd like to open the call for questions.
Questions and answers
Our first question today is from Stefan Laszczyk of Goldman Sachs.
Maybe to start just on team payments and the budget for the year. Bryan, curious if you could talk a little bit more about how the team payment budget is structured for the year. And if there were opportunities for upside in that budget in terms of what you pay the teams, what some of the larger opportunities out there could be over the course of 2025 as you execute against them and reach the potential of what you think this business could produce this year.
Yes. Thank you for the question. At the beginning of the year, and as we've talked about in the past, there's always prudent financial forecasting at the beginning of the year. We do think that there's opportunities for upside, but we want to be conservative in thinking about the variables that we have out there, which are the Las Vegas Grand Prix towards the end of the year, and then sponsorship. Everything else is contracted. And as you've seen in the past and we've talked about in the recent quarters, the company is moving away from large go-getters in sponsorship in the current year and focusing on future years. Are there still opportunities? Yes, there's probably some opportunities there. But the biggest unknown will ultimately be ticket sales, which you've heard are trending well currently.
That's great. And then maybe just a follow-up on the sponsorship business. It sounds like there's still some focus on bringing in sponsors or renewing in '25. Would be curious if you could just comment on what those are and to what extent this could still move the needle. And then I guess as we look out into '26, it sounds like your attention focus there as well, longer sales cycles on the sponsorship side. Something you've been focused on. Just curious if you could give us an early read or early look into the '26 sponsorship funnel and to the extent you think that could grow off of '25, what the banded outcome could potentially look like on that?
I'll turn it over to Stefano.
Thanks, Stephen, for the question. Thank you. I mean, I think that we have proven in the last couple of years that our strategy with regard to the sponsorship is quite solid. The main focus is for sure to maximize our revenues, but we need to make sure that the partners that we have are stronger and invested with us with our experiential world. We have a strong pipeline and what we have said already and is confirmed to be here is the quality over quantity and a very, very genuine active activation with our partners because this is crucial in this moment where we want to make sure that our platform is what really our sponsor wants. And the evolution between the structure of our partnership between global, official, regional and technical is getting stronger and stronger. So the focus is definitely to see if we have seen some opportunities in '25, but the big one is to keep going on in the next couple of years, and it just reminds us all of where we were just 4 or 5 years ago and now where we are today. There is still a long way to go, and we are very optimistic about the fact that we will continue to grow that as a revenue stream. And also as a potential awareness increase through them to our partners of our products.
Thanks, Stefano, this is Derek. I wanted to mention that I've had the chance to spend some time with Stefano at the track during the past few races. In my conversations with both current and potential sponsors, I've never felt such energy and excitement about engaging with this sport and F1. In my previous experiences with major sports leagues, there usually seemed to be a more balanced situation with sponsors coming and going. Here, the energy is mostly high, which is fantastic to witness. This enthusiasm extends beyond F1 and encompasses the entire sport. The teams are also expanding their sponsor bases, which is encouraging. I met with Zach Brown last week; he's one of the most effective marketers in the paddock, and he shared with me his plans to sell the underside of shoes. We'll see how that develops.
The next question is from Ben Swinburne of Morgan Stanley.
I'm not sure if Stefano or Derek want to address this, but regarding the media rights process in the U.S., F1 TV has seen significant growth over the years. I'm curious how you view that as an asset in your U.S. media rights deal. Are you open to including it in a broader agreement with a streaming partner, or do you believe it has grown large enough to stand alone? Additionally, Brian, if you could provide any insights on whether you anticipate any team payment leverage occurring between 2026 and 2030 would be helpful, especially in light of previous comments made in past earnings calls.
Stefano, why don't you go ahead and start?
Yes. I mean, thanks Ben for the question. I mean, you're right. First of all, it's always interesting to see the speculation going around with regard to moments where they were optimistic, negative comments and so on. But apart from that, I would say we came back from this weekend in Miami really with the fact that we are engaging with multiple partners, and there is a lot of potential interest from many of them, of which we need to hammer down because we have the time to do it with the proper proposal. As you were correctly saying, F1 TV product is growing and is very, very positive, and the feedback mainly in the U.S. is very, very strong. And therefore, we need to make sure that this asset is right and very valuable. Therefore, we are open to any kind of possible discussion depending on what will be the end and what we believe is the right way to make sure that we keep the penetration in the market as high as possible and making sure that we can monetize out of it.
But the dynamics are very positive. So we keep working on it with them. And I think that the next month will be crucial to see where we're going to be. But we come back from Miami, as I said at the beginning, with very good and positive vibes because I think the U.S. audience figure in Miami that were very, very strong show the potential that we have. And I'm sure that the media partners understand that for a possible asset also for them to develop another small business together. Derek, you want to talk in on that.
Yes, this is Derek. Following up on what Stefano mentioned, we are engaging in promising discussions with potential partners regarding the U.S. media rights deal. What's interesting is that the sport itself continues to grow. As Stefano noted earlier, viewership over the weekend has increased by 45% year-over-year. F1 TV's growth in the U.S. is also up by 20%. The overall health of the business is strong, which I believe is significant not just for this year but for the long-term renewal negotiations. We are still in the early stages of growth for F1 in the U.S., and the early uptake of F1 TV indicates a strong passion for the sport, positioning us well for the future. When we consider how to balance F1 TV with a broader media rights deal, we will see how things develop, what partners seek, and what makes the most sense for F1 in terms of reach and providing products like F1 TV to better understand our customers. This extends beyond content delivery, allowing us to engage with fans more effectively. I believe there are numerous ways this could unfold, but there is clearly a strong demand for F1 and commendable engagement from U.S. fans, which is encouraging.
In response to your second question about the 2026 commercial agreement with Concorde, we anticipate leverage in 2026 compared to the completion of 2025. Moving forward, we expect a more streamlined structure that will be advantageous for all parties involved in the ecosystem.
The next question is from Kutgun Maral of Evercore ISI.
I just want to ask about MotoGP. I think it's encouraging that we're getting closer to regulatory approval here. Now that maybe there's a bit more clarity on getting that deal done, could you talk a little bit about if anything's changed since the deal was initially announced in terms of the broader opportunity that you see ahead with Moto.
This is Derek. I'll take this one. The deal is not finalized until it's fully completed, and we are actively collaborating with the European Commission to reach that point, remaining optimistic about the outcome. From our perspective, we still see significant potential in MotoGP and perhaps feel even more positive now that we've spent more time with them or as much time as we have been permitted. With premium sports properties, the key is finding ways to transform them into more mainstream entertainment assets. We've successfully achieved this with Formula One and in various other sports. I believe there is a similar opportunity here, and once the deal is finalized, we will begin working closely with the management at MotoGP to move forward with our plan.
The next question comes from Peter Supino of Wolfe Research.
A question on sponsorship and one back to the media rights. On sponsorship, 50% fewer races so far year-over-year. And so of course, sponsorship revenue has that headwind? And yet, it looks largely offset by growth from new sponsors. And so we're wondering maybe this is too simplistic, but does that imply that sponsorship growth must have been close to 50% on an underlying basis adjusted for races as we think about modeling the year? Is that a useful number? And then on the media rights, we're of the opinion that the media rights are sort of uniquely misunderstood because the race times mean that the casual fan struggles to engage with the live broadcast. And so maybe the nonlinear format of streaming could really expand access for casual fans. And then of course, the media rights don't have any advertising. And so I wonder if you could comment on both of those opportunities for the media rights.
Stefano, you want to start on the media rights?
Thank you, Derek. I can certainly start with the media rights. It's important to recognize that we've seen growth across all our social platforms, indicating that the younger generation is interested in accessing our content through YouTube and other engagement methods. This is significant, and we need to ensure that it is integrated into our global media rights strategy, extending beyond just the U.S. It's crucial that we provide our clients, who are becoming more engaged, the opportunity to connect with the right products. With the diverse types of fans we have, we must offer multiple options for engagement, which is a major strategic goal for us. Additionally, it's important for our partners to collaborate with us for future success. The dynamics vary in different regions; for example, in Europe, we have a long-term deal with our broadcaster that allows us to understand the market's evolution. We must monitor these differences globally. Overall, our strategy will align with the right partners who will help us enhance the understanding of our sport.
This is Derek. Just to add to Stefano's point, we won't provide a specific number regarding sponsorship. However, I encourage patience because when we reach Q2, you'll see the same 11 races year-to-date, which should offer a clear indication of the sponsorship trend. There are many factors affecting full-year sponsorship revenue recognition. These include calendar changes, new sponsors, contract increases, and expiring contracts from last year. All these elements make it more complex than it may seem.
The next question is from Steven Cahall of Wells Fargo.
Brian, thank you for the guidance on other cost of revenue. Just thinking about that guidance. So I think you said it's going to be consistent with prior years as a percentage of revenue. I think most of us think revenue is going to be up sort of high single digits this year. I think that's an acceleration in other costs versus what you saw last year. I was wondering if you could just help us understand what's in that? Is that due to labor? Is that the Las Vegas Grand Plaza or something else? And then congratulations on the new Concorde agreement. I'm wondering how it contemplates continued focus on competitive balance? And if there's anything in the new agreement that might help start to improve the structure of some of the second tier teams eventually moving up into more competition with the top-tier teams.
Yes. I'll start with other costs. So on a full year basis, there's going to be items that increase. We always see that. We have increased partner servicing and commission costs that support the overall revenue growth of the business that are in there. You have some increased GPP costs as we start the year-round activations. Obviously, those will be offset by the revenue that's being generated there. Otherwise, those are kind of the big things that you would expect. And as we've talked about in the past, we continue to focus on the growth of the business, and so there's growth initiatives that are in there as well to drive future revenue growth in the upcoming years.
Stefano, do you want to talk about the Concorde?
Yes. Thanks, Steven. I think that, as you know, for us, it's essential to make sure that the growth of the sport is done in an organic way; in a way that we can take on mainly 3 bullet points. The first one on the sporting side, to make sure that the teams can be competitive. We need to make sure that the regulation is done in a way that if there are gaps to performance there is the chance for that we want to recover that. Second part related to the sporting side, I think that we have seen already the massive importance of having the budget cap; the cost cap that has given the possibility of the team to understand the level of performance from the technical perspective that they can reach to the money that they have. On the other side, point number two, it is the financial. And we see definitely that a healthy system allows through also Concorde and other sponsorships that are becoming important for the teams, we have a solid team that wants to stay and be even stronger and be competitive for the future.
Third point is the awareness that the sport is living is bringing interest and money to all the ecosystem that will regenerate the possibility of this organic growth through what we are doing. And therefore, I think that what we have done with fair and balanced approach to Concorde just brought the right approach and the right settings for a very, very healthy ecosystem that will be there for the future in the next couple of years, characterized by these kind of elements.
The next question is from Ryan Gravett of UBS.
Curious if you can give us an update on how renewal discussions are progressing for some of your non-U.S. media rights. I believe there are some deals coming up in Latin America and some Asian markets. So any color on the competitive tension you're seeing for those rights and if you're likewise seeing any interest from digital players?
Stefano?
Yes, certainly. It’s a situation that evolves year by year. There are various cultures globally, and in certain regions, we're beginning to notice some competition in streaming. While they may be smaller than anticipated, it's a positive development. Countries like Japan are significant for us, as well as other regions in East Asia and Brazil, which are expected to grow and positively influence our relationships starting next year.
The next question is Joe Stauff of Susquehanna International Group.
I was wondering first question on whether or not you could share with us any organic or same race commentary. Any KPIs you have with respect to the 2 races in the first quarter? And then secondarily, Stefano, maybe a follow-up on an earlier question about team competition. It certainly seems parity where the competition has increased, especially the last season and maybe season to date. And I was just wondering, of those 3 buckets you mentioned, what were the most important reasons or improvements that you have made thus far.
Yes. All I would say is do the math on what we've reported here. We can't give you anything more specific than what we're already showing. But there's a mix of races, obviously. And so you've got Australia and China this year. You've got the 2 Middle Eastern races last year with China not being in the mix. And you can see the impact that you have there on revenue and OIBDA. I was just going to say, Stefano if there's anything you want to add on attendance or paddock club at the one race where we had it, you can add that, but that'd be about it.
No, I think Brian, you were spot on. The comparison isn’t quite right as the situations are different. As you mentioned, we’ll have a clearer picture next quarter when we see the organic growth we're experiencing globally. I just want to share the good news happening worldwide, which isn't just about our commercial agreements but also involves various activities related to Grand Prix, which differ from location to location. The right comparisons will be more apparent when we have final results at the end of the year, but everything is moving in the right direction. Regarding Joe's second question on team competition, we must remember that after many years, the evolution of performance is making the teams very competitive. This year, especially in qualifying, the differences are measured in milliseconds, which is impressive. This is relevant because when we decide to change regulations, it’s typical that performance gaps may increase initially. However, the new regulations aim to minimize the time it takes for teams and new power unit manufacturers to adapt while also emphasizing sustainable fuel and hybrid engines, which is crucial for maintaining the technological relevance of our sport in the future.
The next question is from Spencer Amer of Deutsche Bank.
Thanks for the question. You announced a 10-year extension for the Miami Grand Prix with a number of years left on the current deal. I was wondering if you could shed some color on what made you decide to extend the Grand Prix so early?
I can answer to that, Derek. Yes. Thanks, Spencer, for the question. We believe that the Miami Grand Prix is a very important pillar of our strategy in the U.S. I mean the job done is really very, very impressive. And of course, we want to give the possibility for them also to keep investing, and the more we are able to give that kind of certainty, the more they will invest to grow together, not only on the business evolution but also in order together in order to have the right partnership to develop the American strategy together with them. They've been proved to be a very, very solid and strong partner. And that's the reason why we have anticipated now because there was no reason to wait.
Yes. And just from my standpoint, I went to the first Miami race and then just this last one. I think the improvement and what has happened there on the ground has been pretty impressive. So kudos to our partners in Miami for what they've done, and we look forward to their continued investment in the race.
Our next question is from Jason Bazinet of Citibank.
I just had a very simple question. You rightly pointed out that your business is defensive and is viewed as defensive by investors. The one question we get is people aren't quite sure how to think about the defensiveness of the sponsorship revenue if there was an economic slowdown.
Jason, I think that the answer for that is no one has imagined both what we have in front of us. But what we can see is that the credibility of our platform and the fact that we are very close to them with the fact that we are discussing on a daily basis, what are the need that we need to supply to them is our strength. And the fact that we have a long-term agreement with sponsors is, of course, a financial cover in terms of the risks that we have. But it's more the relation that we have that has been built on the trust and understanding each other what are the needs. That's why, as I said, we are always very prudent, but the relationship that we have and the quality of the parts that are working together with us allow us to be very, very positive. We have long-term contracts, but of course, that will reduce that financial risk. And the good thing is to stay connected and try to see if that has been happening, how we can adjust together to make sure that our platform will offer to them what they need.
Yes, to continue from what Stefano just mentioned, the quality of our partners and the long-term nature of these agreements should provide us with some insulation from potential macroeconomic challenges in the near term. Our partners are seeking broad global exposure, which we offer effectively, arguably better than most others in the market. The supply for them isn't extensive, and we are actively collaborating with our partners to enhance the relationship and support their targets and initiatives. While this perspective is somewhat qualitative, our discussions with partners reveal their enthusiasm for business growth even amidst ongoing economic uncertainty, which has been a reassuring sign.
Is it fair to say it's not as contractual as we do? I was just going to ask...
Sorry. Just to add that we haven't seen.
Go ahead, Jason. Why don't you just ask your next question and then Stefan or I can answer both.
Okay. I was just going to say is it fair to say for investors it's not as contractual as media rights but may be more defensive than if you had an advertising business? Is that the right framing of it?
No, I think these are not like media or advertising deals where you buy on a quarterly or annual basis. These are long-term agreements, similar to our media rights deals, and I won't go into specifics about their lengths. We've probably shared information on some of them. However, just like any media sponsorship deals, and as we discussed regarding Miami, our partners want to invest in their partnerships, which takes multiple years to activate and realize benefits from that investment. This is why our partners prefer a longer-term relationship with us. As a result, we have mostly mid- to long-term contracts with these partners, which helps us in times like this. But Stefano, do you want to finish up?
No, I totally agree, Derek, to be very transparent, we haven't seen any slowdown in our conversation despite the market fluctuation we have today with other potential that is related to what we just said about the credibility of our platform to the fact that, in any case, we believe that being a worldwide sport which can be part of for each of them to differentiate the strategy they need to do it. So I would say that's the situation that we live in today. So it's all good.
Our last question today comes from Matthew Harrigan of Benchmark.
Thank you. As everyone knows, the LEGO drivers parade was marketing genius incidentally. I have a question. You're really putting up great engagement metrics across the board. I mean, linear is encouraging as well as social. And I think you're probably breaking out maybe more than anyone else in social. But nonetheless, I mean, that doesn't really monetize and sometimes it doesn't even translate to people watching the linear channel. I think it's just younger people's way they consume content in shorter form, including sports and F1. Do you have any thoughts on how you might be able to better engage people or better monetize rather people who have shorter attention spans versus someone who's going to get up and watch a race for 2 hours.
Stefano, do you want to start?
Thank you, Derek. I appreciate your comment, and we take pride in our approach because we are constantly innovating. We aim to differentiate ourselves from other platforms and generate interest in our offerings. As Derek mentioned earlier in the call, we are fortunate to have our drivers and partners who are supportive of our strategy because they recognize its value. It's evident that the more initiatives we implement, the better we'll be at monetizing our efforts. It would be misguided to think we could monetize everything immediately, which is why our strategy must be both diverse and comprehensive. We must ensure our connection with fans extends beyond the two hours of racing on Sundays; we need to engage them year-round by tailoring our content. This is a new aspect for us, and I see it as a significant potential revenue stream that will strengthen us in areas where we have previously been less robust. The opportunity for growth is certainly there, but it depends on our ability to be as creative as possible to stand out from other offerings.
Yes, Matthew, thank you for the question. And just a follow-up on Stefano, and then we'll close it out here. But what Stefano was saying is absolutely right. You're building an ecosystem. You've got a funnel here where you are trying to bring in as many people as you can to engage with the sport. Certain platforms historically have been more monetizable directly than others. But at the end of the day, we're not necessarily looking to maximize revenue on each particular platform in each particular content contact that we have with a fan. We are building the whole universe and the whole ecosystem here. So the fan sort of interacts with us on social media that's not instantly monetizable. That fan may go and purchase an F1 shirt, that fan may ultimately attend a race. That fan may end up in Las Vegas one day and want to go to Grand Prix Plaza. That fan may tell their parents to start watching races. So I think that there are so many ways that we ultimately will monetize sort of any of these points of contact that not every single point of contact has to be monetized. So with that, I will close the call for this quarter. I want to thank all of you on the call who have participated and all the questions, great questions that we received. We appreciate your support and look forward to continuing the dialogue. Thank you very much.