ESPN finding success with Formula One ahead of Las Vegas Grand Prix

John Suchenski knew Formula One had the potential to be something special. The ESPN executive didn’t necessarily believe the sport was going to grow exponentially right before his eyes.

“In our industry, that is fairly unheard of to see four or five straight years of growth,” Suchenski said.

ABC was Formula One’s original American broadcaster in 1962, and ESPN distributed the racing series from the mid-1980s through most of the 1990s.

Suchenski, the director of programming and acquisitions at ESPN, helped the broadcaster reacquire the rights for F1 in 2018 and has watched the racing series explode in popularity.

In 2018, the average American viewership per race was 554,000. In 2022, F1 races averaged a record 1.21 million viewers per race.

“It’s a marquee sports property,” Suchenski said, “which we felt had a lot of room to grow.”

Suchenski acknowledged some of F1’s newfound popularity comes from Netflix’s hit show “Formula One: Drive to Survive,” but said ESPN’s linear and streaming platforms also deserve some of the credit for the sport’s surging interest.

“I think we’ve broadened the distribution for Formula One here in the U.S. and given it a platform to succeed,” Suchenski said.

Formula One initially approached ESPN hoping to change its image, Suchenski said. The racing series was officially sold to American company Liberty Media in 2017, and it was looking for ways to reintroduce itself to American audiences.

ESPN was interested because of the early time slots. Suchenski, a 15-year ESPN veteran, said morning programming normally consists of studio shows, which don’t pull in close to the viewership numbers of live sporting events.

Many Formula One races around the world begin right in the middle of North America’s morning slots.

Suchenski said striking the right tone with American viewers has required some learning, especially since there is such a wide range of F1 fans in the country now. The No. 1 thing all American viewers wanted was authenticity, and Suchenski said being able to use broadcasts from Sky Sports, ESPN’s production partner, has been crucial to making the coverage genuine.

This season’s F1 viewership is around 1.1 million viewers per race, down 8 percent from the record-setting 2022 season. Suchenski said Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s dominance may have contributed to the slightly lower numbers, but he said the 2023 season will comfortably be the second-most viewed season of F1 since it was reacquired by ESPN.

Three of the four largest live-viewed races since 2018 — Miami (1.96 million), Monaco (1.79 million) and Canada (1.76 million) — have been this season. Saudi Arabia, Monaco, Canada, Austria, Belgium, Italy and Singapore set event viewership records.

ESPN’s commitment to Formula One will continue with a three-year renewal signed through the 2025 season. More races will be aired on ABC and ESPN, while more qualifying sessions will be broadcast on linear platforms. The new deal also includes the ability for ESPN to create more pre- and post-race programming.

“We’re thrilled with (the partnership),” Suchenski said. “Looking forward to a great weekend here in Vegas, a strong finish to the season, and can’t wait to get going again next March.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.