F1 sees growth in TV and Digital audiences
17th February 2022Formula One has announced their audience figures, for 2021, and have shown the motorsport is the fastest growing sport in the world.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, F1 produced a spectacular 2021 season which saw highs and lows throughout the year.
The season also produced a new format, Sprint Qualifying, which was first held at the 2021 British Grand Prix. An old track returned with the Dutch fans taking up their positions for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Mercedes clinched their eighth world title, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen secured his first World Driver’s Championship on the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Digital audiences
F1 was shown to be the fastest growing sport on social media channels, throughout 2021, as they sit on 49.1 million followers. In addition, they also claimed the highest engagement rate on social media, compared to other sports.
Their followers, spread across; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok, Snapchat, Twitch and Chinese
social platforms, were up by 40%.
As a result, the pinnacle of motorsports has outperformed other sports in the digital realm.
TV audiences
Unsurprisingly, the Abu Dhabi delivered the highest television audience, with 108.7 million viewers, as the title went into the final race, between Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – on 369.5 points each.
The total TV audience, across the season, was a huge 1.55 billion viewers which was 4% up on their total amount from 2020. While their unique viewers, those who watch at least one race during the season, was a whopping 445 million, 3% more year-over-year.
https://twitter.com/ESPNF1/status/1494355991839879169
Race attendance
While, in 2020, F1 couldn’t have spectators in to watch their races – apart from a select few (Mugello, for example.) However, the sport was able to invite fans back into the grandstands.
Despite having lower figures than pre-Covid numbers of 4.16 million, the sport still managed to allow 2.69 million fans back.
Only three races had more than 300,000 spectators over a race weekend, which were: the United States (400,000), Mexico (371,000) and Great Britain (356,000). All three venues managed to bring in more fans than in 2019, the last time full capacity at a circuit was possible, with their previous attendances being 268,000, 348,000 and 351,000 respectively.
With the strong showing of fans, it looks highly likely the sport will be able to match – and even beat – their previous records of overall attendance once the pandemic subsides.
That’s all for the article: F1 sees growth in TV and Digital audiences! Are you impressed with the numbers? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula One here:
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- F1 Commission; structural changes, Sprint race returns and weather-affected races
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.