It is an impressive feat given that the app was only launched in 2014 and began from a standing start as F1 has only revved up its social media presence over the past few years. Its efforts are paying off as data from the F1 Group, which controls the commercial rights to the series, shows that the app was purchased by more than 172,000 fans last year. This comprised 99,624 monthly and 72,638 annual members with 90,000 of them being active members, growing from 60,000 at the start of the season.
Complementing the app are official Youtube and Instagram channels which both only launched in March last year but soon amassed a high-octane following. In just over a year the Youtube channel has had more than 10 million views and, according to F1’s 2015 Global Media Report, its “average views per video of approximately 54,000 compares very well to other rights holders.” Subscriber numbers stand at 167,589 showing the high appetite for engagement from fans.
Similarly, the F1 Instagram account has built up 1 million followers over the past year and the Media Report states that “many Grands Prix weekends saw growth in Instagram users well into double digits as momentum gathers and word spreads exponentially.”
Twitter leads the way as F1 has 2 million followers on the social networking site though it joined far earlier in 2009. Over the past year alone F1 has gained more than 800,000 Twitter followers fuelled by it giving a more personal service rather than just automated Tweets as it had previously done.
F1’s most public-facing digital shop window is perhaps its website Formula1.com which last year had 32 million users and 226.5 million page views with an average session duration of 2 minutes 35 seconds. Its top ten markets are the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, India, Mexico, Sweden, Italy and Spain.
The Media Report confirms that “plans are afoot for further integration of the F1 website.” It explains that this will involve “focus placed on providing a vibrant and informative second screen companion to the TV offering, a crucial step in delivering a seamless content stream to our fans across all platforms.”
As Forbes recently reported, F1 is also breaking new ground with technical innovations in its Business-To-Business marketplace through a new app which has been built bespoke for guests of its Paddock Club corporate hospitality area. The app allows guests to browse other corporate attendees who want to network and introduce themselves. There is a dedicated Business Suite for them to meet and make the most of their time there. It is a technological development which drives business as it allows companies to maximise their returns from the event and benefit both in terms of compliance and the bottom line.
It may sound like F1 is new to the technology race but, in fact, it is far from it. Decades before it was commonplace, F1’s chief executive Bernie Ecclestone invested an estimated $80 million in a pioneering multi-view digital television service called F1 Digital.
Following preliminary tests at the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix Mr Ecclestone signed a deal in 1996 to broadcast F1 on digital TV network DF1 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A total of 20 track cameras, 14 on-board cameras and six pitlane cameras were required to produce six different channels – main race action, secondary race action, pitlane action, on-board cameras, highlights and live timing. The service gave subscribers the opportunity to switch between them and direct their own race, addressing concerns that F1 broadcasts missed some of the action or focussed only on the race leaders.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2016/04/25/formula-one-app-races-to-2-million-downloads-in-2015/#18a2f9306d65
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