Streaming the Formula 1 Rivalry: Sport and the Media in the Platform Age

Citation

Boyle R & Haynes R (2024) Streaming the Formula 1 Rivalry: Sport and the Media in the Platform Age. 1 ed. Communication, Sport and Society, 10. New York: Peter Lang Verlag. https://doi.org/10.3726/b21634

Abstract
Taking the global sport of Formula 1 (F1) motor racing as a sustained case study, Streaming the Formula 1 Rivalry examines how the relationship between the sport and the media has evolved in this new digital environment. Starting with a map of the political economy of F1 and its complex commercial relationship with sponsors, investors, and the media, shows how new media owners have aimed to use social and digital media strategies to deepen the global reach of a television sport previously thought of by many as in decline. Drawing on original interviews with key stakeholders across the media and sports industry, including journalists, broadcasters, and those working within F1, this book places the sport within its broader historical context, identifying the central role that the media, particularly television has played in its history, structure, and governance. This book also explores the range of media representations and key narratives that the sport offers and how its relationship with other television genres, such as the Netflix series Drive to Survive is impacting the nature of the sport and its audience. As sport enters a new age of digital engagement, this investigation of the intense relationship between F1 and the creative industries shows us not just how the media are changing, but also that what we understand by the term "sport" is also being altered.

Keywords
Sport; media; Formula 1; platforms; digital; fandom; television; sports journalism; media rights; Streaming the Formula 1 Rivalry; Sport and the Media in the Platform Age; Raymond Boyle; Richard Haynes