Formula One's Ellie Norman talks rebrand, going OTT and its first-ever marketing team

"Getting underway with a rebrand, it then opened its first ever marketing department and subsequently launched an over-the-top streaming service, going to show just how seriously new owner Liberty Media is taking its brand-building efforts. Leading the charge has been director of marketing Ellie Norman, previously advertising and sponsorship boss at Virgin Media, whose first action on taking the role was to commission F1's first ever study into its fans - all part of an immediate objective to better service them and grow the sport."

"Norman said this was one of the reasons F1 launched its direct streaming app last week with little warning. "We are going direct to the fan so we are then able to give them the best experience possible," she told The Drum. There is nowhere else out there with 24 livestreams coming into the app and that is pretty insane - I don't think that has been done before."

"The app is available in around two dozen countries at the moment, largely distributed across Europe and the Americas. Norman said the intriguing distribution of the service (it is available in Germany, France and the US but not the UK) is down to F1 only activating in markets where it hasn't already surrendered exclusivity of the digital rights to broadcasters. Additional conversations are underway, however, about bundling the service with the broadcasters who already own the digital rights too."

Liberty Media rebranded Formula One, opened its first ever marketing department and launched an over-the-top streaming service within six months. Ellie Norman leads marketing and commissioned F1's first fan study to inform strategies for servicing and growing the sport. F1 released a direct-to-fan streaming app offering 24 livestreams to deliver an enhanced viewing experience and deeper engagement. The app is available only in markets where F1 retained digital rights, excluding countries with broadcaster exclusivity. Talks are ongoing about bundling the service with existing broadcasters to broaden distribution. Concerns persist about pay-TV fragmentation and potential higher costs for fans.

Read at The Drum