The desire of Formula 1 owners Liberty Media to expand its audience and attract younger fans to the sport will see it launch an official Blockchain-based game next month.
The blockchain is a distributed ledger system famous for powering cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but its proponents believe it can be used in just about every single industry.
It’s essentially a peer-to-peer platform that allows people to communicate and make transactions without the need for an intermediary. These records can’t be changed, so it adds an element of trust and validation to environments without a central authority figure.
Potential Blockchain use cases for the sports industry include mobile ticketing, which has been adopted for the UEFA Super Cup final, and even club ownership.
F1 Blockchain game
For its own Blockchain-related project, Formula 1 has agreed a licensing agreement with Hong Kong-based gaming firm Animoca Brands to release F1 Delta Time. The company works with other brands, including several children’s entertainment franchises, and uses gamification, Blockchain and AI technologies to appeal to target audiences.
F1 Delta Time will include a collectible element using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and a racing element based on the trading and acquisition of these NFTs. All cars, drivers and components in the game are NFTs, each of are verifiably unique, wholly owned by a player who has the permission to use, trade or sell it.
All NFTs have special race day attributes that increase the chances of winning races and are produced in limited quantities as determined by their level of rarity. The first phase of the game will go live on May 10.
Animoca believes F1’s worldwide audience of 1.6 billion television viewers and 4.1 million race attendees, along with its high profile commercial and broadcast partners, will give it a platform to prove the viability of Blockchain gaming and to expand its business.
"Securing a partnership to make blockchain games with Formula 1 - one of the most recognized brands in sport - is a notable achievement,” declared Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands. “We will leverage Formula 1’s considerable global reach to drive product uptake and revenue growth as together we seek to increase consumer exposure to Blockchain.”
Digital push
Liberty Media has made digital a priority ever since it acquired the sport in 2016 and appointed Frank Arthofer as global head of digital and new business back in May 2017. In addition to new on-screen graphics, it has partnered with Amazon Web Services, using cloud AI technology to crunch race data and present it in a more meaningful way to fans and commentators.
It has also launched its own F1 TV, its own over the top (OTT) streaming service in certain markets.
This digital push is essential if Formula 1 is to maintain and build its fanbase. There is intense competition for millennials’ leisure time and even then they are using new channels, like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to interact with sporting organizations.
In the U.K, the live broadcast rights are held Sky Sports with the British Grand Prix being the only race shown on free-to-air television. Formula 1 needs to retain a visible presence to keep teams and sponsors happy and, better late then never, it believes digital is the way forward.
