As with most things with Formula 1, rumours begin to circulate and it is some months before the truth emerges. It was somewhat surprising then, to hear of assured media speculation suggesting Rupert Murdoch and a few of his billionaire chums were clubbing together to buy out Bernie Ecclestone and the company which holds the commercial rights for the sport, CVC Capital Partners.
Putting aside the behind-the-scenes power wrangling that inevitably comes when two powerful and rich adversaries come up against one another for one second; perhaps the biggest loser of any takeover bid in the United Kingdom at least, would be the BBC.
The last remaining jewel in the BBC’s sporting crown is in danger of being taken away from them, by Rupert Murdoch of all people, whose BSKYB company has slowly but surely stripped the corporation of their sporting assets over the years as football in particular went in search of the big bucks on offer and moved towards satellite TV broadcasters.
What complicates the situation further is the current range of cuts the Beeb are considering as they look to keep their finances in line with the country, and contend with a licence fee freeze. Unable to screen advertising because of the money they receive from taxpayers through TV licenses, every penny must be accounted for and when the licence freeze came, Formula 1 was one of the first names mentioned for the chop.
The BBC pays around £40 million a year for the rights to exclusively screen the sport on TV and Radio, as well as on its website. With a target of £600 million worth of savings by 2014, Formula 1 is squarely in the sights of executives as what they see as an expensive and ultimately unnecessary luxury. Fitting into a wider scale of BBC cutbacks, the at times gaudy sport will be an easy target for cuts at a time where institutions like the National Health Service are also facing cutbacks.
Crucially Formula 1 is not on the list of sports in the UK that must remain on free-to-air channels, leaving it vulnerable to private ownerships in austere times.
And this is where Murdoch and his News Corp bid comes in, and the inevitable switch of the sport to Sky.
Ecclestone for his part, remains adamant that the sport he spent so long trying to gain control of, will not be taken away from him. “It’s absolute rubbish” he told the Daily Telegraph this morning after hearing reports, having reportedly been bypassed by the approach by the consortium which includes the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim. A sub-plot which bubbles in the background is the potential for legal action against both Ecclestone and CVC for breaches of trust of former a former partner owner of the sport.
As with all takeover bids, nothing will happen for the foreseeable future. The Guardian, which reports that News Corp are “thinking about F1″ suggests any bid will wait for the next Concorde meeting next year, where teams decide on the distribution of money (with TV money taking up most of the conversation) , and at the moment a bid remains “rumour and speculation” according to a News Corp spokesman.
The racing is likely to be unaffected. If anything, teams would welcome the new injection of cash into the sport that being broadcast on Sky would bring, while fans will bemoan yet another sport switching to the subscription service.
But while Ecclestone is clear in as much as there has been no contact between him and any consortium, he is a man who knows a thing or two about business and the business of sport, and will likely roll with the punches if a bid were to come, rather than try to avoid them altogether.
What his role would be should a bid come to fruition is unclear. Ecclestone is the face of CVC, effectively an employee of theirs for the watching world to point their questions towards. He may well find himself jumping ship should it become clear CVC are likely to sell up.
Amidst rumours of discontent over his decisions to move races to the Middle East and his increasingly hair-brain schemes including simulating rain for dry races, Ecclestone is under siege somewhat. Just don’t expect him to go quietly.
But it is the BBC who find themselves stuck in the middle of what is essentially a boardroom struggle. They have played a large part in the resurrection in interest of Formula 1 in the British Isles, and have improved viewing figures along with access to the behind-the-scenes goings-on, which viewers have responded to. Despite their attempts to improve the coverage of the sport, their efforts may well be in vain if the money men come knocking.
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