F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019 27
PRO
RACINGEssential guideto the business of F1STRAIGHT
TALK
Formula 1’s decision to live-streamthe
Mexican Grand Prix in six countries using online
game-streaming platform Twitch took many by
surprise. If you thought free-to-air versus pay-TV
was the main broadcast battleground, things aremore complicated.
Twitch was founded in 2007 by four friends,
including 24-year old Justin Kan, who attached a
camera to his head and live-streamed his life for
the next eight months. You read that right.
Justin.tv, Twitch’s predecessor, wasthe result.
It gave birth to a multi-channel online platform
enabling viewers toenjoy contentfocuse d on
technology, sport, news and gaming. In no time
at all thegaming channels attracted large numbers
of viewers rushing to watch thosewho were
brilliant at it – brilliantly good, bad or funny,
but alwaysenter taining.
Our camera-headed friend and his business
partners sold the company seven years later toNO NEED TO GET
TWITCHY OVER F1
BROADCASTING
Amazon for $970 million. For anyone who found Kan’s head-cam
antics mad, it is easyto see who gotthe last laugh.
Today Twitch boasts morethan 15 million active userseach day,
with over a million online at any point in time. They watch content
provided by over two million broadcasters across 27,000 partner
channels. If, like me, you grewup with three-channel TV, this takes
some getting used to.
Darren Cox, President and CEO of Canadian company Torque
Esports, knows a thing or two aboutthe gaming-to-racing landscape
and the appeal of Twitch. Having played a pivotal role in steering
the GT Academy initiative between NISMO and the famous Gran
Turismo game, he now runs the World’s Fastest Gamer. This is a
competition that offers a real-world racing programme valued at
$1 million to the winner.
“Streaming F1 on Twitch was something F1’s owners neededto
do,” says Cox. “Liberty is a US company with a US bias and they
know the success other sports such as NFL and NBA have hadwith
Twitch. If they can square the circle by working with traditional
free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasters,
it’s the right way to open the sportto
younger audiences.”
One of Torque Esport’s subsidiaries,
Stream Hatchet, provides data analysis
of those accessing livestreams, and Cox
confirms thatF1’s initial foray onto Twitch
produced some fascinating insights.
“Considering younger audiences are often
labelled as having short attention spans,
we can see that 26% of those who watched
Mexico stayed for more than 30 minutes,
and 19% for more than an hour,” Cox adds.
“The people who watched it actually stayed.
Looking at this kind of data is hugely
interesting to F1 and its sponsors.”
The F1 channel on Twitch has almost
43,000 followers, dueto the success of F1’s
official Esports series. Those who tuned in
to watch the live streamfrom Mexico could
enjoy the ‘co-streaming’ – commentary and
chat – of influencers including German
gaming cohort ‘PietSmiet’. They have no
fewer than 2.4 million subscriberson their
dedicated YouTube channel.
With F1 streaming the live racefeed, the
opportunityto offer personalised content
and choose the community you wantto
engagewith during the race is one ofthe
intriguing opportunities Twitch can offer. In
a world of oh-so-serious commentary about
compounds, engine modes and upgrades,
perhaps an engaging, interactive and
brilliantly funny livestream might just be a
winner, whatever your age.The live-streaming of the Mexican GP in six
European countries included all practice
sessions, qualifying and the racePICTURE:SHUTTERSTOCK;ILLUSTRATION:BENJAMINWACHENJEMARK
GALLAGHER
@_markgallagher
facebook.com/f1racingmagF1 RACING DECEMBER 2019 27
PRO
RACINGEssential guideto the business of F1
STRAIGHT
TALK
Formula 1’s decision to live-streamthe
Mexican Grand Prix in six countries using online
game-streaming platform Twitch took many by
surprise. If you thought free-to-air versus pay-TV
was the main broadcast battleground, things are
more complicated.
Twitch was founded in 2007 by four friends,
including 24-year old Justin Kan, who attached a
camera to his head and live-streamed his life for
the next eight months. You read that right.
Justin.tv, Twitch’s predecessor, wasthe result.
It gave birth to a multi-channel online platform
enabling viewers toenjoy contentfocuse d on
technology, sport, news and gaming. In no time
at all thegaming channels attracted large numbers
of viewers rushing to watch thosewho were
brilliant at it – brilliantly good, bad or funny,
but alwaysenter taining.
Our camera-headed friend and his business
partners sold the company seven years later toNO NEED TO GET
TWITCHY OVER F1
BROADCASTING
Amazon for $970 million. For anyone who found Kan’s head-cam
antics mad, it is easyto see who gotthe last laugh.
Today Twitch boasts morethan 15 million active userseach day,
with over a million online at any point in time. They watch content
provided by over two million broadcasters across 27,000 partner
channels. If, like me, you grewup with three-channel TV, this takes
some getting used to.
Darren Cox, President and CEO of Canadian company Torque
Esports, knows a thing or two aboutthe gaming-to-racing landscape
and the appeal of Twitch. Having played a pivotal role in steering
the GT Academy initiative between NISMO and the famous Gran
Turismo game, he now runs the World’s Fastest Gamer. This is a
competition that offers a real-world racing programme valued at
$1 million to the winner.
“Streaming F1 on Twitch was something F1’s owners neededto
do,” says Cox. “Liberty is a US company with a US bias and they
know the success other sports such as NFL and NBA have hadwith
Twitch. If they can square the circle by working with traditional
free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasters,
it’s the right way to open the sportto
younger audiences.”
One of Torque Esport’s subsidiaries,
Stream Hatchet, provides data analysis
of those accessing livestreams, and Cox
confirms thatF1’s initial foray onto Twitch
produced some fascinating insights.
“Considering younger audiences are often
labelled as having short attention spans,
we can see that 26% of those who watched
Mexico stayed for more than 30 minutes,
and 19% for more than an hour,” Cox adds.
“The people who watched it actually stayed.
Looking at this kind of data is hugely
interesting to F1 and its sponsors.”
The F1 channel on Twitch has almost
43,000 followers, dueto the success of F1’s
official Esports series. Those who tuned in
to watch the live streamfrom Mexico could
enjoy the ‘co-streaming’ – commentary and
chat – of influencers including German
gaming cohort ‘PietSmiet’. They have no
fewer than 2.4 million subscriberson their
dedicated YouTube channel.
With F1 streaming the live racefeed, the
opportunityto offer personalised content
and choose the community you wantto
engagewith during the race is one ofthe
intriguing opportunities Twitch can offer. In
a world of oh-so-serious commentary about
compounds, engine modes and upgrades,
perhaps an engaging, interactive and
brilliantly funny livestream might just be a
winner, whatever your age.The live-streaming of the Mexican GP in six
European countries included all practice
sessions, qualifying and the racePICTURE:SHUTTERSTOCK;ILLUSTRATION:BENJAMINWACHENJEMARK
GALLAGHER
@_markgallagher
facebook.com/f1racingmag