What you want to see [in Formula One] is a highly competitive sport - and the more equal it is the more exciting it is... the more volatile in the sense of results. If you have just one winner continuously it dulls the enthusiasm. Martin Sorrell More Quotes by Martin Sorrell More Quotes From Martin Sorrell It is always easy to criticize, as Bernie Ecclestone is somebody with extreme opinions. Martin Sorrell criticize opinion easy That might be the old model: to get a fixed fee. You have to start to think about other models and how they can generate interest - what it can do for a brand in the future - and about the fact that revenue can also be generated in many other ways... Just look at the one and a half million people at the free Rolling Stones concert in Cuba. And Cuba is not Central Park! So just use your imagination as to what kind of revenue can be made. Martin Sorrell central-park people thinking When I think back to 2005, the fast growth markets - what we call the fast growth markets - were probably ten percent of our business. They are now 31 percent. Martin Sorrell percent growth thinking Bernie [Ecclestone] has not been shy to say one or two controversial things. The last person in the UK who described his product as being crap in public was one Gerald Ratner - and he was gone immediately. But not Bernie! What it tells you is that the demand for live sporting rights, the demand for global or regional events, is so powerful that you brush aside some things because there aren't so many of these events. Martin Sorrell powerful rights two I was carrying Jackie Stewart's bag! Formula One was pretty much the same back then. Martin Sorrell jackie formulas bags In that - and that is my personal view - Singapore delivers the most value, as they think about Formula One as a complete entertainment event, on and off track. Martin Sorrell track views thinking Formula One gives a platform to companies like Rolex - and that's just in media space, watching television or reading newspapers, digital or physical. You see the brand in the context of the competition and bring it to the attention of everybody on a regular basis. Martin Sorrell media space reading Despite streaming, despite the rise of tablets and smartphones - all the implications which in theory would make linear TV less important - live sporting events are extremely powerful. But it's not the event alone - it's also what's surrounding it. Martin Sorrell smartphones powerful important Formula One does very well. It is a very interesting asset. Could it be run in a different way? Sure it could be. Could it be improved? I'm sure it could. But all I can say is, it seems to do pretty well. Martin Sorrell doe running interesting Virtual Reality for Formula One could be fantastic - driving the car! Martin Sorrell driving car reality I recently interviewed Bernie Ecclestone in London. He had a go at women, said [Vladimir] Putin should be running Europe and so on. He enjoys it - he's been doing it for such a long time. He has an entrenched position. The truth be known, he is unique, right? Martin Sorrell unique running europe F1 is a fight for people's time. There are millions of options today for how to spend it. That is probably the biggest difference from 1968 to now. Martin Sorrell differences fighting people If you look at the sponsorship yields, Formula One - because it happens every year - generates more sponsorship money for a four-year cycle than anybody else. So it is very powerful. Martin Sorrell yield powerful years In the Ridley Scott film 'The Martian' you can do that [virtually driving car]. I have lifted off in the space craft from the surface of Mars, walked in space and looked down into deep space and got terrified, with the headphones and the goggles. Martin Sorrell goggles car space The world is changing. And a lot of people in Formula One are starting to understand this. Martin Sorrell starting people world If you look at the rights situation - what media companies pay - then you see that the rights prices continue to rise for powerful sports. Now what does that tell you? It tells you that the demand amongst global and local sponsors for these kinds of sports is immense, even if there is controversy attached to them like FIFA - who would definitely be number one on that list, though F1 has also been somewhat controversial. Martin Sorrell powerful rights sports The last person in the UK who described his product as being crap in public was one Gerald Ratner - and he was gone immediately. Martin Sorrell crap lasts gone And there are some - Bernie [Ecclestone] and others - who are embracing new technologies. When Sky UK started to broadcast there was an argument that audience would come down because it is pay TV. But the actual quality of the production and the use of technology and the engagement of the viewer is much better than it ever was. The product is simply better. Martin Sorrell quality technology sky The technology is already incredible and will improve massively in the next few years. Think about what you could do. Martin Sorrell technology years thinking What still amuses me a bit is that in F1 people see the race basically on TV screens. But I am sure new tracks will be built. Martin Sorrell track race people
