Formula One is the most televised sporting championship in the world, attracting 53.2 billion cumulative viewings in 2000, and racing out to audiences in 195 countries and territories. Inaugurated in 1950, the Formula One World Championship has always been popular, growing in stature during the 60’s and 70’s and attracting good audiences – for its time. It was not until the early 1980’s, however, that the sport’s supremo Bernie Ecclestone negotiated the global television rights contracts which transformed the sport into the spectacle it is today. Founder of the now-defunct Formula One Constructors Association, Bernie organised the teams for the first time, guaranteeing their presences at every event, generating income from the event promoter and TV companies. He moulded Grands Prix to suit the television age, providing TV companies with lucrative contact which - at a time when Sunday was seldom used for sport - filled a previously barren slot in their weekend schedules.

That transformation generated a ‘win win’ for everyone. For the teams, it meant a fixed schedule of races that were properly organised and funded, with large spectator attendance and unparalleled media coverage with which to attract further commercial sponsorship. For the TV companies, it meant having an exclusive contract within their market to broardcast a ‘made-for-TV’ sport which attracted viewers and advertisers alike. And for Bernie Ecclestone, it meant creating a global business which, under the auspices of Formula One Administration (FOA), is today the envy of the professional sporting world.

With 12 teams for 2002, each committed to entering two cars in 17 Grands Prix, the Formula One offering is compelling for fans, media and sponsors. Events take place in Europe, North and South America, Australia and Asia, with further development in Africa and the Middle East likely to occur in the near future. The advent of ‘on board cameras’ - allowing viewers to catch a drivers-eye view of the racing - further attracted the TV moguls.

The most recent weapon in Formula One’s growing armoury has been the creation, in 1998, of the Digital Village -- a US$80 Million portable digital TV compound which is present at each Grand Prix, staffed by 300 personnel, and capable of bringing digital pictures, sound, interaction and pay-per-view systems into the homes of fans around the globe.