Liberty Media CEO faces backlash after controversial comments: 'They're destroying F1'

Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang has faced a huge backlash from F1 fans online after he made comments regarding the sport's fandom which have proved highly controversial.

The comments in question came when Chang was discussing F1's US broadcast deal with Apple TV, which came into effect in 2026.

Previously, races had been broadcast on ESPN in the United States, so the switch to Apple was a significant one, moving away from traditional TV broadcasting to digital streaming.

Neither F1, Liberty Media, nor Apple has released the viewing figures following the switch. However, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali claimed earlier this year that the deal was delivering 'excellent viewership and engagement.'

Despite that, analytics by Samba TV, as reported by Sports Business Journal, have claimed that household reach is down since the Apple TV deal came into force.

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Liberty Media CEO on Apple TV deal

Liberty Media CEO Chang reiterated that Apple had been a 'great partner' and had 'performed exactly the way we thought and frankly even better' over the US Grand Prix weekend, but his comments while discussing the deal have caused a storm.

For F1, viewership is no longer the only important metric, it seems.

"You no longer think about F1 as something that you've got to go to every race or watch every race on television to be a fan, right?" Chang said at the 'Formula One's Premium Playbook' event, via SBJ.

"Now, we would love every person associated with F1 to follow F1 24 hours a day, go to every race or watch every race on TV, but we know that's not going to happen, right? But one of the important stats is that we have hundreds of millions of fans out there [and] 60% of those fans engage with F1 on a daily basis.

"Obviously we don't race every day. So this is content that is... whether it's highlights, whether it's previews of upcoming races, whether it's lifestyle things, right? Stuff like that that people want to engage with on a daily basis, and that brings them into the sport, makes them feel like they're part of the sport, and it’s front of mind for those people."

F1 fans turn on Chang

Those comments have not gone down well with some F1 fans, with a number sharing concerns over Chang's words and Liberty Media after they were reported.

"Liberty Media has been a shameful owner. They're destroying F1," one user claimed. "What a disaster. Entirely the wrong people."

Another X user added: "Haven't watched F1 since they went to Apple. F1 screwed the American market when they left ESPN. I will watch the race recaps on YouTube soon after the race is over..for free."

That was a similar comment to others, with another user adding: 'Since Apple TV, I've moved on."

Others also cited the current regulations as another reason for switching off and not making the effort to watch, on top of the Apple deal.

"It was gone from my life like a light switch. The switch to Apple, plus these horrific Mickey Mouse battery cars basically obliterated F1 from my life," one X user said.

"Stopped engaging on Twitter and the content disappeared. Can't imagine worse handling of the whole deal."

Another user summed it up brutally, admitting: "It’s out of sight, out of mind. And honestly kind of glad. It’s a terrible product and I’m glad the F1 bubble in the US has burst."

Not all reaction was negative, of course, although it was hard to find much positive reaction to what Chang said.

One user did defend those who do not want to watch every race's right to be F1 fans, though, writing: "Gatekeeping F1 is so tired. The sport literally needed Netflix to survive and now everyone's mad people found it through Drive to Survive. Let the new fans exist."

F1's deal with Apple TV is currently set to run until the end of the 2030 season.

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Written by

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson - F1 Editor

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