Pecco Bagnaia began the season as he ended the last as he triumphed at the Grand Prix of Qatar.
While it remains to be seen whether Marc Márquez can turn his promising first race on a Ducati satellite bike into genuine title-contending form, how is the global motorcycling series faring away from the track?
The series has agreed a US media rights dealwith Warner Bros Discovery (WBD)-owned TNT Sports, while it has also shown an awareness for delivering to receptive audiences by agreeing a free-to-air (FTA) broadcast deal with DF1 in Germany.
All the while, rumours of a sale rumble on. Formula One owner Liberty Media is reportedly among the interested parties looking at a €4 billion (US$4.3 billion) acquisition. Is this what MotoGP needs to take it to the next level?
BlackBook Motorsport delves into the data in SportsPro’s MotoGP commercial guide – a one-stop shop, exclusively for SportsPro+ premium members, to access the latest business intelligence and data pertaining to the series’ commercial dealings – to better understand what a successful bidder would be acquiring.
European heartland
It is perhaps no surprise that MotoGP can rely on strong fanbases in Western Europe.
Eight teams are based in Italy, home of the legendary Valentino Rossi and current champion Pecco Bagnaia. Elsewhere Spain can call on MotoGP’s current figurehead in Márquez, while races in France and Germany recorded the 2023 season’s highest attendances (278,805 fans and 233,196 fans, respectively).
It is no surprise, then, to see that all four countries represent the most lucrative TV markets for the series. Deals with DAZN, Sky Italia, Sky Deutschland, and Canal+ drive much of MotoGP’s total broadcast income, but the other market in the top five most valuable countries offers a glimpse as to why prospective buyers might be interested.
