Earnings Call Transcript - BATRA Q1 2022

Operator, Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to Liberty Media Corporation's First Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded May 6th. I would now like to turn the conference over to Courtnee Chun, Chief Portfolio Officer, please go ahead.

Courtnee Chun, Chief Portfolio Officer

Thank you. Before we begin, we'd like to remind everyone that this call includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual events or results could differ materially due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those mentioned in Liberty Media's most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q, or Liberty Media Acquisition's most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q, filed with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this call and Liberty Media and Liberty Media Acquisition expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Liberty Media or Liberty Media Acquisition's expectations with regard there to or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based. On today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures for Liberty Media and SiriusXM, including adjusted OIBDA and adjusted EBITDA. The required definitions and reconciliations for Liberty Media and SiriusXM schedules 1 and 2 can be found at the end of the earnings press release issued today, which is available on Liberty Media's website. Now, I'd like to turn the call over to Liberty President and CEO, Greg Maffei.

Gregory Maffei, CEO

Thank you, Courtnee, and good morning to all of our listeners. Today, speaking on the call, we will also have Formula One's President and CEO, Stefano Domenicali, and Liberty's Chief Accounting and Principal Financial Officer, Brian Wendling. So I'll begin with Liberty SiriusXM. We received $872 million of gross dividends from SIRI tax-free in the first quarter, including the special and regular dividend. We had to pass through $30 million of that special dividend because of the nature of our convertible bonds. We continued our share repurchases, repurchasing $182 million across LSXMA from February to April. We repurchased those at a look-through price on SIRI of about $356 a share. We, of course, remain disappointed with the discount and will attack it as much as we can. We're very focused on long-term value creation for our shareholders. Now looking at SiriusXM itself, it was a solid start to the year, and it continued to perform well financially despite a challenging auto market. Revenue was up 6%. Monthly churn was wonderful, down at 1.6%. And we had record ARPU up 9%. New car penetration for SiriusXM is now at 83% and has enabled a fleet of 146 million cars here in the U.S. As expected, self-pay net adds were down slightly due to challenges in the auto market. This was partially offset by strength in digital, as we had a 50% increase in the subscribers listening digitally to our on-demand content. I'd also note we launched our first-ever streaming channel, Freakonomics, dedicated to podcasting and available across all the SXM platforms. SXM Media was named the number one podcast ad network, according to Edison Research, and we represent four of the top 15 podcasts in the country with the addition of Crooked Media this month. Also beginning with this year's Masters, SiriusXM is the exclusive audio provider for the tournament and providing excellent programming across all four rounds. Turning to Live Nation, this was Live's best quarter ever, including another record quarter at Ticketmaster. Compared to 2019, AOI is up two times, transacted GTV is up 39%, and sponsorship AOI is up 75%. We expect a record 2022. We've already sold 70 million concert tickets and expect double-digit fan growth versus 2019. Concert ticket pricing is up double digits over 2019 due to fan demand for the best seats, and over 90% of our planned sponsorship net revenue is already committed. Turning to the Formula One Group, on the corporate side, we repurchased 348,000 F1 shares for $20 million or $5614 a share. Looking at F1 itself, it has had a thrilling start to the 2022 season. So far, we've seen battles back and forth on who will be on the podium each weekend. The event at Emilia brought exciting qualifying results, and the format is working well with the new regulations, producing strong viewership numbers. The sprint audience is up 28% versus the qualifying last year at Emilia. We also see record demand in the U.S. early this season. ESPN viewers for the Sunday race in both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were up 56%. That was the most viewed race since ESPN re-acquired the Formula One rights in 2018. The momentum in the United States continues with this weekend's inaugural Miami GP. Of course, you may have heard about the announcement of our Las Vegas GP for November 2023. That will be a night race down the strip, and notably, in a different approach than most places, Formula One and Liberty Media are self-promoting the race in partnership with local stakeholders and Live Nation. The build-out for this track will require increased CapEx and OPEX to develop; however, we intend to update you later this year. I would note that Liberty Media did enter an agreement to acquire 39 acres east of the strip to lock in circuit design and create capacity for the pit and paddock, among other hospitality and race support venues. I expect that transaction will close in the second quarter, and the purchase price was $240 million, to be funded by cash on hand at the Formula One Group level. We announced numerous commercial announcements, including media rights extensions with the FOXTEL Group in Australia and Canal+ in France. Sponsorship is off to an exciting start this year with several new deals, including two new Global Partners, MSC and Salesforce. We look forward to more announcements as the year progresses, and we also look forward to seeing some of you this weekend in Miami. Turning to the Braves, we started the season with a week-long World Series Champion celebration, including delivering World Championship rings to the players. We've completed less than 20% of the season, a long way to go, and last season showed how far things can change over 162 games. We're hovering around the same record as last year, and we all know how that turned out. At least we managed a split with the Mets over the last couple of days. We are excited about our roster. We signed a first base player, a 27-year-old Atlanta native. We strengthened the bullpen with Janssen's addition, and we're thrilled to welcome Ron Lacoon Jr. back in the lineup this week. While it's still early in the season, financial performance has already been incredible. Going into the season, we had the highest season ticket sales in more than two decades, sold out all of our multiyear premium seats for the first time ever, and opened our renovated Delta Club. Retail and concession sales have been strong for the first few homestands, including selling out most of our gold program jerseys. As you undoubtedly know, a new CBA was signed in March. There will be minimal impact from the late start since the lost games were away games, and we still expect a full 162-game season. In January, we also completed the sale of three minor league teams. In final exciting news, we debuted the digital Trust Park in April for future metaverse fan opportunity engagement. Turning briefly to Almac, there is nothing to report today. Obviously, we'll announce when we have something, but I would note the environment is very difficult, as many of you know; I think it does favor us, and we continue to look at some interesting opportunities. And with that, I'll turn it over to Brian for more on our financial results.

Brian Wendling, CFO

Thank you, Greg, and good morning, everyone. In January, we settled exchanges of the 2.25% Live Nation exchangeable bonds for a total consideration of $664 million, funded with cash and margin loan drops. At quarter-end, Liberty SiriusXM Group had attributed cash and liquid investments of approximately $634 million, which excludes $76 million of cash held at SiriusXM. There is also $1 billion of undrawn margin loan capacity at the parent level related to our SiriusXM and Live Nation margin levels. As of May 5th, the value of the SiriusXM stock held at Liberty SiriusXM Group was $19.7 billion, and the value of the Live Nation stock held was $6.6 billion. We have $3 billion in principal amount of debt against these holdings. The total Liberty SiriusXM Group attributed principal amount of debt is $13.9 billion, including $9.9 billion of debt at Sirius XM. The Formula One Group had attributed cash, liquid investments, and monetizable public holdings of $1.6 billion at quarter-end, which excludes $834 million of cash held directly at Formula One. The total Formula One Group attributed principal amount of debt was $3.4 billion, which includes $2.9 billion of debt at Formula One, leaving $454 million at the corporate level. F1's $500 million revolver is undrawn, and Formula One's leverage at the end of the quarter was 3.7 times, meaningfully within our target leverage range of less than five times. As of quarter-end, we're no longer in a period covenant waiver. Looking at a few cash items on Formula 1, we estimate Formula 1's cash tax rate in 2022 to be a single-digit percentage of adjusted OIBDA, increasing modestly to low double-digits in 2023 and thereafter, as a result of the UK tax rate increase effective next year. Additionally, Formula 1 is currently undergoing a project to refurbish and upgrade its UK-based media and technology center at Beacon Hill in the UK, where broadcast production and other technical activities and related staff are based. Formula 1 expects to incur about $40 million in incremental CapEx associated with this project, approximately half of which will be recognized in 2022 and the remainder next year. This elevated CapEx excludes any CapEx necessary to support the launch of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023. As Greg mentioned, we'll provide updates on that later in the year. As a reminder, under the current Concorde Agreement, team payments now take the form of an entirely variable price fund, calculated based on F1's adjusted EBIT rather than adjusted EBITDA, the adjusted EBITDA measure that was used in previous agreements, affecting each calculation. Finally, at the Braves Group, at quarter-end, they had attributed cash and liquid investments of $311 million, which excludes $26 million of restricted cash. The Braves Group had attributed principal amount of debt of $678 million. As Greg mentioned, the Braves completed the sale of three minor league teams in January. Proceeds are included in our financial results as they disposition in the first quarter. Liberty and our consolidated subsidiaries are in compliance with their debt covenants at quarter-end. And with that, I'll turn it over to Stefano to discuss Formula One.

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula One

Thanks, Brian. I'm thrilled to be in Miami this morning as we set up for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. The scene is buzzing with excitement, and we're looking forward to the weekend. The 2022 season is off to a phenomenal start. The many changes to the cars and regulations have resulted in improved racing. The cars now follow more closely, enabling greater opportunities for wheel-to-wheel racing, with drivers trading positions multiple times and making thoughtful strategic decisions about their moves. The strength is back, and we held our first event of the season in Emilia that came down to the final few laps. It turned out to be a Grand Slam weekend for Red Bull, winning qualifying, the race, and the sprint; securing extra points for the fastest lap. The first sprint of the season recorded a total audience of 8.4 million, a 28% increase versus qualifying for the same Grand Prix in 2021, with strong growth in Brazil and the U.S. The Emilia weekend on the Sky's for Italy website recorded a 74% increase in unique users compared to the Emilia GP in 2021. On F1's social platforms, we saw 149 million video views, up 36% versus Emilia in 2021, and 45 million engagements, a 43% increase versus 2021. However, the start of the season so far has favored Ferrari, which has shown real strength with the car, and Charles Leclerc currently leading the drivers' championship by 27 points. Red Bull is catching up. We expect the season to continue to create great racing and close battles at the front. As confirmed on our last earnings call, we will not be racing in Russia in September, and we are currently considering options for the sport, hoping to announce more information soon. The action on the track is certainly drawing in the audience. Through Emilia, the average audience across the main Saturday and Sunday sections is 23.8 million, representing a 10% increase versus the 2021 season average. In the U.S., the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix recorded an average of over 1.4 million viewers, ranking as the ninth-highest of all time and the second-highest on cable. And at the last race, fans showed up in huge numbers. We had record attendance in Bahrain, and in Saudi Arabia, we welcomed 140,000 fans over the weekend at full capacity. Melbourne had the largest attendance in Australian sports history with 420,000 fans, and strong advanced ticket sales almost everywhere suggest we may continue to see sellouts at other races for the remainder of the season, including here in Miami. We were thrilled with the response to season 4 of Drive to Survive; this season is the most popular yet. On the opening weekend, fans consumed 28 million hours of Drive to Survive, making it the number one show in 33 countries. Looking towards the 2023 season, we announced the debut of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November 2023, which will take place at night down the iconic strip. We cannot think of a more perfect marriage of speed and glamour. Staging the race in the U.S. demonstrates the huge appeal and growth of our sport here. In fact, in the 24 hours following the official announcement, we and the anchor resort in Las Vegas saw more requests for hotel room reservations than any other one-day period in their history. This announcement generated four times more social media activity than the 2024 Vegas Super Bowl announcement. It is precisely this opportunity that led us to take on the promoter role for this race. We believe acting as the promoter will provide us with valuable insight across the business. As Greg noted, this will require investments on both the CapEx and OPEX side, and we plan to share more on this later this year. Additionally, we announced an extension of the immediate reminder Grand Prix at the historic track through 2025. We're pleased with the progress made in the other commercial areas, especially with our new sponsors, including several in the technology space. Salesforce has joined us as a global partner in a multiyear deal. In addition to the growing and deepening engagement with our fan base, we will gain actionable insight around our carbon footprint as we advance toward our goal of net zero emissions by 2030. Tata Communications returned as the official broadcast connectivity provider of Formula One. They will facilitate the transfer of more than 100 video feeds and 250 audio channels between the venues and the F1 Media and Technology Center in the UK in under 200 milliseconds, reaching over 500 million fans in 180 territories. We've made great strides on the ESG front, as our move to remote broadcast operations in 2020 allowed us to reduce our volumes of traveling freight and staff at the racetrack. We also welcomed Lenovo as an official partner, and we will use their technology across our operations. We will leverage their extensive selection of premium, hard-weather innovative next-generation technology, such as augmented and virtual reality. Additionally, we will work with Lenovo on projects around diversity and inclusion. We were also pleased to announce the renewal and expansion of our partnership with Workday, a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources. Outside of the global space, we announced a multiyear deal with MSC Cruises as a global partner, bringing their cruise ships to race weekends. AlphaTauri, Red Bull's premium fashion brand, has become the official premium fashion apparel supplier of Formula One. On the broadcast front, we renewed our partnership with another lab until 2029. We are seeing significant viewership growth in France, with average viewership for each Grand Prix in 2021 up 18% over 2020 and up 50% compared to 2019. The first race of the season already ranks among the top five highest ratings of all time for F1 events. And following our strategic partnership, CALID is through subscribers, we now have access to F1TV through myCanal. We partnered with the Foxtel Group in Australia in a multiyear deal, and every Grand Prix will be available on Foxtel, integrating the F1TV app into their set-top boxes. From 2023, the F1TV app will be available for free to Foxtel subscribers, providing multiple live in-race feeds, comprehensive live timing data, and exclusive programming on the ground. F1TV continues to see significant growth, accelerated to 2022 from an already strong 2021. For the first race of the season in Bahrain, the platform gained 427,000 new users, and concurrent viewers were up to 144% compared to 2021. We continue to evolve on the gaming front with the F1 Manager 2022, the first management simulation game as part of our long-term multi-task agreement to be released this summer. The game allows you to become the team principal, choose your drivers and engineers, and balance your budget as you manage your team to victory. Find out if you are a Toto or a Christian. As you can see from our recent commercial announcements, our ESG goals are a major focus, not only for us but also for our partners. We are moving towards our goal of being net zero carbon as a sport by 2030. For the Bahrain Grand Prix, we exceeded our target to offset our emissions. Our experienced promoter, the Bahrain International Circuit, demonstrated vision and speed by completing a solid project that more than covered the energy requirements of the entire Grand Prix weekend. This successful initiative shows what we can do as a sporting community to make a positive contribution to reducing emissions and our carbon footprint. We hope you enjoy this weekend of racing as much as we plan to. Full-speed ahead. And now I will turn the call back over to Gregory. Thank you.

Gregory Maffei, CEO

Thank you, Stefano and Brian. We hope you'll tune into our inaugural Miami GP this weekend. We appreciate your continued interest in Liberty Media and look forward to a healthy and productive 2022. And with that operator, I'd like to open the line for questions.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. We'll go first to David Karnovsky with JPMorgan.

David Karnovsky, Analyst

Thank you. With the Las Vegas Grand Prix, I was hoping you could discuss a little bit more the decision to promote this yourselves as opposed to a third party. Is this primarily about capturing the financial upside beyond what you could get on a promoter fee? Would you look to apply this model elsewhere? Also, Gregory, I think at the start of the call, you mentioned a $240 million purchase for land adjacent to the site in Vegas. Just wondering if you could provide some incremental detail on what you're buying here and how that ties into the race logistics. Thanks.

Gregory Maffei, CEO

I'll take a cut and then let's Stefano add. I think I indicated we're buying 39 acres for $240 million, and that will be the site of the pit and paddock and some other hospitality. We don't have any other financial details yet to release on what else will be spent on that site. I think our decision to promote Vegas in conjunction with Live Nation and local partners is driven by a couple of things. One, proximity; it's fairly easy relative to being in Denver to get to Vegas for us to do the work. And we have some knowledge of the local U.S. market relative to many other markets. But I think, and more importantly, we see the opportunity to be a promoter as a way to expand our understanding of the business, understand how to be the best Formula One product on the track for other promoters as well, and to look at an opportunity to grow our knowledge and our understanding, and potentially promote other races down the road. Lastly, I think Vegas is going to be a large and unique opportunity. So from a financial perspective, we think this sets up pretty well to be worthy of the extra time and focus needed to become the promoter. Stefano, I don't know what you would add.

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula One

No, thanks, Gregory. I think Gregory was spot on in all the points. I would say that, as we remember, David, Vegas has always been a place where we believe that the association between the values of Formula One and its glamour and attractiveness is crucial. But I would say, on top of the financial aspects, we can be seen as an enabler to maximize what potentially Vegas could be for Formula One in terms of awareness, business creation, and activating an area of the world where we can bring international attention. This is a great win-win for the business as well for those investing there. Our knowledge of the business and our opportunity to explore with our Live Nation partner—who I think is the best—ensures that when we have the race next November, it will be spectacular and unique, as I would say we already feel in Miami.

David Karnovsky, Analyst

Thank you.

Operator, Operator

We'll take our next question from Bryan Kraft with Deutsche Bank.

Bryan Kraft, Analyst

Hi, good morning. I had a high-level question and then one on Formula One if you don't mind. I guess Gregory first, what are your overall thoughts on the economy and the interest rate environment and how are they impacting your decisions around capital allocation, capital structure, and potential new investments? Is now the time to deploy capital for new investments given the decline in asset prices, or are you more focused on cash preservation? And then on the Formula One side, can you talk about how Formula One benefits from what appears to be really strong economics around the Miami Grand Prix? I think the terms there for Miami are a bit more variable than some of your other race promotion deals, so any color would be great. As a follow-up to David's question, did anything you see in Miami help inform your strategy to become the promoter for Vegas? Given that things are going so well there, did you see an opportunity to participate more in the upside? And one more, on the investment in Vegas and developing that, how much larger might the Vegas build-out be in order of magnitude versus what you've already laid out for this year? How would you think about potential external financing, whether it's debt specifically on the project or bringing in some creative stuff like you did with the Braves in Atlanta? Thanks.

Gregory Maffei, CEO

I'm going to parse those. On the last one, I don't think we're ready to talk anymore about the outlays at Vegas. It will be bigger than what we have laid out, but manageable. I don't think we'll need outside partners. And I don't think we'll need debt; we have quite a lot of cash in F1. I'll let Stefano talk a little more about what Miami informed us, and I'll talk more broadly about cash in the market. Thanks.

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula One

Thanks, Gregory. Bryan, as you know, the different forms of relationships with promoters relate to maximizing the opportunities that each place can provide to Formula One. The vibes we have created as Formula One here in Miami are immense. We can develop two strategies on that: How can we maximize the value that Formula One will bring to the community; and how can we maximize the value of our partners? Investing in Formula One allows them to see us as an enabling factor, creating business opportunities for them. This indirect value from Formula One is exceedingly high today due to our successful international platform. Of course, the fact that we invested together with our promoters, the Miami Dolphins, is because they know the community and have the right expertise to maximize things for Formula One in the shortest term possible. This success is already palpable even before the event starts. This is the first time we are here, but we can see a different business model emerging with a lot of corporate interest, which is another way to enhance our value.

Gregory Maffei, CEO

On the larger question about the market environment, it’s scary to try to imagine investing or catching a falling knife in this interest rate environment. However, we try to take a long-term view. There are opportunities that could emerge in these circumstances. Some of the best deals we've done, like SiriusXM, were conceived in difficult economic times. We are fortunate to have cash availability at the SPAC and F1, along with strong free cash flows, which I believe creates opportunities for us. Exactly when that will occur and how we decide to proceed will depend on multiple factors. We have benefits and disadvantages in our model, and it’s not quite as straightforward as stating to buy 5% of the company during a market downturn; it’s a longer cycle in seeking deals. Nonetheless, I believe the current environment will unveil opportunities, and we will be on the lookout.

Bryan Kraft, Analyst

Thank you, both.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Vijay Jayant with Evercore.

Vijay Jayant, Analyst

Thanks. On Formula 1, regarding the Las Vegas race for next year, should we think about it as an incremental race? So are we going to 24 races, assuming you get a replacement for Russia this year? What is the policy around adding more races? I've read that some drivers are concerned there are too many races already. Is that tied to a regulatory process with the FIA and the teams? Any insights would be appreciated. Also, on some of the new races returning post-COVID-19 like Japan and Singapore, they used to have material regional sponsors. Do you expect them to come back, particularly Singapore Airlines and Honda?

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula One

Thanks, Vijay. As you know, first of all, we will not publish the calendar for next year just yet. There is an established agreement among us, FIA, and the teams. As the commercial right holder, it’s our responsibility to find the right balance between the number of events, historical races, and new opportunities. Today, we often talk about 23 or 24 races, and that seems to be the right number considering our current success. Las Vegas will be in the calendar; that's assured. On the other hand, we will announce our strategy as we respect the process and will aim to prepare effectively, likely not earlier than the end of summer. Regarding local promoters and sponsorship with Japan and Singapore, we notified that Singapore Airlines will be part of Singapore's promotional package, as they consider it essential. Japan will also see some focus, including recognition for Honda during their events given their decision to exit Formula One. This is part of our strategic discussions with our promoters, leading to economic benefits which will also extend to us.

Vijay Jayant, Analyst

Great, thanks so much.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. We'll take our next question from Stephen Lesic with Goldman Sachs.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Thank you. One on Formula 1, revenue in the first quarter came in a little stronger than most of us expected. Could you help us maybe on packaging the drivers, perhaps across media or sponsorship rates conversion, and other revenue in that high level?

Gregory Maffei, CEO

I'm sorry, its revenue beat expectations?

Brian Wendling, CFO

Yes. Q1 was ahead.

Gregory Maffei, CEO

Well, I mean, for Formula 1, obviously, we had two races versus one last year, and we are really back to more normal activities than we've seen over the past couple of years. Full crowds have contributed significantly, and we've also had good sponsorship revenue as well. Although freight costs have raised a bit, some of those costs are passed on to the team, providing incremental benefits. The normal activities compared to the past two years is really where we've seen these benefits.

Brian Wendling, CFO

If I could just add, we've seen growth in almost every revenue category. Notably, the way we recognize revenue ratably across races probably had the most significant impact. The fact that we had two races compared to one in the first quarter impacted the revenue streams that are recognized ratably.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Got it. Thanks for that. And then maybe one for Gregory on sports media rights. I'm curious how you think the interest and ultimately the value of sports media rights could be impacted over the long term if these concerns around slowing scheduled subscriber growth play out. Do you think it helps improve their hand given unique live content, or is the softening market likely to affect content spending?

Gregory Maffei, CEO

I think it’s a complicated topic, and your perspective can change how you view it. There could be strains on the Braves over the long term as the RSNs become less included in bundle offerings, which may pressure some of the RSN revenue streams. However, the Braves have a strong RSN revenue stream with considerable demand, so we may be less impacted than many others. Conversely, Formula 1 has seen increases in demand and viewership, with U.S. media rights commonly known to be up for bid starting next season. We have significant interest from both traditional linear players and digital outlets. Despite subscriber decline in cable, there's been a rise in some digital subscriptions. Overall, I believe we're likely better off with more players bidding in the changing landscape, which brings both advantages and disadvantages depending on the company in question.

Unidentified Analyst, Analyst

Great, thanks for that.

Operator, Operator

We'll take our next question from Barton Crockett with Rosenblatt Securities.

Barton Crockett, Analyst

Thanks for taking the question. I had one question from an investor that I found relevant about the Braves. The market value indicates they are trading around 3.5 times sales, while private market transactions for baseball teams are closer to 7X sales. Why won't you take more steps to achieve that market value for the Braves? One option could be to split the Braves off as an actual stock, which could help the value process. What are your thoughts on this, and why have you not pursued those opportunities to date?

Gregory Maffei, CEO

Great question. Even if it's not your question, Barton, I appreciate it. We are considering all options regarding what we might do; some relate to recent developments regarding our ATB flexibility. There are some ongoing issues we're examining regarding SIRI, as you know, with the crossover around 80. We have also just made Formula One an ATB, so we have some moving targets. We evaluate all opportunities. Your investor is correct in noting our trading multiple is lower than that in private transactions. I’m uncertain whether we would still receive those valuations in public markets, but having the flexibility to do this may indeed improve our trading over time.

Barton Crockett, Analyst

Okay. Thank you.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. We'll take our next question from David Joyce with Barclays.

David Joyce, Analyst

Thank you. Another question on Formula One, please. Conceptually, how should we think about the principal versus agency relationship on your self-promoting? Not looking for any financial specifics, but just accounting-wise. Will it be that Live Nation is the promoter and takes all the new top-line revenue, with the operating expenses reflected in that, thus Formula One would receive a promotion fee plus a margin? Or is this all going to be reflected directly in Formula One's financials, and how are our partners reflected in that?

Gregory Maffei, CEO

I'll start, and let Brian correct me if I err. Generally, we consider ourselves the primary partner, with Live Nation as the secondary partner from a financial perspective. Most of the capital investment and outlays will come from us, not from Live Nation. We don’t expect this to be flagged separately on our income statements; it won’t be material in that sense. The lines should be folded into our traditional revenue streams— promoter fees, sponsorships, and hospitality—while Brian can add any clarification.

Brian Wendling, CFO

That’s accurate. We will consolidate this as Gregory said; thus, the revenue and CapEx will sit on our books along with the costs. As said, we expect the revenues to flow into normal streams—Paddock Club in 'other revenue,' sponsorship going where it currently is, and ticket sales probably going into promoter revenues. The financial picture will look similar except for the fact that we're consolidating all costs versus normal promoter relationships where we'd only capture a fee.

David Joyce, Analyst

Great. Thank you very much.

Operator, Operator

We'll go next to Jason Bazinet with Citi.

Jason Bazinet, Analyst

Another question on Formula One. You mentioned that you may promote other races down the line. If you look at the 24 races or so, many are iconic places where you probably wouldn't self-promote. However, if you could blue-sky it, how many of those 23 other races would be within the realm of potential self-promotion?

Gregory Maffei, CEO

I don't think we have any plans to announce just yet. We'll see how well we can execute this inaugural event before venturing into others. It is worth noting that we shouldn’t dismiss the idea that iconic locations may also become targets for self-promotion in the future. I wouldn’t hedge against that possibility.

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula One

Absolutely agree, Gregory. The exciting aspect of this moment is the fresh energy and vibes new promoters bring into our system. This is creating a ripple effect, prompting traditional promoters to keep pace with us. While we hold our promoters in high regard and they collaboratively work with us to provide exceptional shows globally, our current events give us invaluable insights that support our strategic pursuits.

Jason Bazinet, Analyst

That's great. Thank you.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. We'll take our final question from Matthew Harrigan with Benchmark.

Matthew Harrigan, Analyst

Thank you. Clearly, you have a take-off in the U.S. for Formula 1, which is really going to help with ESPN at the same time. However, there are numerous geopolitical changes with Sochi exiting, and zero COVID in China, with hopes of Shanghai returning. Particularly with the desirability of better time slots in the U.S., could you envision bringing back classic venues like Nurburgring? Might you self-promote more in U.S. and Europe instead of focusing largely on Asia and the Middle East? I understand some Middle Eastern races are hugely successful; however, the world is evolving, and it seems Formula 1 benefits from that, but how complex is the geopolitical landscape for something like Formula 1?

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula One

What I can say, Matt, is that Formula One has demonstrated a tremendous adaptability, especially during the challenges of COVID-19, to ensure we have a remarkable championship. We must remember that we are a world championship, and it's crucial we invest either with partners or directly to secure strategic markets critical for Formula One. As you noted, the U.S. has experienced phenomenal growth over the past two years, and we need to maximize that impact. However, the traditional venues in Europe remain vital and cannot be overlooked. Therefore, our calendar will always reflect a balance to which we have a commitment. We want to preserve our history while also fostering growth in emerging markets like East Africa. Thus, there is infinite potential for our strategic calendar decisions moving forward.

Matthew Harrigan, Analyst

Just to wrap, are you still in discussions with new OEMs wanting to enter Formula One? While I know you can't provide specifics, it feels like there is a lot of positive momentum in this direction.

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula One

As you might have guessed, Matthew, we cannot go into details on that. However, it’s encouraging to note that Formula One continues to showcase leadership in the technological landscape of the automotive industry. Our commitment to sustainability, with a goal of net zero emissions by 2030, adds credibility to our brand. This strategic direction helps attract interest, not just from those you often hear about but from a multitude of stakeholders.

Gregory Maffei, CEO

Operator, that concludes our session. Thank you for your interest in Liberty Media. We encourage you to watch our inaugural Miami GP this weekend, and for those unable to attend, we hope to speak with you again next quarter or sooner. Thank you.

Operator, Operator

That will conclude today's call. We appreciate your participation.