Some Friday lunchtime reading for you…

Formula One MD Ellie Norman talks rebrand, going OTT and its first-ever marketing team (thedrum.com)

It’s only a couple of weeks now until Formula One is back on our (subscription) TV screens and the F1/Liberty Media PR machine is starting to gear up. This will have been their first proper pre-season to have got plans in place and we shall see what the new F1 really looks like. Their OTT offering came out of the blue recently, and is sadly not available in the UK yet, and they’ve made inroads into esports, expanding social media presence and much more in a short time. Decent read on The Drum this as they look into what we can expect.

Football chief spells out why F1 fans are ‘switching off’ (motorsport.com)

On the flipside, the recent Sport Industry Breakfast with Crystal Palace’s Steve Parrish. He used F1 as an example as to how a revenue model should not be set up. With the Premier League being competitive – if you ignore the dominance of City – due to the split each team receives of the TV deals. Unlike F1 where it’s between 2 teams and the big ones demand a greater slice of the cake (and get it) with every passing year. He could be onto something here.

Winter Olympics 2018—A Data Story (meltwater.com)

A small but still interesting infographic in here that looks to uncover some of the stories that came out from PyeongChang. Most informative to me is who came out on top, sports -wise, when it comes to social media conversation. You’ll have to click the link to find out which one I’m talking about!

Twitter may eventually let anyone become verified (theverge.com)

Not sure if this is a good thing or not. What do you think?

Netflix’s Secrets to Success: Six Cell Towers, Dubbing and More (variety.com)

A behind-the-scenes look at what happens into running the tech that makes Netfilx work as smoothly as it does. Who could turn down an opportunity like that?!

NEW PODCAST OUT – Chatting esports with MLS’ James Ruth