Sebastian Vettel’s domination of the 2013 Formula 1 season has been singled out as a major factor in the sport’s 10 per cent plunge in television audience.
The official 2013 Global Media Report, published by Formula 1’s commercial rights owners, showed there were 450 million viewers worldwide last year, down from slightly more than half a billion in 2012 and 515 million in 2011.
In his introduction to the report, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said: “Last season our global audience was 450 million viewers, a decrease compared to 2012, although not an unexpected one,”
“The less-than-competitive nature of the final few rounds, culminating in the championship being decided ahead of the races in the USA and Brazil, events which often bring substantial audiences, had a predictable impact on reach.
Ecclestone’s push for the much criticized double points rule that is coming into force for the final race of the 2014 season in Abu Dhabi is believed to have been a result of the decline in television audiences.