Liberty Media has acquired motorcycle racing championship company MotoGP, the company said Monday.

Liberty will acquire the Madrid, Spain-based MotoGP motorcycle racing outfit, which will be attributed to Liberty Media’s Formula One Group tracking stock, the company said. U.S.-based Liberty Media, chaired by John Malone, will acquire 86% of MotoGP,  with MotoGP management retaining approximately 14%. 

The transaction reflects an enterprise value for MotoGP of 4.2 billion euros ($4.5 billion) and an equity value of 3.5 billion euros (about $3.8 billion), according to Liberty. 

MotoGP, which launched in 1949, is expected to host 21 races across 17 countries during its 2024 season. Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta will continue to run the MotoGP business, Liberty said. 

As Bloomberg Media noted, Liberty Media bought Formula One in 2016 and has since expanded that circuit's reach in the United States, attempted to grow the sport’s popularity through digital streaming and struck gold with the Netflix show Drive to Survive. 

“We are thrilled to expand our portfolio of leading live sports and entertainment assets with the acquisition of MotoGP,” Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei said in a statement. “MotoGP is a global league with a loyal, enthusiastic fan base, captivating racing and a highly cash flow generative financial profile. Carmelo and his management team have built a great sporting spectacle that we can expand to a wider global audience. The business has significant upside, and we intend to grow the sport for MotoGP fans, teams, commercial partners and our shareholders.”

Dorna's Ezpeleta added: “This is the perfect next step in the evolution of MotoGP, and we are excited for what this milestone brings to Dorna, the MotoGP paddock and racing fans. We are proud of the global sport we’ve grown, and this transaction is a testament to the value of the sport today and its growth potential. Liberty has an incredible track record in developing sports assets and we could not wish for a better partner to expand MotoGP’s fanbase around the world.”

CNBC debuts the documentary Inside Track: The Business of Formula 1 Thursday, November 16. The film goes for an hour and CNBC anchor Sara Eisen hosts. 

CNBC calls the special “an exclusive behind-the-scenes analysis of the business behind the world’s most prestigious racing series that is driving prominent companies to take notice.” 

Eisen looks at how the international motorsports league has achieved rapid growth in attendance, viewership and market value, and looks at the sport’s future, including the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which takes place on the Vegas Strip next month. 

Eisen speaks with Stefano Domenicali, Formula One Group CEO; Greg Maffei, Liberty Media CEO; Toto Wolff, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team principal and CEO; and Christian Horner, Oracle Red Bull Racing Team principal, among others. 

“This is a true passion project for me, and I am so excited to give the CNBC audience and Formula One fans alike a closer look at the business of this global phenomenon–one that stands firmly at the intersection of sports, technology and culture,” Eisen said. “I was initially drawn to F1 because my two young children love the sport, but once we started watching the races together, I realized there was something undeniably fascinating from a business perspective that demanded a full exploration of the sport as it reaches new heights in America.” 

CNBC Pro subscribers can stream Inside Track at 7 p.m. ET, an hour before its linear launch. 

ESPN has retained rights to Formula One auto races, getting a new three-year deal despite aggressive offers from Amazon and Comcast, according to a report Friday from Sports Business Journal.

The bidding forced Disney’s ESPN unit to stomp on the accelerator. Under a new contract that would run through 2025, ESPN will pay between $75 million and $90 million a year. Its current three year deal costs just $5 million a year. 

Most F1 races will be carried on Disney linear networks–ABC or ESPN–but some will be streamed exclusively on ESPN Plus.

Also: Formula One Set To Race in Las Vegas Starting 2023

ESPN declined to comment. SBJ said that the other two bidders had been informed they won’t be getting the rights, but that the contract with ESPN hasn’t yet been formally signed.

Also: Netflix Reportedly Enters Bidding for F1 Rights

F1’s popularity got a boost from Formula 1: Drive to Survive, a reality series that streamed on Netflix that turned some drivers and racing teams into stars.  ■

The TV sports lineup for the first weekend of December will feature some of the top ranked college football and basketball teams as well as a major pay-per-view boxing event. 

College football will enter the final leg of its regular season with several key matchups, including a primetime matchup between top-ranked Alabama and LSU (CBS) and afternoon games featuring fifth-ranked Texas A&M at Auburn (ESPN), fourth-ranked Ohio State (pictured) at Michigan State (ABC), and third-ranked Clemson at Virginia Tech (ABC).

Boxing will once again take center stage in the pay-per-view combat sports ring with Fox Sports’ Errol Spence-Danny Garcia welterweight championship fight. The fight, which will retail at $74.95, will pit two of the top welterweight fighters in the sport.

The NFL will look to complete its week 13 Sunday schedule without any major COVID-19-related postponements outside of moving its Baltimore Ravens-Dallas Cowboys Dec. 3 Thursday Night Football game to Tuesday (Dec. 8) and Sunday's Washington Team-Pittsburgh Steelers games to Monday (Dec. 7.)  NBC’s primetime Sunday Night Football game features an AFC West matchup between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs.

College basketball will feature an early matchup of top-ranked teams as number one Gonzaga plays second-ranked Baylor Saturday afternoon (CBS), while 12th-ranked Villanova travels to play 17th-ranked Texas (ESPN). 

NBC and NBCSN will continue its coverage of Premier League soccer games on Saturday and Sunday, while ESPN on Sunday will televise the Sakhir Grand Prix Formula One auto racing event.

Motorsport Network has named former Fox Sports and Speed Channel executive Kevin Annison president of Motorsport.tv, the racing network’s planned expansion into traditional and internet TV.

The appointment comes one week after former NASCAR Digital Media vice president Colin Smith joined Motorsport Network as CEO.

Motorsport Network acquired European cable network Motors TV last year and Annison will lead the team as the newly renamed Motorsport.tv expands from its European cable and satellite roots, to a global internet television network reaching large and small screens of race fans around the world. Motorsport.tv is available in about 31 million homes in 42 counries throughout Europe through cable and satellite agreements and airs more than 125 different motor racing championships.

“I’m very excited to help expand Motorsport.tv networks reach by tapping into the large and passionate global motorsports and auto enthusiast audience," Annison said in a statement. He likened is new job to the launch of Speed Channel in 2001.

“My new role at Motorsport.tv will be similar except now we are creating a global network rather than just a North American platform,” Annison continued in the statement.

At Fox, Annison also served as VP and general manager of the digital media division and oversaw the launch of SPEED2.com, the over-the-top network dedicated to motorsports. He also managed the network’s expansion into live and multi-camera streaming, rights renewals with NASCAR, Formula One and MotoGP and the launch of mobile apps.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Kevin to the team,” Smith said in a statement. “Having somebody with his experience and knowledge of motorsport, television and the rapidly changing digital marketplace will be a huge help in our future expansion.”

John Malone’s systematic transformation of Liberty Media continued last week, after the former programming juggernaut agreed to purchase international racing icon Formula One in a $4.4 billion deal.

After the deal is sealed — expected in early 2017 — Liberty Media Group will change its corporate name to Formula One Group and retire its NASDAQ stock exchange ticker symbol “LMCA,” replacing it with “FWON.”

The Liberty Media Corp. name will live on, at least in the ether — Liberty Media Group is officially a tracking stock of Liberty Media Corp., along with Liberty Braves and Liberty Sirius, which will remain separate.

Malone, Liberty Media chairman, has spent the better part of the past decade breaking apart and spinning off the Liberty assets in a flurry of deals. Liberty Media, which used to house interests in major programmers like Discovery Communications and QVC, has long since spun those holdings out to shareholders.

DEALMAKER’S LATEST DEAL

The deal is the latest over the past three years by the mogul known for dealmaking, beginning with his purchase of a 27% interest in Charter Communications in 2013. In the wake of that deal, Malone helped engineer Charter’s $78.7 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable and its $10.4 billion buy of Bright House Networks.

Other Malone holdings have gone on international buying sprees, like Discovery Communications, which earlier this year bought sports network Eurosport in 2015 and European Olympics rights for the 2018-2024 games.

In addition, Malone was a key part of Lionsgate’s $4.4 billion purchase of premium channel Starz in June.

Liberty has been in pursuit of Formula One since 2014, when speculation was high Liberty would team with Discovery to buy a 49% interest in the racing icon for about $4 billion. That deal never materialized, but with the most recent transaction, Liberty will get control of one of the hottest properties in international sports.

Formula One splits its revenue between race promotions — it holds the FIA F1 World Championship, among other races — broadcasting, advertising and sponsorship, and other businesses including TV production, hospitality and licensing, according to Liberty. With revenue of about $1.8 billion in the past 12 months, Formula One said it has $9.3 billion in revenue under long-term contracts through 2026.

Liberty shareholders will own 35% of Formula One’s equity (including about 3.1% for Malone personally), with partner CVC Capital Partners controlling 65%. In addition, former 21st Century Fox executive Chase Carey, long a confidante of Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch, will become Formula One’s new chairman after the deal closes, replacing Nestle chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe. Controversial British financier Bernie Ecclestone, who built Formula One into a global operation after nearly 40 years, will remain as CEO.

In typical Liberty fashion, the deal is a complicated one. Liberty closed the first part of the deal on Sept. 7, purchasing an 18.7% stake in Formula One for about $746 million. In the second stage, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017, Liberty will purchase the remaining voting interest in the company for about $300 million in cash, $350 million in notes and by issuing about 138 million shares of stock worth about $2.9 billion.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss the transaction, Carey said he would build Formula One’s fan base by telling its story. Formula One already is one of the most popular sports properties in the world, with more than 400 million global viewers, but has had difficulty cracking the U.S. market, which is dominated by NASCAR stock car racing. But U.S. viewership is growing, up by about 40% since NBC Sports won domestic broadcast rights in 2013.

DIGITAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITY

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said on the call that the company believes there is opportunity to grow Formula One’s “underdeveloped” digital assets, adding that the company could grow its fan base and revenue through new technologies like virtual reality and via video games.

“There’s interest in this sport around the world,” Carey said on the call. “We want to continue to intelligently explore the opportunities and continue to grow it.”

Pivotal Research Group CEO and senior media & communications analyst Jeff Wlodarczak, called Formula One a “prototypical Malone investment” in that it has a high barrier to entry, a lasting business, evidenced by the $9.3 billion in long-term contracted revenue, and appears to have strong expansion opportunities.

“As we have seen with the NFL, you can expand your broadcast rights fees and create alternative distribution channels (national nets, to DirecTV [NFL] Sunday Ticket, to Thursday Night Football to the RedZone channel),” Wlodarczak wrote in an e-mail message. “They could also look into expansion of races from 21 to the current contractual limit of 25 (the U.S. could be a massive driver of growth long term), repricing of TV contracts materially higher, leveraging ‘sister’ Liberty companies [Liberty Global] and [Discovery’s] Eurosport, expanding digital opportunities.”

Liberty Media, ending years of speculation, said it will purchase racing icon Formula One from a consortium led by CVC Capital Partners for $4.4 billion.

Liberty Media headed by legendary dealmaker John Malone, has been in the hunt for the racing company since at least 2014.

According to Liberty, the transaction comprises cash and newly issued shares in the Liberty Media Group tracking stock and a debt instrument exchangeable into shares of LMCK. The transaction price represents an enterprise value for Formula One of $8 billion and an equity value of $4.4 billion.

In typical Liberty fashion, the deal isn’t an easy one. According to terms, Liberty will acquire 100% of Formula One parent Delta Topco by first buying an 18.7% interest in the unit for $746 million in cash. Former 21st Century Fox vice chairman Chase Carey has been named chairman of Delta Topco, succeeding Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who will remain on Formula One’s board as a non-executive director. Bernie Ecclestone will remain Formula One’s CEO.

“I am thrilled to take up the role of Chairman of Formula One and have the opportunity to work alongside Bernie Ecclestone, CVC, and the Liberty Media team, Carey said in a statement. “I greatly admire Formula One as a unique global sports entertainment franchise attracting hundreds of millions of fans each season from all around the world. I see great opportunity to help Formula One continue to develop and prosper for the benefit of the sport, fans, teams and investors alike.”

After completion of the acquisition, Liberty Media will own Formula One and it will be attributed to the Liberty Media Group which will be renamed the Formula One Group. The consortium of sellers led by CVC will own about 65% of the Formula One Group’s equity and will have board representation at Formula One to support Liberty Media in continuing to develop the full potential of the sport. In addition, a CVC representative will be joining the Liberty Media Board of Directors.

“We are excited to become part of Formula One,” Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said in a statement. “We think our long-term perspective and expertise with media and sports assets will allow us to be good stewards of Formula One and benefit fans, teams and our shareholders. We look forward to working closely with Chase Carey and Bernie Ecclestone to support the next phase of growth for this hugely popular global sport.”

The selling stockholders will receive a mix of consideration comprising: $1.1 billion in cash, 138 million newly issued shares of LMCK and a $351 million exchangeable debt instrument to be issued by Formula One and exchangeable into shares of LMCK. Upon completion of the acquisition, the Liberty Media Group will be renamed the Formula One Group and the ticker symbols for its shares will change to FWON. Formula One will remain based in London.

“I would like to welcome Liberty Media and Chase Carey to Formula One and I look forward to working with them,” Ecclestone said in a statement.

Discovery Communications could be eyeing the creation of European regional sports networks built on the Pan-European sports networks it already controls through its recently acquired Eurosport channels.

Silver Spring, Md.-based Discovery bought a controlling (51%) interest in Eurosport in May. The service has several pay TV brands — Eurosport, Eurosport HD, Eurosport 2, Eurosport 2 HD, Eurosport Asia-Pacific and Eurosportnews — that generally have focused on lower-cost rights like German Bundesliga soccer outside of Germany, skiing and cycling. The channels recently scored ratings gains with French Open tennis matches, averaging about 1.36 million viewers, and broke the 50-million viewer mark in France with cycling’s Tour de France.

“We think we can build Eurosport by being strategic and working with our partners,” Discovery CEO David Zaslav said at the Communacopia conference last week. Eurosport “has one feed that is sold on a Pan-European basis; we can put it into all 70 countries without adding one sales person. We also have a strong local presence. In some cases we think we can build a very strong local sports channel.”

Zaslav coyly replied “maybe” when asked whether those channels would be based on a U.S. regional sports network model.

The time might be ripe for European regional sports, Lee Berke, CEO of sports consultancy LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media, said.

While most prestige rights are locked into long-term contracts with big European distributors — such as BSkyB’s and BT’s $4.9-billion, three-year lock on England’s Barclays Premier League soccer — Berke sees room for channels built around a particular sport or team. “That’s where I think you can get some traction,” he said.

The biggest questions are which rights, which sports and how much money would Discovery be willing to spend. But the programmer has been willing to open its checkbook. This year, it teamed with Liberty Global to buy production company All3Media for about $1 billion and is expected to team up with Liberty Media to bid on a 49% stake in Formula One Racing, worth about $4 billion.

Berke also said Eurosport could build channels around supplemental and shoulder programming from teams, as well as regional skiing, Scandinavian hockey and European basketball.

Other U.S. networks’ efforts to secure major rights in Europe have not had much long-term success. ESPN, for example, had Barclays Premier League rights for a time, but then sold its U.K. and Ireland channels to BT last year. ESPN still has a strong digital European presence through its espn.co.uk website and others, but has shifted international focus mainly towards Latin America.

That could mean the market has room for a well-run competitor, and Eurosport has the experience to possibly pull it off, Berke said. “They have navigated their way through distribution country by country,” he said. “ My guess is they’re saying some of the same things we’re saying here in the U.S. — more interest in developing a range of programming on a range of screens and a range of distribution outlets.”