Do NCAA college basketball highlights, the latest NFL signing, and Formula 1’s upcoming race news fill your Twitter feed? When the lockdown forced people to stay longer in their homes, sports fandom went full tilt on digital content consumption.

Most sporting events might have slowed down during their league’s 2020 season, whereas the digitalization created a strong momentum heading to 2021. Statista.com forecasted that by 2025, US digital live sports would continue to grow to almost 91 million engaged sports fans. Nearly 58% growth from 2021’s digital sports viewership.

Google trends indicate that all mentioned live sports have gained popularity when comparing 2019 and 2021 search interests, NCAA Basketball, NFL, and Formula 1. But the gearheads and speed lover Formula 1 fandom took the pole position and has shown no sign of pitting.

YouTube Channel: Digital grandstand for Formula 1 fandom

Entering 2022 Formula 1’s new season, RaceFans.com announced that Formula 1’s official YouTube page had received 4 billion video views on their content. Thanks to last season’s electrifying conclusion. 

Formula 1 fans are flocking to YouTube for game analysis and post-race interviews. The digital viewership of the prestigious car race has not shown any signs of slowing down. Socialblade.com‘s data shows that video views accelerate during race day.

During the first round of the Formula 1  season, March 18 – 20, 2022, the average daily video views have jumped by 116%, an average of 9.7 million from 4.5 million. 90,000 Formula 1 fans don’t want to miss the action as they have subscribed to the official YouTube channel. The massive growth was almost 400x that of the previous days.

F1 fan digital interaction zoomed past the official Formula 1 YouTube channel, engagements are evident in official team channels and Formula one content creators. Fans-circle.com reported 10,000 new YouTube Fans subscribed to the official Ferrari channel after the Ferrari drivers dominated Race 1 in the 2022 season. 

A massive audience like Formula 1 is what advertisers contend for, making Formula 1 partnership and trackside advertising costly. But through YouTube’s digital viewership, brands now have access to these consumers. 

Why should advertisers go for YouTube and Connected TV when reaching Formula 1 fandom?

Formula 1 is one of the most discussed live sports events recently and its digital presence growth and video views are trending upwards. But for a live sporting event without commercial breaks, brands should expect to pay a premium price for ad placements.

YouTube’s first Formula 1 live-streamed race opens whole new opportunities for advertisers wanting to connect to the modern sports fan. 1.7 million racer car fans watched the live stream, and 30% of it was on Connected TV. 

Connected TV via YouTube open auction: More targeted eyeballs at cost-efficient views 

Ad costs on Connected TV have shown a significant difference from other devices. Using CampaignLab.ai, Strike Social’s proprietary tool, we have gathered results of YouTube ad campaigns optimizing for views concentrating across several verticals

Overall Connected TV CPV and CPM have achieved the lowest cost with a high View Rate compared to desktops, mobiles, and tablets. The Strike Social team has seen the same results on the focused verticals, Cost-Per-View on CTV is at 9%, 7%, and 13% lower on Automotive, Travel, and QSR over the last 12 months.

Google’s algorithm rewards brand suitability. As we look into the same set of campaigns, our data shows Connected TV View Rate ranges from 52% to 58%. Understanding the cause and effect between View Rate and Cost Per View can help achieve more satisfying KPI results, Brand Lift Metrics, Search intent, or Sales Lift.

Close the Gap and Get ahead of the competition

It shouldn’t be tedious, complicated, and costly for brands that are eyeing to get in front of the Formula 1 YouTube audiences and other sports fans. YouTube offers millions of scalable media options for a fraction of a cost – often below $0.05 Cost Per View.   

Like Google’s search algorithm, YouTube’s search and discovery system help find the most relevant video that the users’ are looking for. Leverage your YouTube ad by using a combination of Keyword strategy of Keyword Targeting (hottest drivers, Formula 1 Teams, listicle video content idea), Topics (F1 Races, Race highlights, Engineering, and Team Performance), Custom Affinities, and Channel subscribers.

A Formula 1 YouTube Ad test campaign can be an easy addition to test and learn AdSets to your always-on YouTube video ad campaign.