A 'typical' F1 race, aired on CCTV5 on Sunday afternoon, attracts five to 10 million viewers on average, according to Pierre Justo, managing director at TNS Sport Asia.
"In terms of reach (number of different viewers watching part of the GP, at least one minute), the figures are close to the 40 to 50 million level," Justo said. However, the limited percentage of Chinese households with access to CCTV5 sports channel (due to technical issues), he added, would "mean a large number of viewers would not be able to see the GP, although they might like to do so."
Chinese viewers, on average, spend just 20 to 30 minutes watching an F1 race. The Shanghai race, of which China oil company Sinopec is a key sponsor, is expected to draw a majority of male viewers (12 per cent viewership), with young adults aged 15 to 34 taking a 28 per cent viewing share on September 26.
Although motor-racing ranks well behind football, basketball and table tennis in terms of popularity in China, interest in the sport has increased with China now listed on the F1 circuit. "However, F1 GP lacks the presence of a Chinese driver and, in our case, it is only the fact that the F1 is 'coming to China' that will lead to extra viewing," added Justo.
Local advertisers, the majority of which lack sports sponsorship experience, appear to be using the race as a PR opportunity than as part of a definite sales and marketing strategy. Inexperience has also meant many are uncertain of how to adapt F1 into their marketing strategy and lack key information, such as a profile of viewers, structure of fans, potential audience, and ROI ratios and effectiveness.
"The assessment of whether the sponsorship of brand X is a success or not will be entirely tied to the success or not of the F1 GP. Later on, when these local brands use sponsorship as a more mature marketing investment, will they feel the need to disassociate the impact of the event itself and the impact on their brand?"