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Bernie turns focus on digital F1

LONDON, England - F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has agreed to raise Formula 1's digital presence.

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali urged Ecclestone to embrace the internet, as the "young generation" don't want "to see an entire race for one and a half hours".

A report by the Bloomberg news agency said the official F1 website is only the 39th most popular among rival sports, worryingly outpaced by the likes of Egyptian soccer and American wrestling entertainment.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The report said Ecclestone has until now resisted embracing the internet to protect the huge revenue stream of exclusive television rights.

F1's media strategy will get a modern facelift as quickly as June 2014.

The report said the sport will have a new website and "app" that offers subscription-only video options improving on the current three-minute race highlights edit put to music.

Ecclestone said: "We're planning a new app - it's a decent-sized project. It's something that we are working on to get right."

The 83-year-old warned, however, that television will continue to be the "mainstay" of F1 coverage.

He also said fans will be charged for the new app: "We don't do things for free."

Stay with Wheels24 for the 2014 F1 season – fresh reports every day.
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