Liberty Media Fourth-Quarter Revenue Grows Across SiriusXM, Atlanta Braves, F1 Units
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Liberty Media, the company controlled by billionaire mogul John Malone that houses assets like audio entertainment giant SiriusXM, the Atlanta Braves baseball club and the Formula One racing circuit, reported fourth-quarter financials on Wednesday.
Overall revenue at Liberty Media for the year to Dec. 31 came to $11.4 billion, with net earnings attributable to shareholders reaching $398 million. Quarterly revenue at the Atlanta Braves nearly doubled to $102 million, compared to a year-earlier $53 million, while the Formula One Group’s revenue hit $787 million, up from a year-earlier $754 million, according to the earnings report.
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SiriusXM, the home of Howard Stern, saw revenue for the three months to the end of 2022, come in virtually unchanged at $2.283 billion, against a year-earlier $2.281 billion. Liberty Media has three main business holdings backed by tracking stocks – SiriusXM and Live Nation Entertainment, the Atlanta Braves and Formula One.
Operating income for Liberty SiriusXM Group came to $450 million, down from a year earlier $529 million, the Braves’ operating loss narrowed to $1 million, and the Formula One operating profit came to $62 million for the fourth quarter.
Liberty Media said plans to split off the Atlanta Braves and its associated real estate development project, along with the creation of a new Liberty Live Group tracking stock, were set to be completed in the second quarter of 2023.
On an analyst call, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei addressed the impact of struggles for regional sport networks and the impact on Major League Baseball teams, which depend on local TV rights for a large share of revenues.
“There are changes coming in the ecosystem. I do think you will see net revenue declines across all of baseball, with the decline of RSNs. I think that in the short term, that’s almost inevitable,” he told analysts. But Maffei added the Braves is a valuable sports franchise, and RSNs would remain in business with the Atlanta team.
His comments came as Diamond Sports Group, which airs MLB games on its 19 sports networks, is expected to enter a bankruptcy protection process. That could leave its local TV rights for the MLB games available to others, or as part of a new business model involving streamers or other media platforms.
