Formula One Management, or FOM, is a corporate body that controls the worldwide distribution and management rights of the Formula One circuit. FOM was founded with the twin purposes to ensure that the clubs remain financially secure and to break down the exclusive Euro-centric profile of the game. It received the commercial and broadcasting rights for the Formula 1 circuit from FIA in 1994 for a period of 14 years. The deal with FIA brought some of the biggest names in Formula 1 including Team Mc Laren, Tyrell Formula One and Scuderia Ferrari among others under the umbrella of FOM. FOM had to keep its end of the deal, which meant the payment of annual fees to the teams under its banner. Bernie Ecclestone, the president of the Management and a visionary in sports management is the guiding spirit behind the organization.
A big corporate victory for Ecclestone came when he successfully won the long standing corporate feud for the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA), against Federation Internationale du Sports Automobile (FISA) in 1981. The famous Concorde Agreement in the March of that year gave FOCA the exclusive television rights of the Formula 1 circuit.
However, the term of FOM is near its completion. The shares have gone down heavily, following a diversification drive on the part of FOM. Many teams are disgruntled with the management of FOM, and it now remains to see how Formula 1 fares after the stipulated period reaches completion.
