GREG MAFFEI

It’s been 40 years since Formula One last ventured into Sin City for back-to-back Las Vegas races staged in the parking lot of the Caesars Palace hotel.

Formula One will race on the Las Vegas Strip next year as the globe-trotting series will make three stops in the United States in 2023.

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei told CNBC on Thursday that the economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis will be uneven across sectors, potentially creating investment opportunities for the sprawling media, sports and entertainment company. But for Liberty Media, which owns the Atlanta Braves and a big stake in Sirius XM, Maffei said the likelihood of a variable recovery is one reason Liberty launched a special purpose acquisition company. Filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Liberty Media Acquisition intends to raise $500 million that is then used to acquire a private company, thereby taking them public in a process sometimes called a reverse merger. Liberty Media is evaluating the coronavirus pandemic in a similar way to how it has approached investing in the digital and mobile revolution over the last 10 to 15 years, Maffei said. Liberty Media stock was slightly higher at midday Thursday, trading at $42.87 per share.

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei believes the company is well positioned to capitalize on the growing popularity of podcasts and other audio content. Maffei, who joined CNBC's David Faber from Liberty's investor day in New York, said that while there is competition for audio content, exclusive agreements should prove lucrative over time. "We have an exclusive with Marvel, we have an exclusive now with Lebron James called 'Uninterrupted,'" he continued. I think there's an opportunity to see increases in how podcasts and other forms of audio content are monetized," Maffei said. "Yes, there's a little bit of a bidding war for audio content, but you can't spend on audio.