Apple new frontrunner for F1 streaming rights over ESPN in U.S.

Apple is going all-in on Formula 1. Weeks after the ‘F1’ movie became the company’s biggest box office smash, the Silicon Valley giant has reportedly submitted a blockbuster bid for the U.S. media rights to stream Formula 1 races starting in 2026.

A source familiar with the matter told Business Insider that Apple has submitted a bid worth at least $150 million a year for the exclusive rights. The insider also suggested that current rights holder ESPN, owned by Disney, is unlikely to match that figure, though negotiations are still ongoing.

Motorsport.com has reached out to Formula One Management for comment.

Apple already has deals in place to stream a handful of baseball games, along with all Major League Soccer games, but F1 would represent its most high-profile global sports investment yet. The Financial Times previously reported Apple’s interest in the F1 rights following the success of their Brad Pitt-led flick, which was released globally last month.

ESPN has been broadcasting F1 races since 2018, when NBC opted out of its $4 million licensing deal. The Disney-owned channel originally acquired the rights at no cost, but as the sport’s popularity ballooned following the success of Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ in 2020, they coughed up $5 million a year through 2022. The following year, ESPN agreed to a new deal, worth $75 million to $90 million per annum.

Now, F1’s parent company Liberty Media is reportedly seeking a deal worth $150 million to $180 million annually, which reflects the sport’s mammoth growth. However, viewership in the States has begun to flatten. ESPN reported an average of 1.2 million viewers per race in 2022, and that number decreased to 1.1 million the following year. The figure has since jumped back to 1.2 million, but it remains to be seen whether the success of the ‘F1’ movie will meaningfully impact viewership, especially given that most races are broadcast early in the morning or overnight in American time zones.