F1 leaning toward Apple for U.S. TV rights as bid tops ESPN offer: Sources – The New York Times

Sports Business
Formula One is trending toward choosing Apple for its United States broadcasting rights from 2026, the technology company’s bid being in the $120-150 million per year range.
ESPN has held the rights since 2018, but its current deal is up at the end of the year. The sports media giant’s exclusivity negotiation period expired before February 2025, leading to interest from other broadcasters, including Netflix.
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ESPN has remained in the mix for the U.S. broadcasting rights, though its bid is lower than Apple’s, sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have indicated to The Athletic. ESPN’s offer is in the $90 million per year range, according to sources briefed on the discussions.
If F1 does a deal with Apple, this will stray from the sport’s previous broadcasting trends. Traditional broadcasters have long held the U.S. rights, with Fox being the home via its Speed network from 2001 to 2012 and NBC airing the sport from 2013 to 2017.
It was anticipated that the release of ‘F1 The Movie,’ which was produced by Apple Original Films and Warner Bros., among other companies, could have an impact on how the broadcasting rights battle evolved. F1 has seen a popularity boom in the States since the COVID-19 pandemic, in part thanks to Netflix docuseries “Drive to Survive.”
The country is now the home of three races — the United States Grand Prix in Austin from 2012 (except for 2020 due to the pandemic), the Miami Grand Prix from 2022 and the Las Vegas Grand Prix from 2023. The F1 movie, which hit theaters in late June, is the latest avenue taken to reach a new audience.
And the movie has been a hit. It’s become Apple’s highest-grossing theatrical film, with global box office sales sitting at just below $300 million after 10 days in theaters, according to Variety. To put it into context, per numerous reports, the movie cost around $200-300 million alone to make and another million reportedly to market. The early success has raised questions about whether there were talks of a sequel.
Apple isn’t a stranger to sports broadcasting, already having deals with Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball to air on Apple TV+. The agreement with MLB is a seven-year deal to air “Friday Night Baseball” for $85 million per season, while the MLS agreement is for 10 years and is for around $2.5 billion. And while the broadcast quality and accessibility have improved, there have been struggles with growing an audience.
Top photo: Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto via Getty Images, Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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