Apple is reportedly in active talks to acquire the rights to stream Formula 1 i the United States on its Apple TV video service through the built-in TV app.
“Apple is in talks to acquire the US rights to screen Formula 1 as the tech giant chases the success of its hit movie based on the race car series and delves further into showing live sport,” The Financial Times reported today.
The timing of the bid couldn’t have been better. The league’s current deal with ESPN is set to expire at the end of this year, and the iPhone maker’s “F1 The Movie” starring Brad Pitt is a box office success, having earned about $300 million and making the flick its highest-grossing original film to date. Showing live Formula 1 races on the Apple TV+ platform would be a natural progression.
Apple TV+ may soon stream Formula 1 races in the US
“Formula 1’s US owners, Liberty Media, are hoping the film, along with Netflix’s Drive to Survive documentary series, will have increased the value of the rights for its races by attracting younger, female and American audiences to the sport,” it reads. This would make Apple compete with Disney, which owns ESPN.
F1 streams live races on its own paid streaming service in the US, and makes about $85 million/ year from ESPN, its current broadcast partner. ESPN had an exclusivity window to negotiate a new deal with F1, which closed without a deal last year.
Now, bidders like Apple are seeking the rights to broadcast Formula 1 races. However, as the publication states, “F1 is yet to make a decision on its future broadcasting arrangements and ESPN may yet retain the rights.”
Formula 1 viewership has doubled from 554,000 in 2023 to 1.1 million in 2024. It’s estimated to reach about 1.3 million in the first 10 events in 2025 alone. According to industry estimates, the next US streaming deal for Formula 1 races could be worth more than $121 million per year.
Apple already has deals with Major League Baseball to broadcast games on Friday nights and North America’s Major League Soccer.