What are the details of the US Formula 1 (F1) rights deal?

Formula 1 (F1) has announced an exclusive 5-year deal with Apple TV for its US rights for a reported $140-150m a year, replacing current broadcaster ESPN. The deal means that all practice, qualifying, sprint sessions and Grands Prix will be available as part of an Apple TV subscription, without an additional fee. Apple has also confirmed that all practice sessions and select races will be made available for free in the Apple TV app. Also, F1 TV Premium, F1’s direct-to-consumer premier content offering, will still be available in the US, but only through an Apple TV subscription.

Earlier in the year, it was reported that F1 owner Liberty Media was looking to gain up to $180m per year for the rights, but Ampere data suggested that a value closer to $110m would be more likely, based on the size of the US fanbase that is willing to pay to watch Formula 1. The reported value of $140-150m per year is, therefore, more in line with rights value trends in the US and while it is $30-40m short of the targeted $180m, it is still a 65-75% increase on the current deal with ESPN, worth $85m per year.

Why does Apple want the F1 rights?

The popularity of Formula 1 has been increasing in the US since the release of Netflix’s Drive to Survive documentary series in 2019. According to Ampere’s Media – Consumer data, the proportion of sports fans in the US that follow Formula 1 has increased by 15% from Q3 2018 to Q3 2025. On top of that, there is the recent success of F1: The Movie, which has reportedly grossed almost $630m worldwide to date (almost $190m of which being in the US and Canada); and furthermore, US-based team Cadillac will be joining the grid in 2026. With the movie soon to be available to stream on the recently rebranded Apple TV, the acquisition of the live F1 rights  allows Apple to not just acquire new subscribers in the form of F1 fans, but also to potentially retain them for the full 10-month season each year, maximising the potential for subscription revenue.

The F1 rights will supplement Apple TV’s existing US sports deals, adding a motorsport event to its existing baseball (MLB) and soccer (MLS) rights, and with it brings a new group of potential subscribers to the service. According to Ampere’s Sports – Consumer data, less than half (47%) of Formula 1 followers in the US are also fans of the MLB and only 18% also follow the MLS. And with over two-thirds of US F1 fans (approximately 2.8m according Ampere’s estimate of 4.2m F1 fans in the US) saying they don’t already have access to Apple TV, there is a pool of F1 fans that are not within Apple’s existing subscriber base, that can be targeted with these rights.

What impact will giving the rights to Apple have for F1?

F1 is generally less reliant on media rights revenue than other sports leagues, with it typically only accounting for around a third of its income - compared to over half for the English Premier League, for example. Instead, sponsorships and commercial partnerships are the key revenue generator – which means maximising reach is important. However, in Apple TV, F1 has chosen a partner that could limit this reach at a time when it is still growing its fan base in the US. According to Ampere’s Sports - Consumer data (Q4 2024), 40% of US sports fans subscribe to either ESPN+ or its TV channels, compared to the 20% of sports fans with a subscription to Apple TV.  So F1 will be counting on Apple making significant subscriber acquisitions to maintain the levels of exposure it is used to. The fact that Apple will be showing some races for free will, however, assist with maintaining some of its existing reach and encouraging more fans to subscribe.

In its announcement of the deal, Formula 1 stated that 47% of new US Formula 1 fans, who have been following the sport for five years or less, are aged 18-24. This move away from linear TV does link with targeting this younger audience, as over half (52%) of 18-24 year olds in the US say they prefer streaming over watching sport on TV. Also, an Apple TV subscription is just $12.99, which is much cheaper for casual fans that have come to the sport via Drive to Survive or the movie than a full ESPN TV subscription would be.

However, introducing another new platform for fans to sign up to may limit F1’s ability to keep growing its audience in the US. As outlined above, there’s not much overlap in fandom between F1 and the other live sports content Apple TV has, presenting a barrier for fans, and especially the more casual ones, deciding to sign up, as not having other sports content they are interested in makes it harder to justify paying for a subscription to a new service, solely for F1.