Apple and ESPN leading race for F1’s U.S. TV rights

Apple and ESPN are two of the leading contenders amid wider interest for the broadcast rights to Formula 1 in the United States, RACER understands.

As reported back in February, Netflix and Amazon are also parties that have held negotiations with F1, with sources close to the matter still including the streaming giants in the mix as they turn their attentions to sports rights as part of their offerings. But ESPN was always set to retain a strong interest as the existing broadcast partner, having held the rights since 2018.

While the sport could remain on ESPN in the United States, with the network boasting an average of 1.3 million viewers per race – a seven percent season-on-season increase in viewership – this year, the interest from Apple has only been strengthened by the success of the F1 movie that was released at the end of last month.

The film – from director Joseph Kosinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Brad Pitt – was an Apple Original Films project, and has grossed over $300 million worldwide to date.

Apple currently has a portion of live sports rights for the MLB – offering Friday Night Baseball – while it holds complete coverage of the MLS regular season and playoffs.

ESPN remained in the race to extend its deal despite an exclusivity period ending without an agreement earlier this year, and has seen growing audience figures again this season across race broadcasts on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, even prior to the release of the F1 movie.

The many interested parties involved were keen to see the impact of the film’s release on audience demographics and awareness of the sport, prior to further advancing discussions. The current rights deal expires at the end of the current year, meaning there are still over five months for an agreement to be finalized ahead of the 2026 campaign.