As Apple reportedly nears a $150 million per-year tie-up with Method 1, U.S. subscribers to the motorsport’s personal streaming providing, F1 TV, have raised questions in regards to the service’s future.
For $85 per 12 months, American clients can at the moment watch all F1 classes ad-free by way of F1 TV, with extra entry to crew radios, onboard cameras and non-race programming. However in different markets, F1’s owned choices have seen adjustments following new media partnerships.
F1 TV’s legacy is tightly entwined with the corporate’s evolving media technique. And what turns into of the product will communicate volumes of Liberty Media’s present U.S. ambitions—in addition to Apple’s sports activities stance. What appears unlikely is that the $3 trillion tech titan would see a profit in internet hosting two comparable, aggressive merchandise on its system platforms.
“You don’t need any potential cannibalization out of your associate consuming away at clients,” Octagon EVP, international media rights advisory Daniel Cohen stated in an interview. “I believe F1 can preserve [F1 TV], nevertheless it must be a really completely different kind of product for the U.S. market.”
A 12 months after Liberty Media took over F1 in 2017, it launched an over-the-top service providing followers stay protection of all race classes alongside different options. The will to attach straight with followers was reportedly a key purpose F1 ended its broadcast relationship with NBC, signing a cope with ESPN that didn’t embrace a rights payment.
With improved social media efforts, the recognition of Netflix’s Drive to Survive and F1 TV, the game was wanting to change into “a extra multimedia group—relatively than simply specializing in TV,” as F1 director of media rights Ian Holmes put it in 2020. On the time, league executives throughout the sporting world foresaw a possible future the place their sports activities had been delivered on to followers by way of in-house manufacturing arms and owned-and-operated apps, with every making a separate, Netflix-like expertise for the Premier League, the NFL, the NBA, F1 and so forth. However that didn’t come to cross.
As early as 2020, F1 started linking its client providing with its conventional TV offers, giving Sky Germany customers entry to F1 TV as a part of their subscriptions. “That will function a template for added markets going ahead,” Frank Arthofer, then F1’s international head of digital and licensing, stated on the time.
Within the years since, F1 TV has continued to develop. The F1 TV Professional tier, which comes with stay race entry, was obtainable in 92 territories as of final 12 months, with the U.S. being its largest market. F1’s app was named the Apple TV App of the 12 months in 2024, and the organizer launched a higher-priced premium tier this 12 months. F1 TV’s recognition was clear on Reddit, the place customers of the location’s Method 1 discussion board brazenly puzzled what a brand new media partnership may imply for the service—expletives and all.
It has additionally served as some extent of leverage in media negotiations. In 2023, F1 TV Professional launched in India after executives had been underwhelmed by the bids submitted by native broadcasters for unique rights. “Folks spent all their cash on cricket,” Holmes stated in 2023. F1’s rich fanbase additionally offers it extra flexibility to straight monetize viewer enthusiasm.
“They will afford to not do dangerous offers in markets that they deem necessary for progress,” Cohen stated. “For instance, in let’s simply say Brazil, in the event that they don’t get the precise provide in Brazil, they’ll pop up F1 TV. In the event that they don’t get the precise provide in Singapore, they’ll pop up F1 TV.”
F1 TV’s destiny was very a lot on the desk as American bidders eyed the property in latest months. “We’ll see what companions need of their offers, and we’ll see what makes probably the most sense for F1,” Liberty Media president and CEO Derek Chang stated in a Could name with Wall Avenue analysts.
The roughly $150 million per 12 months Apple has reportedly provided for F1’s U.S. rights starting in 2026 can be a $60 million improve over what ESPN at the moment pays. Midway via the 2025 season, ESPN is averaging 1.3 million viewers per race, up 7% over the season-to-date common from 2024. Nevertheless it stays to be seen what Apple’s distribution plans for racing protection appear like.
Apple and F1 representatives declined to touch upon present negotiations.
Whereas early reviews steered F1 stock might be bundled into the $10/month Apple TV+ service, the tech firm took a special route with MLS motion, placing each recreation right into a $99/12 months providing, alongside whiparound protection and different content material, with reductions for Apple TV+ subscribers and a few video games obtainable on to these clients.
An analogous strategy to F1 might see most of the streams and options F1 TV at the moment presents ported over and/or expanded upon inside a brand new Apple-backed service.
F1 TV might additionally proceed providing its personal product, simply with tweaks to its pricing and have record. As an illustration, the app might be free—however solely to these paying for Apple’s service (a la the Sky Germany deal). Alternatively, F1 might restrict F1 TV’s library to archival content material or focus solely on the premium tier, providing particular feeds for the game’s most dedicated diehards. Whatever the route taken, a partnership with Apple represents uncharted terrain.
