Apple and F1 strike five-year U.S. media rights deal
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Oscar Piastri of Australia races for the McLaren Formula 1 Team during the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Oct. 5, 2025. Photo: George Hitchens/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Apple and Formula 1 on Friday announced a five-year media rights deal that will bring all races exclusively to Apple TV in the United States, beginning in 2026.
Why it matters: The deal, which is reportedly valued at roughly $140 million annually, represents a significant milestone in F1's evolution and growth in the U.S.
- "What excites us most about this deal is it helps us address more people consuming content in more ways," F1's chief media rights and broadcasting officer Ian Holmes said on a call with reporters.
- Apple's senior vice president of services Eddy Cue emphasized the company can leverage its many consumer touchpoints and marketing capabilities to help F1 reach a broader audience in the U.S.
Catch up quick: F1 has partnered with ESPN on its U.S. media rights since 2018. The broadcaster decided to walk away from that partnership this year to pursue other major media rights deals.
- F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali thanked the network on the reporter call, saying ESPN "invested in us when no one else was ready to invest in us years and years ago."
- On Thursday, F1's chief communications and corporate relations officer Liam Parker told Axios at an event with The Race Media ahead of the grand prix weekend in Austin that the ESPN deal taught F1 how to effectively speak to a U.S. audience.
Zoom in: As part of the deal, Apple will distribute all practice, qualifying, and sprint sessions, and grand prix races to Apple TV subscribers.
- Some races and all practice sessions will also be available for free in the Apple TV app throughout the season.
- The tech giant said it will elevate F1 content across its apps, such as Apple News, Apple Maps and its new Apple Sports app, which will feature live updates with real-time leaderboards as well as driver and constructor standings.
- F1 TV Premium, F1's own subscription video offering, will continue to be available in the U.S. via an Apple TV subscription only and will be free for those who subscribe.
Zoom out: The deal follows the blockbuster success of "F1: The Movie" this summer, which was distributed by Apple. Cue and Holmes both noted how that partnership helped bring new tech innovation to F1.
- "We already spent time during the movie looking at new camera tech," Holmes said.
- "There are certainly AR and VR opportunities we can explore," he added.
The big picture: The deal marks a significant step forward for Apple in its ambitions to bring more sports programming to Apple TV.
- The tech giant already partners with Major League Soccer to exclusively distribute its U.S. rights.
- It has a smaller partnership with Major League Baseball to distribute Friday night games.
- It recently struck a bundling deal with NBCUniversal ahead of the NBA's season kickoff on Peacock.
