Formula One looks to be changing lanes.
The global auto racing circuit is “poised” to be leaving Disney’s ESPN for Apple TV+, Business Insider reported Friday. Puck added that Apple bid $150 million a year. ESPN has been paying $80 million to $90 million annually in the current rights agreement, which expires after this season.
It is unknown where ESPN’s bid to keep F1 ultimately landed, but all indications are the sides were oceans apart. A source told Front Office Sports that this price tag was “far beyond” what ESPN could justify financially for the package. An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment.
In making this switch, F1 is sacrificing substantial reach in exchange for money. Last year, the research firm MoffettNathanson estimated Apple TV+ is used in only 11% of U.S. households.
The 12 Formula One races so far this season have averaged 1.3 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2, well under what NASCAR produces on Amazon and Fox. (F1 races take place all across the world and are not always optimized for U.S. time zones; the new deal is reportedly for U.S. rights.)
Apple TV+ is not Nielsen-rated, but it’s widely believed that a fraction of viewers watch its Friday night MLB games as compared to Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. Apple TV+ also has all of MLS’s global rights in a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal.
As for ESPN, next up on the docket is UFC rights, which expire at the end of this year.
