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While there has been concern in sports media circles that Formula One is sacrificing reach for money in leaving Disney/ESPN platforms for Apple TV, Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss doesn’t see it that way.
“It’s a new deal [and] we’re still learning some of the specific details, but you know unlike MLS, there’s not an additional subscription to watch F1 races,” Towriss told Front Office Sports. “Apple’s position is that the subscriber base is much larger than people are giving them credit for and Apple’s an innovation-first company—and I think that aligns so well with F1 and the movie following Drive to Survive has brought a lot of new fans to the sport. And so, I think we’re going to have a bigger reach than what people think.”
CNBC reported that Apple is paying $700 million over five years for the rights, while The Athletic reported ESPN would not “budge” from its $90 million annual offer. While Apple programming is not rated by Nielsen on a day-to-day basis, the measurement firm reported in August that AppleTV accounts for just 0.35% of total U.S. TV and streaming viewing.
Towriss acknowledged that there could be a “short-term blip” in F1 moving over to AppleTV, but was optimistic overall. “I think as you look to the long term, from our standpoint, we’re certainly betting on Apple,” he said.
Cadillac F1 is a subsidiary of the international conglomerate TWG Global, which is operated by Dodgers and Lakers owner Mark Walter. The group took over Andretti Racing in 2024, and 2026 will be the first season of Cadillac competing as an F1 constructor.
FOS asked Towriss about weighing considerations in the U.S. versus internationally.
“I think there’s a strong focus on America and I think we want to develop—there are a lot of new fans that have come on as a result of the movie or … Drive to Survive. They’re not all watching races yet. And so having a home team, having somebody to root for: that’s certainly what we want to bring to American audiences,” Towriss said. “We want to earn that respect from American fans so they have someone to root for. And I think there’s just a lot of potential for accelerated growth in the U.S. market, but then also on a global scale. I think when we look at Latin America—when we look at Asia, Europe—we’ve got targeted plans in every region of the globe. F1’s a global sport.”
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