Apple is preparing to announce it has acquired the exclusive rights to stream Formula 1 events in the United States, according to new reporting.
The company is believed to have been in discussions with F1 about succeeding ESPN as the organisation’s chief broadcast partner for the start of the 2026 race season. Now Apple could reveal the agreement at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, during the weekend of 17-19 October. Puck’s John Ourand’s new reporting (via 9to5Mac) states ongoing negotiations are almost complete with Apple potentially paying up to $150 million (around £112m) per year for US rights, which wouldn’t affect F1 broadcasting deals in the UK or other regions.
Should Apple net the F1 rights it’d join a growing arsenal of live sports coverage. Apple has exclusive rights to Major League Soccer around the world through its Season Pass. It also has access to Friday Night Baseball fixtures from Major League baseball. It’s likely Apple would charge an add-on fee akin to MLS Season Pass, rather than offer Formula 1 as part of an Apple TV+ subscription.
It’d be the latest move in a deeply fragmented sports streaming market in the United States. Apple TV+, Paramount+, Peacock, Amazon Prime, ESPN+ and others all hold down some exclusive rights to top sports beyond the what traditional cable and satellite channels offers as part of television bundles.
For the last few years, F1 has been available to anyone in the US with a cable and satellite subscription thanks to the main ESPN channel, but from next season viewers may require, at the very least, an Apple TV+ subscription. Apple CEO Tim Cook is a big F1 fan and the success of the fictional film starring Brad Pitt likely cemented Apple’s desire to ensure it snapped up the rights when they became available.
