Apple Crosses the Finish Line in F1 Streaming Deal

This morning, Apple announced its second major sports deal — a five-year partnership that will make Apple TV the exclusive home for Formula 1 races in the United States.

Only days after Apple’s summer blockbuster, F1 The Movie, opened to record-breaking box office numbers, reports appeared that Apple was in talks with Formula One owner Liberty Media to acquire US streaming rights for Apple TV. Later reports confirmed Apple was in the pole position for the deal, having put up nearly twice as much money as ESPN, which has held the rights since 2018 and was the only other bidder at the table.

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That was reportedly too rich for ESPN’s blood, but Apple and Liberty still had to navigate one more tricky issue: the role of Formula One’s own F1 TV streaming service, which already provides access to virtually all F1 content, from live races and replays to documentaries.

Earlier this month, Puck’s John Ourand reported that the two sides had been held up by Apple’s insistence on exclusivity within the United States — meaning F1 TV would need to be shut down. Nevertheless, Ourand’s sources said a deal could be announced during the US Grand Prix in Austin this weekend, suggesting the two sides had worked out an arrangement, although there was no word on what that was.

Exclusivity with a Twist

Either way, it turns out those reports were accurate, as Apple has officially signed the deal, and it appears they’ve come up with a twist that allows F1 TV to exist without stepping on Apple’s toes by making it available only through Apple TV:

Since this is a US-only deal, F1 TV will continue to be available in other countries as before. Apple hasn’t explained exactly how the US F1 TV Premium subscription will differ from its own “comprehensive coverage.” While Apple’s wording is ambiguous, it sounds like F1 TV Premium will remain a separate paid channel within the Apple TV app rather than being folded into the Apple TV service itself (this is a perfect example of how Apple’s removal of the plus sign has just added to the confusion).

That seems even more likely since, unlike its MLS Season Pass, Apple plans to offer Formula 1 to all Apple TV subscribers at no extra charge. This includes “all practice, qualifying, Sprint sessions, and Grands Prix,” with a smaller selection of races and practice sessions available for free to non-subscribers, likely as a way to entice folks to upgrade for full access, much like it’s done with MLS Season Pass.

Accelerating F1’s US Growth

Liberty Media executives have long said they want to grow their US fan base, and F1 The Movie has generated a lot of new interest in the sport, especially among younger American audiences. That makes Apple not only an ideal partner to further promote it, but also explains why this hasn’t been rolled into a premium subscription package the way Major League Soccer was. Major League Baseball shared a similar motivation for getting into bed with Apple three years ago, although in this case, the target audience was the opposite — MLB wanted to increase its international reach, which was something Apple TV was ideally positioned to do.

Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali echoed this in Apple’s press release, saying “This is an incredibly exciting partnership for Apple and the whole of Formula 1 that will ensure we can continue to maximize our growth potential in the U.S. with the right content and innovative distribution channels,” while saying that it was the partnership in creating F1 The Movie that gave the two companies a “shared vision to bring this amazing sport to our fans in the U.S. and entice new fans through live broadcasts, engaging content, and a year-round approach to keep them hooked.”

Between MLS, MLB, and now F1, Apple’s sports strategy is rapidly becoming as ambitious as its original programming — and this latest deal signals that the company is nowhere near the end of the race.