Apple Races Ahead With $700 Million Formula 1 Deal

Apple has signed a landmark $700 million agreement to broadcast Formula 1 races in the United States, marking its biggest move yet into live sport. The five-year deal, beginning in 2026, will replace Disney-owned ESPN as the exclusive US broadcaster, strengthening Apple’s ambitions to anchor its streaming platform with premium sports content.

The agreement, valued at roughly $140 million a year, represents a major step-up from the $85 million previously paid by ESPN. It brings Apple alongside Amazon and Netflix as Big Tech firms that now see live sport as essential to driving subscriber growth and cultural relevance.

Expanding Apple’s sports portfolio

The partnership follows Apple’s success with its Formula 1 feature film starring Brad Pitt, which has taken nearly $630 million at the global box office. That production, distributed through Apple TV+, demonstrated the company’s ability to elevate the sport’s profile and attract new audiences — particularly in the United States, where F1 viewership has surged.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice-president of services, described the sport’s potential as “exponentially huge”. “We started this with the movie, F1, which became the biggest sports film of all time. Now we’re bringing the live experience to fans everywhere,” he said.

Under the new agreement, Apple will air every aspect of a Grand Prix weekend — including practice sessions, qualifying, sprint races and the main events — through its Apple TV+ service. Cue said the company intends to use its wider ecosystem to promote the sport, linking coverage across Apple Music, Apple News, podcasts, books and retail stores.

F1 aims to deepen its American roots

Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said Apple’s global reach and brand appeal would help F1 “reach more homes and become part of American culture.” He added that the deal reflects a shared goal of making F1 “as socially relevant in the United States as the NFL, NBA or MLS.”

Domenicali also credited Apple’s film division for expanding the sport’s visibility. Together with Netflix’s Drive to Survive series, it has brought a new generation of American fans to the grid. The sport has added races in Miami and Las Vegas to complement its long-standing Austin Grand Prix, reflecting its growing appeal in North America.

Growing audiences and commercial pull

This year, F1 races on ESPN have averaged 1.4 million US viewers, surpassing the record 1.21 million set in 2022. The jump highlights Liberty Media’s success in reshaping F1 into a more global entertainment product, combining traditional motorsport with Hollywood-style storytelling.

Industry analysts say Apple’s involvement could accelerate that shift. The company’s marketing power, seamless technology, and user-base of over one billion active devices give it unique leverage to embed live racing into mainstream consumer life.

Big Tech’s new race for live sport

Apple’s deal follows similar investments by its Silicon Valley peers. Amazon streams the NFL’s Thursday Night Football, while Netflix is exploring live sports content following the success of its documentary franchises on Formula 1, tennis and golf. For Apple, sport offers a rare opportunity to bind users to its subscription ecosystem and promote its hardware across a vast, engaged audience.

The company first entered live broadcasting through a 2022 deal with Major League Baseball, followed by a global partnership with Major League Soccer that gave Apple exclusive rights to all MLS matches. The Formula 1 agreement signals that Apple now intends to compete directly for the world’s most prestigious rights packages.

Shared Ferrari heritage

Domenicali and Cue have long known each other, and both share ties with Ferrari. Domenicali formerly led the Italian racing team, while Cue serves on Ferrari’s board of directors. Those links have helped maintain dialogue between Apple and F1 over several years, culminating in a deal that many in the industry view as strategically transformative.

Looking ahead

Apple’s arrival reshapes the broadcasting landscape for Formula 1 and intensifies competition among global streaming services. For F1, it delivers access to Apple’s deep pockets and digital reach. For Apple, it represents another move into the high-stakes world of sport, following its success in entertainment and original production.

As Domenicali put it, the ambition is not only to stream races but to “make Formula 1 part of everyday culture.” With Apple behind the wheel, the sport’s push to capture the American imagination just shifted into a higher gear.