Starting this year, Apple has exclusive streaming rights for Formula 1 racing in the United States, which sees every race stream on Apple TV. Both Apple and the league have proudly reported a very positive response in terms of viewership and subscriber acquisition, although they do not publish exact viewing figures.
On the latest earnings call for F1’s parent company Liberty Media, the CEO of Formula 1 Stefano Domenicali said that both parties are happy with the US deal, and he expects that Apple will bid for rights in more countries as the opportunities become available.
F1 has previously expressed that they are not currently looking for one media partner to take global broadcast rights for the sport; they want a portfolio of deals, picking the best partners for each geographic market.
We have already seen this play out in the United Kingdom, with broadcaster Sky renewing its deal for F1 rights through 2034, seemingly locking Apple out of that region. So, despite the apparent demand, Apple will not be able to just walk in and take over the future of the sport’s worldwide distribution.
However, it seems the league is open to striking more deals with Apple in certain markets.
On the earnings call, in response to a question from an investor about Apple’s interest, Domenicali said “this is part of our discussion, if there are opportunities that can be in other markets, they will do it … they’re going to do it as soon as these opportunities will be open for them”.
Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang said they continue to think about what new innovation they can bring to the product side, and noted that “Apple as a potential bidder in other markets is helpful” for their business.
As a reminder, all Formula 1 races are available to watch live and on-demand with an Apple TV subscription, in the United States. The company recently launched a Dolby Atmos audio track for its F1 streams, as well as expanded support for Multiview on more platforms, including iPhone Duo.
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