F1 Surveying Apple Investment Over ESPN Audience Growth

Formula One seems to be gearing up for an exciting change soon. The word on the street is that the global auto racing circuit might be waving goodbye to Disney’s ESPN and driving straight into Apple TV+, according to reports from Business Insider. It’s reported that Apple has made a bid of $150 million per year, a significant bump up from the $80-90 million range ESPN has been paying annually in their current rights agreement, which is set to expire after this season.

Even though the exact details of ESPN’s bid to retain F1 rights are not public, it sounds like they were worlds apart from Apple’s offer. Sources have indicated that the price tag was way too high for ESPN to financially justify. An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

By making this move, Formula One is trading in widespread access for a whole lot of cash. Research from MoffettNathanson shows that only about 11% of U.S. households use Apple TV+. While the recent Formula One races have drawn around 1.3 million viewers when combined across ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2, those numbers are significantly lower than what NASCAR pulls in on Amazon and Fox. (And remember, F1 races happen all around the world, so they’re not always convenient for viewers in the U.S.; the reported deal focuses on U.S. rights specifically.)

Apple TV+ isn’t Nielsen-rated, but it’s believed that far fewer people tune into its Friday night MLB games compared to ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Apple TV+ also already has a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal for all of MLS’s global rights.

Meanwhile, ESPN will soon have its hands full with UFC rights up for grabs at the end of this year. Exciting times ahead for both sports fans and streaming enthusiasts alike!