Earlier this week, we saw reports that from the Financial Times, that Apple is now looking to expand its success with F1: The Movie by grabbing the U.S. streaming rights to real-world Formula 1 races on Apple TV+. Now Business Insider concurs with that report, saying that “barring a last-minute change,” Apple is poised to sign the deal.
From the BI report:
Apple has submitted a bid worth at least $150 million a year to stream the races starting in 2026. And ESPN isn’t going to try to match or beat that, according to a source familiar with negotiations.
So barring a last-minute change, it looks like Apple, which already has deals to stream some pro baseball games, and all of Major League Soccer’s games, will have a third sports streaming offering next year.
On Tuesday, Puck reported that Apple’s offer range from between $150 million and $200 million per year for the rights to F1 streaming in the U.S. ESPN currently pays around $90 million annually for those same rights. ESPN’s deal expires after this F1 season, so Apple is set to grab the wheel starting for the 2026 season.
Apple TV+ has found success with sporting events, as the service is currently the exclusive home of all Major League Soccer games, while also streaming a doubleheader of Major League Baseball games each Friday during the MLB regular season.
A deal like the one that’s about to be signed also provides synergy for Apple, following the successful debut of its F1: The Movie, which starred Brad Pitt.
