Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may be investing heavily in the Formula 1 racing league following the recent box office success of the "F1" movie, which stars and was produced by Brad Pitt.
What Happened: Tech giant Apple has been rumored to be looking at the media rights for the Formula 1 racing league, which is owned by Liberty Formula One (NASDAQ:FWONA) (NASDAQ:FWONK), before, but this time it may be more serious.
A new report from the Financial Times says Apple is in talks to land the U.S. rights for Formula 1 races, which are up for grabs after ESPN's exclusive negotiation window closed.
ESPN, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), renewed its U.S. rights in 2022, beating out interest from Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA). ESPN pays a reported $75 million to $90 million annually for the rights, up from its previous annual payments of $5 million under its previous rights deal.
Reports of Apple being interested in landing the U.S. rights come with the "F1" movie being Apple's highest-grossing theatrical film of all time. The film has grossed $112.7 million domestically and $301.2 million worldwide in 12 days and could go on to outgross all other Apple theatrical releases combined.
Why It's Important: Apple's streaming platform AppleTV+ has geared more towards sports in recent years, landing the exclusive rights to Major League Soccer and some rights from Major League Baseball.
The streaming platform currently charges $10 per month and is reportedly developing an ad-supported plan.
Securing Formula 1 rights could better position Apple TV+ as a major streaming platform and also provide the company with more advertising opportunities for its rumored ad-supported plan.
Formula 1 could struggle in picking a winner if ESPN is interested in renewing the rights, given its past history with the league. The "F1" movie from Apple has likely brought new fans to the sport, similar to what the docuseries "Drive to Survive" from Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) did for the sport in recent years.
In fact, Apple could be raising the cost of the U.S. rights it would need to pay, thanks to the success of its film.
Interest in Formula 1 has risen in the U.S. in recent years thanks to Netflix and more races being held in the country. In 2025, the league has three races with one in Miami already having taken place in May, one in Texas coming in October and one in Las Vegas coming in November.
The league is also adding an 11th team, the American-based Cadillac F1 team, which could also renew interest in the sport across America.
ESPN's viewership for Formula 1 in 2025 is off to an impressive start, with 11 of the 12 races having year-over-year viewership growth and seven of the races having viewership records. The league's recent British Grand Prix averaged 1.5 million viewers on ESPN2, up 19% from last year's race and the largest audience in the U.S. for that race ever.
Races are averaging 1.3 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC, up 7% from last year's figures at this point in the season and up 17% from last year's full-season average. Younger viewership (age 18-49) is up double-digit percentages for both the season-to-date timeframe and full-season averages.
One factor that could help increase viewership is parity in the league. After winning the F1 championship for the last four seasons, Max Verstappen is currently in third place for the 2025 season. Before Verstappen’s four-season wins, Lewis Hamilton won four straight seasons. Hamilton and Verstappen have won 10 of the last 11 seasons. With some new drivers at the top and the possibility of new champions, viewers may be more engaged this year.
Apple may have to compete with ESPN and others for the Formula 1 rights, but given the success of the movie and its recent focus on sports rights, it could be a perfect fit.
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