{"id":499267,"date":"2025-10-14T16:56:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T16:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/499267\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T16:56:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T16:56:13","slug":"looking-for-the-red-flags-in-apples-formula-1-tv-deal-six-colors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/499267\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking for the red flags in Apple\u2019s Formula 1 TV deal \u2013 Six Colors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s been working closely with international racing circuit Formula 1 for a few years now, bringing \u201cF1: The Movie\u201d to the big screen and, on December 12, to Apple TV. Formula 1\u2019s TV rights in the United States are currently up for bid, and Apple is reportedly working to extend and deepen its F1 relationship.<\/p>\n

John Ourand, the excellent sports business reporter now at Puck, reported last week that Apple got a deal to broadcast Formula 1 in the U.S.<\/a>, and it\u2019s due to be announced shortly, perhaps even this weekend:<\/p>\n

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\n The number I keep hearing is $140 million per year for U.S. rights, a significant bump from the $90 million per year that ESPN currently pays.<\/p>\n

The main holdup had been a dispute around Formula 1\u2019s streaming service. Apple stuck to its original position that the racing circuit needed to shut down F1 TV in the U.S., and was reluctant to dole out $140 million on rights fees just to have the races carried on another streaming service. Because F1 TV is profitable in the U.S. market, Formula 1 has been hesitant to pull the plug. It\u2019s not entirely clear where the two sides netted out on this, but it\u2019s an area to watch when the deal finally gets announced. Meanwhile, this will be Apple\u2019s most significant sports rights deal since it signed a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with the MLS three years ago.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The issue here is that there are currently two different ways to watch Formula 1 in the U.S.: on ESPN, via standard television pathways, or streaming on F1\u2019s subscription product, F1 TV Pro, for $85\/year (or $130\/year if you want it in 4K with multiview). So what is Apple buying for a 55% increase on what ESPN currently pays? Is it just buying the rights to a simple video stream, or does it want to capture the entirety of the F1 audience in the United States?<\/p>\n

The first option seems very unlike Apple. Other than bringing a few new viewers into Apple TV, how does showing races in America (most of them very early in the morning) show off Apple\u2019s brand and technological prowess? The entire point of a streaming-only product is that once you\u2019re off traditional TV, you can go beyond the single stream and provide interactive options. The whole point of streaming TV, especially sports, should be that you can leave the flat video stream behind and build something cool using software.<\/p>\n

That is, by the way, what F1 TV Pro is: A sophisticated bit of software that merges track data with multiple cameras to let viewers choose how they want to watch races. It\u2019s absolutely the product that Apple should aspire to build, or co-opt, in this deal.<\/p>\n

I understand that Formula 1 owner Liberty Media is reluctant to lose a profit center, but if Apple\u2019s paying them an extra $50 million, isn\u2019t that the proper trade-off? Also, working with Apple in the U.S. could be part of a longer-term tech partnership between F1 and Apple that could extend worldwide.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit mystifying. I really don\u2019t know how this is going to play out, but here are some possibilities:<\/p>\n