Apple makes staggering multi-million dollar offer for American F1 rights in bid to usurp ESPN

Encouraged with the box-office success of 'F1: The Movie,' Apple is now in talks to buy Formula One's US media rights, sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.

Apple senior VP of services Eddy Cue is believed to have offered something around $180 million annually to F1s parent company, Liberty Media, for the US media rights, Sportico has reported. That’s about double what ESPN/ABC currently pays.  

ESPN/ABC holds those rights through the remainder of the 2025 season. But as sources previously told Reuters in February, ESPN's opportunity to exclusively negotiate with the open-wheel racing circuit has expired, allowing rival bidders to enter the media auction.

Daily Mail has reached out to both Apple and F1 for comment.  

Apple is aiming to capitalize on the sport's growing popularity in the U.S. which was also driven by the success of Netflix's hit docuseries 'Formula 1: Drive to Survive' that provided an engaging behind-the-scenes look at the sport.

Netflix is also among the contenders for the F1 U.S. broadcasting rights from the 2026 season, according to media reports in February.

Apple TV+, known for original shows such as 'Ted Lasso', 'The Morning Show', 'Shrinking' and 'Severance', has been trailing behind competitors like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video in subscriber numbers, and acquiring F1 rights could help boost its sports content offering.

Streaming platforms are investing heavily in exclusive rights to dominate the lucrative live sports market to drive subscriber growth and increase ad dollars in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Netflix paid more than $5 billion to be the exclusive home of World Wrestling Entertainment's 'Raw' in several territories in January, and previously drew an estimated 60 million households for the 2024 Mike Tyson-Jake Paul bout.

But it's the success of F1: The Movie that may have convinced Apple to go after US media rights. Brad Pitt's latest film earned the top spot in its opening weekend by drawing $140 million globally. That includes $55.6 million in the United States, with $25 million of that coming on the movie's opening day Friday, according to The Numbers.

The movie, which stars Pitt and was executive-produced by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, was filmed at F1 racetracks through the 2024 season.

Pitt plays an F1 driver who comes out of retirement to help a struggling team while also mentoring an up-and-coming young driver.

According to Forbes, 'F1: The Movie' outpaced 'Napoleon' ($78.8 million in 2023) for the biggest opening weekend ever for an Apple Studios film. However, with the cost of making 'F1: The Movie' reportedly topping $350 million, it will need a continued run of success at the box office to make money.

And just like Napoleon, F1: The Movie has been met with mixed reviews.