Apple and Netflix team up for Formula 1 growth while Italy stands still
The Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix represents a striking example of a modern strategy aimed at expanding the sport’s audience. In the United States, the race will be broadcast live both on Apple TV, which holds the exclusive rights for the full season, and on Netflix. This collaboration between two streaming giants gives a potentially enormous subscriber base access to the event without any additional barriers beyond their existing subscriptions.
Liberty Media President and CEO Derek Chang explained that Apple’s approach differs significantly from the more traditional European model, where exclusivity is often prioritised over product promotion. By opening the door to other players rather than shutting them out, Formula 1 gains visibility and broader audience reach.
Apple TV will provide full coverage of practice, qualifying, and the race itself, while Netflix — thanks to the cross-platform agreement that also includes Drive to Survive being made available on Apple’s platform — helps introduce Formula 1 to a much wider audience, particularly casual viewers already drawn to the documentary series. It is a collaborative model that prioritises growing the sport rather than rigid exclusivity.
The declared objective is simple: increase engagement and attract new fans in a rapidly growing market where Formula 1 has experienced a major surge in popularity over recent years.
The Italian and European model: paywall restrictions remain
In Italy, the situation looks significantly different. Formula 1 television rights are held exclusively by Sky, which broadcasts every session through its paid channels. Free-to-air coverage on mainstream broadcasters such as RAI is not normally available.
Free access is generally activated only for races held on Italian soil, such as Monza or Imola, and often only following intervention from AGCOM, Italy’s communications regulatory authority, which applies national rules regarding events considered to be of major public importance.
For every other race on the calendar, fans must rely on a Sky subscription or associated paid services. This structure naturally limits widespread and casual engagement with the championship, reserving the full Formula 1 experience only for paying subscribers while excluding a potentially significant segment of interested viewers.
Opposite strategies for the same global sport
The comparison between the two markets highlights sharply different approaches to sports broadcasting rights.
In the United States, the strategy focuses on partnerships between platforms designed to maximise reach through overlapping audiences and cross-promotion. In Italy — and much of Europe — the dominant model remains one built around pay-TV exclusivity, with free access reduced to a minimum and often available only through regulatory obligations.
On one side, the American strategy views sport as a growth engine for a broader entertainment ecosystem, accepting a degree of content sharing to expand the fanbase. On the other, the Italian and European model appears more heavily focused on protecting the direct commercial value of rights ownership, even if that comes at the cost of limiting the sport’s accessibility.
AGCOM regulations act as only a partial corrective measure, but these interventions remain occasional and limited primarily to domestic events.
Formula 1 must think beyond market protectionism
Formula 1 is a global sport that benefits enormously from strong television and streaming visibility. When broadcasters and rights holders choose more open distribution models, as seen with the Canadian Grand Prix in the United States, the championship gains momentum in popularity, cultural relevance, and commercial appeal.
By contrast, excessive restrictions risk confining Formula 1 to smaller paying niches, slowing the development of future audiences and limiting the sport’s long-term growth potential. The comparison between the United States and Italy is not simply about broadcasting technology. It reflects two fundamentally different business models and contrasting visions of sport as both entertainment and shared cultural experience.
In an era defined by platform abundance and fragmented media consumption, the ability to make major sporting events accessible without unnecessary barriers could become one of the most decisive factors in shaping Formula 1’s future.
The widening broadcast divide between the United States and Europe underscores a critical crossroads for Formula 1’s global commercial expansion. While the American market aggressively democratizes content access through power pairings like Apple TV and Netflix to capture mainstream cultural real estate, traditional European territories remain stubbornly anchored to legacy pay-walls that actively alienate casual viewers. For a historic racing nation like Italy, relying solely on regulatory bodies like AGCOM to protect domestic broadcasts is a short-term band-aid for a long-term visibility crisis. If Stefano Domenicali and the board at Liberty Media want to sustain the sport’s global momentum and foster future generations of fans, they must eventually challenge the short-sighted financial greed of exclusive European networks and inject the same digital flexibility that is currently transforming the American media landscape into a front-running success.
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