With American viewership continuing to rise, Liberty Media is ready to redefine the future of Formula 1 in the United States. For this reason, Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang is looking for more than just a simple broadcaster for the new Formula 1 television rights deal.
Between present and future
The current broadcaster in the United States is ESPN, a division of Walt Disney Co, which has held Formula 1 broadcasting rights since 2018. Previously, NBC decided not to continue paying the annual $4 million deal due to low ratings and pulled out. Liberty Media then handed Formula 1 over to ESPN free of charge.
But then came the pandemic and lockdown, along with a growing audience for “Drive to Survive” and more. The Netflix series accelerated the renewal of Formula 1’s audience and fueled a stronger connection between American fans and the sport.
The arrival of Apple
In 2020 ESPN paid $5 million per year, a figure that rose to $85 million in 2023, but for Liberty Media that was still not enough. For this reason, the rights are still on the market, with Apple remaining the main candidate. Speaking at a Goldman Sachs conference, Chang explained that Liberty is looking for a broadcasting “partner” equally motivated to monetize the sport.
“The important thing is to have a partner that amplifies all of this for us, on a global and holistic basis, and drives fan engagement.”
Although he did not directly name Apple, Liberty is clearly evaluating the tech giant’s interest in expanding its already high profits, boosted by the success of the “F1” movie.
“The negotiations have been well documented, we are making good progress and we are fairly satisfied and confident with where things are heading. We hope to have something to announce fairly soon.”
ESPN with record ratings: does it matter?
Meanwhile, ESPN revealed that 1.2 million viewers tuned in live on ESPN2 for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix broadcast, with an average of 484,000 in the key 18–49 demographic. This season, races are averaging 1.4 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, surpassing the all-time record average of 1.21 million set in 2022. Viewership for the Italian Grand Prix rose 12% compared to last year’s race (1.1 million) and marked the largest audience ever for the event on U.S. television.
The ten races that achieved record viewership this season were Australia, China, Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. Interestingly, the Miami Grand Prix was the only event this year that did not see year-on-year growth in audience figures.
In truth, considering a population of 340 million, 1.4 million viewers is just a drop in the ocean. And it will look even smaller once whoever secures the rights has to justify paying double what ESPN currently spends. Will Liberty Media be willing to compromise, or will it try to convince Apple to take the plunge? We will find out soon.
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