After the huge success of its Drive to Survive series, Netflix is getting ready for an even more important involvement by lining up a $100m a year offer for rights to live coverage of Formula 1 in the United States.
Currently, the rights belong to (Disney-owned) ESPN but the deal is available only until the end of the 2022 Formula One championship. Given the increasing interest in the sport as a result of the Drive to Survive series, more possible broadcasters are said to be lining up to make an offer for the next seasons.
Such a decision would be a first for Netflix, who until now has chosen to avoid live coverage of any sport.
The balance for Netflix in the first quarter of the current year show that the streaming giant lost subscribers for the first time in almost ten year, but still has 221.6 million subscribers globally, including 74.6 million in the United States and Canada.
Formula One owners Liberty Media are looking for an offer of about $100m a year and other than Netflix and ESPN, NBC Universal and Amazon are also interested in taking part in a bid.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma! Enter the online Puma Store and shop securely! And get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
ESPN seems willing to make an offer of about $70m a year, given the fact that it currently pays in the region of just $6m. ESPN’s viewing figures have brought them an incredible profit this year given the fact that they are currently breaking all previous records, with the Miami event drawing an average 2.6 million viewers on ABC – the highest-ever figure for a United States F1 broadcast, but still one has to ask if the rumoured $100m fee is in fact possible.
Leave a Reply