Formula 1 has entered into a new five-year media rights deal with Apple that will bring all F1 races to Apple TV for viewers in the United States beginning in 2026, it was announced on Friday, Oct. 17.
Apple will pay $140 million annually for F1 rights – an increase from $90 million they received from ESPN since 2018, according to reports. ESPN will continue broadcasting F1 races in the U.S. until the end of this year.
The announcement comes before this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, held in Austin, Texas – the second of three American races on the F1 calendar, along with the Miami Grand Prix in May and Las Vegas Grand Prix in November.
‘When you compare it to other sports in the U.S., certainly the biggest sports – which I think F1 is, and should be in the U.S. – the growth opportunity is huge. It’s exponentially huge. You can exponentially grow the sport,’ Apple’s senior vice president of Services Eddy Cue said during a media call Thursday before the announcement.
F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali added: ‘It’s a perfect match to be hopefully, as soon as possible, socially relevant in a way that everyone can wake up and think about Formula 1 as you’re thinking about NFL or NBA or MLS.
‘Maybe you might think of that as crazy. But that’s really what should be our target. People thinking about our sport – not only as a sport, but also as something that is more than that. And that’s really what we would like to do together with our friends at Apple.’
The partnership sets the stage for F1’s continued growth in the U.S., and follows Apple’s global success of ‘F1 The Movie’ – which became the highest-grossing original feature in 2025 and the highest-grossing sports movie of all time, surpassing $629 million at the global box office.
F1’s U.S. fanbase reached 52 million, the company said in an August press release.
‘One point that we considered together was the amplification platform that Apple will offer our customers,’ Domenicali said. ‘Our customers are getting younger, and younger, and that’s something that’s special. The younger generation uses their phones and PCs more than my generation. It’s why we believed it was the right thing to do.
‘One of the reasons why we wanted to work together is because we know what Apple can do, and we know the power of connected people is through them.’
Apple TV – which costs $12.99 per month – will show F1 practices, qualifying sessions, Sprint races and Grand Prix races to subscribers. Select races and all practice sessions will also be available for free in the Apple TV app throughout the F1 season.
F1 TV Premium, the company’s premier content offering, will continue to be available in the U.S. with an Apple TV subscription.
Apple also plans to incorporate F1 into other applications like Apple News, Apple Maps, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+ and Apple Sports.
‘We think that by partnering with Apple, we are best placed to really look to the future and to have an offering that will talk to the broadest possible audience in all of the different ways that they consume,’ F1’s chief media rights and broadcasting officer Ian Holmes said.
F1 joins Apple’s sports portfolio, which includes MLB’s Friday Night Baseball since 2022, and MLS Season Pass since 2023.
F1 races averaged 1.4 million viewers in 2025 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC – which paced ahead of the 1.21 million record average set in 2022, ESPN said in a September press release.
‘We’re incredibly proud of what we and Formula 1 accomplished together in the United States and look forward to a strong finish in this final season,’ ESPN said in a statement. ‘We wish F1 well in the future.’
Domenicali thanked ESPN for being instrumental in F1’s growth in the U.S.
‘They were very instrumental for our growth in the U.S.,’ Domenicali said. ‘They invested on us when no one was really ready to invest in us many, many years ago. But now is the time to look forward, and to take another route that is the future.’
This story was updated with new information.
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