Apple emerges as Formula 1 for American media rights with $ 150 million bid: Report

Apple is going on Formula 1. The ‘F1’ film’s company’s biggest box office smash became a weeks after becoming the company’s largest box office smash, the Silicon Valley veteran has allegedly presented a blockbuster bid for US media rights to stream the Formula 1 race starting in 2026.

A source familiar with the case told Business Insider that Apple has presented a bid of at least $ 150 million per year for exclusive rights. The internal source also suggested that ESPN, a current rights holder owned by Disney, is unlikely to match the figure, although the dialogue is still going on.

Autosport.com The formula has reached the management for comment.

Apple already has deals to stream a handful of all major league football games as well as baseball games, but F1 will represent its most high-profile global sports investment so far. The Financial Times had previously reported Apple’s interest in the F1 rights after the success of its Brad Pitt Flick, which was released globally last month.

ESPN is broadcasting the F1 race from 2018, when NBC selected its $ 4 million licensing deal. Disney -owned channel originally acquired rights without any cost, but after the success of Netflix’s ‘Drive to Surv’ in 2020, after the popularity of the game, he coughs $ $ 5 million per year through 2022. The following year, ESPN agreed to a new deal, priced at $ 75 million to $ 90 million per anene.

Now, F1’s original company Liberty Media is allegedly demanding a price of $ 150 million to $ 180 million annually, reflecting the huge development of the game. However, the number of spectators in the states has begun to be leveled. ESPN reported an average of 1.2 million spectators per race in 2022, and the next year the number decreased to 1.1 million. The figure has then jumped back to 1.2 million, but it remains to be seen whether the success of the film ‘F1’ will be meaningful affecting the number of audiences, especially given that most of the races are broadcast in American time areas in the morning or overnight.