Formula 1 could find itself a new broadcast home next year. According to a report in The Times of London, Netflix is considering a bid to take the worldwide racing circuit away from ESPN in the United States. ESPN’s exclusive negotiating period with F1 has recently expired, meaning the circuit is free to negotiate with other potential media partners. ESPN’s current deal, which began in 2023, pays F1 a reported $85 million per year. Netflix has reportedly hired Kate Jackson, ESPN’s vice president of production, who handled the network’s F1 coverage prior to leaving.
The streamer can largely be credited for the sport’s newfound popularity in the US, thanks to its hit docuseries Drive to Survive. Additionally, The Times also reports that Apple has been linked to F1 rights in the US, though the company’s preference for global deals — such as its current agreement with Major League Soccer — might discourage them from pursuing a region-specific deal. Despite the inability to reach an agreement during the exclusive negotiating period, ESPN remains a possibility.
Netflix has gradually entered the live sports arena, recently airing two exclusive NFL games on Christmas Day and WWE’s weekly Raw series, along with streaming various one-off sporting events like the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight in November. The company continues to heavily invest in sports-adjacent programming similar to Drive to Survive.
A potential deal with F1 would make a lot of sense for Netflix as it seeks to establish itself in live sports broadcasting. The relationship fostered through Drive to Survive has created a built-in audience of F1 fans. Netflix likely has the capital to win a bidding war with ESPN, although it may not need to pay significantly more than the current rate. As reported by The Times, “The next set of rights is expected to bring an increase in value, but still far below the kind of fees that other US sports, such as American football.” It seems unlikely that F1 would be enough for ESPN to engage in a bidding war, especially since losing the circuit would leave the network with minimal motorsports exposure through the smaller Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) series.
