F1, Apple TV Announce Historic Conract Reportedly for $700M in 2026 Move from ESPN

Apple TV announced on Friday it will be the new television home for Formula 1 racing beginning in 2026.

Per Filip Cleeren of Motorsport.com, Apple will be paying F1 a total of $700 million over five years to take over exclusive broadcast rights from ESPN.

Per the official release on the Formula 1 website, in addition to the Grand Prix races, Apple TV will also broadcast all free practice, qualifying and sprint sessions. Select races throughout each season will be available for free without a subscription to the service.

John Ourand of Puck reported in February that ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro informed F1 officials the network would not be renewing its rights deal, which had been worth $90 million annually on a three-year deal signed in October 2022.

Apple seemed like a frontrunner given its partnership with the motorsport organization in the production of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt that was released over the summer. The multimedia outlet was a producer for the film through its Apple Studios division.

The film is currently the sixth-highest grossing movie worldwide in 2025 with more than $628 million in box office receipts.

Netflix was at one point rumored to be interested in adding F1 to its growing list of live sports programming. It also would have made a natural home given that Drive to Survive, which has been widely credited with boosting the sport's popularity, has aired on Netflix since 2019.

Ultimately, the Apple TV offer won out with a deal that will pay at least $50 million more in annual rights fees to F1 compared to its current ESPN deal.

The 2026 F1 season will begin with the Australian Grand Prix on March 8. The schedule will consist of 24 races, culminating with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Dec. 7.