ESPN has reportedly informed Formula One that it will not be renewing its media rights package, which indicates that the motorsport entity will need to find a new U.S. partner to air the racing series next year. The company has been broadcasting Formula One races since 2018, and its current deal will conclude at the end of the year, which is said to be worth $90 million annually. News of this reported decision by ESPN was first divulged by John Ourand of Puck, who added that F1 took meetings with Netflix and NBC during Super Bowl week in New Orleans, La.
Sources indicated to Luke Smith of The Athletic last week that Netflix was considering making a bid for Formula One rights that would begin in the 2026 season. The company has worked with the racing property before on the Drive to Survive docuseries, a six-season venture produced by Box to Box Films that has granted viewers an inside look at drivers who are part of the racing circuit. Conversely, NBC previously carried Formula One races under a four-year deal that expired in 2016, and Ourand conveyed that it would be a “natural landing pad” for the property.
The reported decision by ESPN comes after last year’s Formula One circuit tied for the second most-viewed season of the property ever on U.S. television, averaging 1.1 million viewers per race across ESPN, ABC and ESPN2. Furthermore, the property reached nearly 30 million fans on ESPN platforms and ended up tying the viewership average it had attained in 2023, although its reach last season was up 22.9% year-over-year to 29.5 million.
The 2022 season is responsible for the all-time record average of 1.2 million viewers, which concluded with Max Verstappen winning the title of World Drivers’ Champion and Red Bull Racing garnering the World Constructor Championship. While Ourand reported that the company liked being in business with Formula One, it made the determination that a price increase was not commensurate to the average viewership wherefore it is said to be moving in another direction.
ESPN is preparing to launch its Flagship direct-to-consumer product in the fall that will allow users to access its linear channels without a traditional pay television subscription. Ourand also subsequently reported that the company is likely to exercise an opt-out clause in its contract with Major League Baseball in an attempt to negotiate a better deal with the league, for which it currently pays around $500 million for a variety of rights. The two sides are reportedly far apart in negotiations to the point where it is “hard to see a middle ground,” according to Ourand.
ESPN is reportedly arguing that MLB has reset the market with streaming deals, while the league contends that the packages with Apple TV and Roku are not the same in terms of quality. MLB has reportedly made it clear that the league would explore the marketplace with the package to other partners, and Ourand revealed that it has gauged interest from Netflix and Amazon if the talks do not result in a deal.
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