This February Apple launched the MLS Season Pass, a location to stream Major League Soccer, which doesn’t require an Apple TV+ subscription (TV+ subscribers are thought to receive a discount). This was apparently quite successful (it is believed that 1 million new subscribers came on board) and Cupertino is now trying to conclude a similar deal and become the exclusive rights holder for Formula 1 races.
F1 Business reports that the deal will cost Apple around $2 billion a year, double what the Formula 1 Group currently gets for global television rights. However, there are currently deals in place with broadcasters, so Apple won’t get all the rights immediately.
ESPN, owned by Disney, is one of these broadcasters and holds the rights for the US market until 2025 – this is likely the earliest an Apple-F1 deal could happen. The deal will reportedly run for 7 years during which existing deals with broadcasters will gradually expire (Apple is expected to have the global rights all to itself in five years).
Tim Cook waves the checkered flag at the 2022 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas
This also means that Apple won’t immediately pay the full $2 billion a year, but rather a fraction proportional to the amount of global rights it controls. For comparison, MLS rights cost just $250 million per year. You can stream MLS for $15 a month or $29 for the entire season, Apple TV+ subscribers get a discount: $13 a month or $25 for the season.
Apple TV+ is currently producing a Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, with Joseph Kosinski directing while 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is one of the producers. This movie will follow a fictional racing team (it’s written by Ehren Kruger, who also wrote the Top Gun: nonconformist screenplay), but TV+ is also working on a documentary focusing on Hamilton.
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