Disney’s ESPN will retain Formula 1 racing rights through the 2025 season, airing games via linear TV as well as streaming.
News of ESPN and F1’s continued partnership broke out in June, though at the time the companies hadn’t yet signed a renewal contract. ESPN announced the deal this weekend at the Formula 1 Aramco U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
The new deal will see at least 16 races air on ABC and ESPN each season, and all race telecasts will be presented in the commercial-free format ESPN has used over the past five seasons.
F1 content is also coming to ESPN+, as the agreement includes expanded direct-to-consumer rights. ESPN has yet to announce which races will be streamed.
ESPN will continue to telecast practice sessions and qualifying races (including the F1 Sprint) during race weekends, as well as pre- and post-race coverage. And Spanish-language speakers can continue to catch F1 races at the ESPN Deportes pay TV channel.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources told Sports Business Journal in June ESPN could be paying $75 million - $90 million for F1 rights – significantly higher than its previous $15 million deal for three years.
“Formula 1 and ESPN have been a strong and successful team and we’re delighted to extend our relationship,” stated Burk Magnus, ESPN’s president of programming and original content. “We look forward to serving fans in some new and innovative ways in the next three years as we continue to bring the reach and relevance of the Walt Disney Company networks and platforms to Formula 1.”
F1 popularity is heating up in the U.S. This year’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix averaged 2.6 million viewers – marking the largest U.S. audience on record for a live F1 race, according to ESPN.
Regular F1 telecasts this year generated 1.2 million viewers on average, through 18 races.
Ian Holmes, director of media rights and content creation at F1, noted the deal is “a reflection of exciting times ahead and a result of our shared desire to bring Formula 1 to as broad and diverse an audience as possible in the U.S.”
Racing fans in the U.S. can currently stream F1 on Sling TV’s Orange tier, FuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV as well as on F1TV. Those in the U.K. and Ireland can tune into F1 on Sky Sports.
Disney, which recently raised ESPN+’s monthly price to just under $10, reported 22.8 million ESPN subscribers for the third quarter.
Launched in 2018, ESPN+ is marketed as an add-on to ESPN’s linear networks, meaning that some of ESPN’s sports rights aren’t available on the streaming service. Disney CEO Bob Chapek said last month Disney wants to build up ESPN+ without “prematurely disrupting” its linear business, which is still profitable.