Netflix set to enter race for F1 broadcast rights in the United States

Netflix is rising because the potential new house for System 1 within the US as a bidding course of for the reside broadcast rights from the 2026 season onwards is because of start.

The streaming service already performs a key position in rising the championship, with its seventh sequence of the Drive to Survive documentary sequence airing within the close to future.

However Autosport understands Netflix is now strongly contemplating a bid to safe reside streaming rights to F1, with present holder ESPN’s exclusivity interval to debate recent phrases now expired.

As reported by Autosport Business in October, there was early mummering inside ESPN {that a} new deal wouldn’t be struck with Liberty Media, with the 2026 deal anticipated to eclipse the $90million a-year presently being paid.

Drive to Survive turned successful for each Netflix and F1 when the primary season dropped in 2019 and solely grew its viewers in the course of the lockdowns that adopted within the wake of the outbreak of COVID.

It’s understood that, as issues stand, the newest sequence – more likely to drop within the coming weeks – is presently the final for which Netflix has a contract to supply, whereas a brand new docuseries primarily based across the all-female F1 Academy will land on the service later this yr.

In November, Netflix employed Kate Jackson to run their reside sports activities output having beforehand led ESPN’s protection of F1 in her position as vice chairman of manufacturing.

Since then, it has made strikes to have reside sports activities content material obtainable to subscribers with the Mike Tyson v Jake Paul boxing bout breaking information in November for the most-streamed sports activities occasion of all time.

That was adopted up with two NFL fixtures streamed on Christmas Day earlier than a $5billion 10-year deal to globally stream WWE (World Wrestling Leisure) programming started in January.

Added to profitable the US broadcasting rights to the 2027 and 2031 Girls’s World Cup and it’s clear {that a} reside sport technique has turn into a key ambition for Netflix.

That might now lengthen to System 1, which has turn into extra well-liked than ever within the American market, particularly among the many youthful, feminine demographic.

A earlier house of F1 in America, ESPN returned with a brand new broadcasting deal for the 2018 season – paying no conventional price for the rights, with Liberty eager to get F1 into as many dwelling rooms throughout the nation as attainable.

Burke Magnus ESPN, President, Programming & authentic content material, Stefano Domenicali, CEO

Photograph by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Photographs

The subsequent deal then noticed ESPN pay $5million a yr between 2019-2022 earlier than a brand new settlement was signed in 2022 working by means of 2025, with not less than 16 races airing on ABC and ESPN.

Though, following the groundswell of curiosity from American audiences, the Disney-owned broadcaster needed to pay way more for the privilege – a reported $90m yearly.

ESPN had a record-setting 2022 with the most-viewed F1 championship ever broadcast on US tv and from 2023 onwards screened all 23 races – 18 throughout ABC or ESPN and the remaining 5 on ESPN2.

Final yr, the triple-header throughout the Americas was given the best-in-class remedy by ESPN, with GameDay on the bottom alongside the community’s common crew in Austin, Mexico Metropolis and Sao Paulo.

Elsewhere, ESPN utilises the Sky Sports activities F1 protection, however it’s believed a continuation of such settlement is unlikely to proceed ought to Netflix finally win the rights.

Any new deal for the US rights is not going to have an instantaneous impression in the UK, the place Sky has an settlement in place till 2029.