Netflix is considering a bid for the live broadcast rights of Formula One in the United States from 2026.
ESPN has broadcast F1 across the United States since 2017 but its current deal expires at the end of the 2025 season.
Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have indicated to The Athletic that F1 is now on Netflix’s radar for a potential deal in the United States starting in 2026. Netflix has declined to comment.
F1 has enjoyed a surge in popularity in the United States in recent years, in part thanks to the success of the Netflix docuseries “Drive to Survive” that debuted in 2019. Through this period, F1 has been broadcast on ESPN after it acquired the broadcast rights from NBC ahead of the 2018 season. Its most recent renewal was signed in 2022, ensuring it would keep F1 through to the end of 2025.
ESPN’s exclusivity period to bid on the broadcast rights beyond 2025 has now expired, sparking a fresh round of interest from broadcasters in picking up the American rights package.
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Ian Holmes, F1’s director of media rights, has been in the United States this week for some exploratory meetings with potential broadcasters about the rights.
Last year, Netflix hired Kate Jackson, ESPN’s former vice-president of production who oversaw its F1 output, as its new director of sports to look after its live sports projects moving forward.
Netflix has been taking increasing number of steps into live sports broadcasting in recent years. The streaming giant paid $150million to broadcast two NFL games on Christmas Day last year, as well as acquiring the rights for WWE Raw on a 10-year deal starting in 2025.
Netflix is likely to be one of several parties in contention for the F1 rights in the United States, which have previously drawn interest from its rival streaming platform, Amazon Prime. Amazon has also been broadcasting more live sport in recent years, including the UEFA Champions League in the United Kingdom from this season.
F1 also has links to Apple, which has been producing the upcoming “F1” movie starring Brad Pitt that is set for release in June. Apple has broadcast Major League Soccer in the United States through its Apple TV+ platform since 2022, as well as starting a seven-year agreement with Major League Baseball in the same year.
F1 has traditionally worked with network TV broadcasters for its rights deals in the United States. Before NBC’s run from 2013 to 2017, F1 was carried by Fox through its Speed network from 2001. Last year, Fox acquired the rights to broadcast IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500 in the United States from 2025 on a multi-year agreement. Fox also broadcasts the opening third of the NASCAR season, including the Daytona 500.
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Additional reporting: Madeline Coleman
(Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
