F1 is among the world’s “fastest-growing sports,” but it is “having trouble translating that revved-up popularity into the large-scale rights package it wants” in the U.S., according to Isabella Simonetti of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Sources said that F1 has been “shopping a rights package” at around $150M to $180M a year beginning with the 2026 season, though there “isn’t an official asking price.” That would be “up to double what ESPN has been paying recently.” This comes after U.S. viewership for live F1 races on ESPN has “roughly doubled” since 2018, to 1.1 million in 2024. Simonetti noted ESPN “walked away” late last year from its exclusive negotiation window for a new package. According to sources, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, Amazon and NBC are “lukewarm on the offering, too -- at least, at the current price.” The coming U.S. rights deal “represents a small slice of F1’s revenue,” but owner Liberty Media has “focused on growing F1 in the country” and the new deal “will help determine the sport’s next chapter here.” Sources said that ESPN “hasn’t completely ruled out new talks on F1.” But it still has been “making many tough choices lately.” Former ESPN President John Skipper said that the network “might be more inclined to bid for F1 if the company thought it would drive subscriptions” to the network’s planned DTC streaming service (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/9).
F1 struggling to secure desired U.S. rights package
