At the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang took meetings with both Apple’s Tim Cook and Eddy Cue, as well as Disney’s Bob Iger and Jimmy Pitaro, “to hear their respective visions for Formula 1’s future in the United States -- and, as importantly, how much each would be willing to pony up for domestic rights starting in 2026.” Apple has offered $150M per year for the rights, according to sources familiar with the offer, which is “far above” the $85-90M that ESPN is currently paying and “far beyond what ESPN offered to counter.” It “now appears that Liberty Media is likely to accept Apple’s offer, though a formal agreement has yet to be reached” (PUCK.com, 7/11). BUSINESS INSIDER reported Apple’s bid is “worth at least” $150M a year, and ESPN “isn’t going to try to match or beat that.” Barring “a last-minute change,” Apple will have “a third sports streaming offering,” joining some MLB games and MLS (BUSINESS INSIDER, 7/11).
F1 moving closer to landing media rights at Apple
