Apple and F1 have reached a 5-year media deal, bringing the races to Apple TV streaming

apple The Formula 1 company on Friday announced a five-year media rights deal that will bring all Formula 1 races to Apple TV starting in 2026.

Apple TV will provide coverage of all Formula 1 events, including practice, qualifying and Sprint sessions, as part of the current $12.99 per month subscription, which comes ad-free. Some Formula 1 races and all practice sessions will also be available for free in the Apple TV app throughout the season, the companies said in a statement.

It’s a different structure than Apple’s partnership with Major League Soccer. Likewise, Apple TV has exclusive rights to every MLS game, but at an additional cost through the MLS Season Pass.

Apple pays about $140 million a year for the rights to the race, according to people familiar with the matter. Disney ESPN is the league’s current media partner and was paying about $85 million annually on average, according to people familiar with the deal, who asked not to speak publicly because the details are private.

F1 TV Premium, the league’s content offering popular with racing fans, will remain available in the US but will now require an Apple TV subscription. Once a customer subscribes to Apple TV, F1 TV Premium will be included in their Apple subscription rather than offered as a standalone offering.

Apple is getting involved in live sports but only in cases where it can obtain rights so it can control the user experience, senior vice president of services Eddy Cue told CNBC this week. The company said in a statement that it plans to announce additional production details and product improvements to Formula 1 fans in the coming months.

“We don’t have to do sports this way,” Keough said at the Autosport Business Exchange in New York City. “There are a lot of people doing it, so the world doesn’t need us to do it. So our view on this is, if we can do something unique, we’ll do it.”

The deal builds on Apple’s relationship with Formula 1 after F1: The Movie starring Brad Pitt, which became the highest-grossing sports film of all time at the box office this year, according to Cue.

“This is an incredibly exciting partnership for Apple and the whole of Formula 1 that will ensure we can continue to maximize our growth potential in the United States,” Stefano Domenicali, president and CEO of Formula 1, said in a statement.