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Apple has won the rights to broadcast Formula 1 races in the US for the next five years in a deal said to be worth a total of around $750m (£558m).
The agreement, which starts in 2026 and for which insiders say Apple will pay roughly $150m (£111.6m) a year, will make Formula 1 available to all Apple TV subscribers in America as part of the standard monthly fee.
This is the first time Apple has ventured into sports streaming in this way.
It offers coverage of Major League Soccer but this is for an additional fee on top of the basic Apple TV subscription.
Apple TV customers will have access to live coverage of all on-track sessions and all content produced by the sport’s in-house F1 TV channel.
Commentary arrangements have not been decided – Apple will not initially produce its own commentary and is likely to buy either F1 TV’s commentary or the Sky network in the UK.
Popular documentary series Drive to Survive on rival streaming service Netflix will not be affected.
The F1 film released earlier this year starring Brad Pitt was an important factor in securing this deal.
The film was a huge success for Apple. The film has grossed approximately $630 million (£470 million) at the box office and is said to be the highest-grossing sports film of all time, and Pitt’s biggest-grossing film.
The previous Formula 1 rights deal in the US was with sports network ESPN, for around $80m (£60m) a year.
A statement from F1 said the deal would “amplify the sport across” all of Apple’s outlets – News, Maps, Music, Sports and Fitness+.
Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali said: “This is an incredibly exciting partnership for both Formula 1 and Apple that will ensure we can continue to maximize our growth potential in the US through the right content and innovative distribution channels.”
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services, said the company “looks forward to bringing our customers premium, innovative, fan-first coverage in a way that only Apple can.”
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