F1 News: Can F1 get $150 million+ in annual USA TV rights deal?

Formula One gets 80 million TV viewers globally for each race across the globe. It’s TV rights deal with ESPN is up after 2025 and although TV viewership is up in the USA, race broadcasts that air between 1:00am and 9:00am for 90% of the races make it difficult to grow the viewership.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

U.S. viewership is primarily spread across four time zones, meaning a race that airs at 7:00am on the east coast, airs at an ungodly 4:00am on the west coast.

F1 is in the final year of its three-year extension with ESPN paying an estimated $75 million to $90 million annually, and has yet to reach a new pact with any U.S. broadcaster for 2026 and beyond because it wants a reported $150 million per year or more.

A period of exclusivity for ESPN expired late last year, and though talks are ongoing, the situation remains decidedly unresolved. Netflix, which does the successful Drive to Survive Series, is said to be one of the interested parties.

Fox originally pushed back on adding F1 to its portfolio of NASCAR, IndyCar and NHRA, but the IndyCar numbers have been rather disappointing and Fox may decide that F1 is a better property to pick it.

If FOX, ABC or NBC could find a way to broadcast all F1 races on linear TV, instead of cable, the viewership could increase to 1.5 to 2 million per race, but moving Sunday Morning standard broadcasts around is challenging. The positive, is that Sunday morning broadcasts do not go head-to-head with NASCAR or IndyCar.

Viewership, that was flat in 2024 at an average of 1.1 million per race, is up slightly in 2025. The numbers are double what they were in 2028 when ESPN took over.

“There are still a lot of discussions to try to find the best solution,” F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali said in February at the last earnings call for its owner, Liberty Media. Liberty will next make a quarterly report on May 7, three days after the Miami Grand Prix.