Chalk this one up to the rumor mill, but after Apple Studios’ latest film, F1, became Apple’s highest grossest film to date after 10 days in theaters, racking up $300 million worldwide to pass Napoleon and Flowers of the Killer Moon, Apple is rumored to be in talks to acquire the broadcasting rights for the real F1 in the US.
just a rumor, for now
Apple made a bid for the rights to broadcast Formula 1 in the US after the success of its racing film, according to The Financial Times. That means that, should they be successful, they’d be taking the US broadcasting rights away from ESPN, which currently possesses.
ESPN’s current contract with Formula 1 runs out after this year. It’d be the 2026 season that Apple is (supposedly) bidding on. With Apple yet to comment publicly, it’s all just industry rumors and murmurs for now, but it’d be awfully interesting if it turned out to be true.
Whereas the MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL are a horrifically complicated, mind-bending mash-up of broadcasting deals that would make a Byzantine DMV look like the epitome of efficiency, sports fans in the US are used to needing to consult an oracle just to figure out how to watch a game.
Apple has had plenty of success making it relatively simple and streamlined to watch Major League Soccer games, though, as the primary broadcaster for the North America-based league.
If it can replicate that smoothness with Formula 1, which has already seen a bump in American interest over the past few years, thanks largely to Netflix’s series, Formula 1: Drive to Survive, then it may be onto something here.
And even though the movie is out, the haptic trailer is still available and pretty sick, especially if you watch it on an iPhone where all the bumps and rumbles can be felt through the phone as you watch it.
The post Apple Reportedly Wants to Start Broadcasting Formula 1 in the US appeared first on VICE.
