Apple, feeling itself on its āF1ā hit, puts in a bid for US Formula 1 rightsAppleāsAAPL $210.72 (0.52%) leaning in to the success of its Brad Pitt-led racing flick. āF1: The Movieā has become Appleās top box office performer, and apparently has inspired Apple to throw in a bid for the US broadcasting rights to Formula 1.
Those rights are currently held by DisneyāsDIS $121.02 (-0.99%) ESPN, but the contract is set to expire next year.
ESPN currently pays $85 million annually for US rights to the races. Before Appleās film took off in theaters, analysts forecast the new deal could rise to more than $120 million per year.
With the success of the film, along with NetflixāsNFLX $1,287.15 (1.01%) popular āDrive to Surviveā docuseries, the bidding war has a chance to take off further. ESPN Formula 1 viewership doubled from 2018 to last year, when races averaged 1.1 million viewers.