Apple Will Chase F1 Rights Beyond the US After Debut Season, Stefano Domenicali Says

Apple hasn’t finished its first season as F1’s exclusive broadcaster in the United States, and it already wants more. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said Thursday that the tech giant will bid for the sport’s TV rights in other countries as soon as those contracts open up.

Domenicali didn’t hedge when an analyst on Liberty Media’s third-quarter earnings call asked about Apple’s interest abroad. “The answer is yes,” he said. “Because they are really understanding that potentially, at least part of our discussion, if there are opportunities [to be] in other markets, they will do it.”

Then he said it again: “But once again, yes, they’re going to do it as soon as this opportunity will be open for them.”

Apple TV and F1 began a five-year partnership this year, with every F1 race shown exclusively on Apple TV for US customers. Motorsport.com believes the deal is worth $140 million a year. Domenicali said it gave F1 an “incredible opportunity” to tap into the 18-24 market in the U.S.

A Yes, but One Market at a Time

There’s a catch, though. F1 won’t hand the whole world to one company, however deep its pockets.

“And because they see, and we can see, this effect could be bigger in the future, even if, as we always said, our strategy is not to have one main media partner all around the world,” Domenicali said. “We need to make sure that we maximise the opportunity that we can have market by market.”

Derek Chang, president and CEO of Liberty Media, F1’s parent company, was even more blunt on the same call. “And then finally, you know, Apple as a potential bidder in other markets is helpful, even if we don’t necessarily go with them in those markets; just tightening the markets is helpful from a demand standpoint.”

Read that twice. Apple doesn’t need to win a single deal abroad to be useful to F1. Just by showing up, it pushes up the price other broadcasters have to pay.

Chang struck a similar tone last month in Austin. At an event hosted by The Race and Axios, he told Axios correspondent Sara Fischer: “We anticipated having a great partner. They [Apple] performed exactly the way we thought and, frankly, even better.”

Most of F1’s Big TV Markets Are Already Locked Up

Domenicali’s “yes” sounds big, but the map isn’t wide open. Sky has a five-year UK and Ireland extension from May 2026, and Sky Italia runs to 2032. beIN Sports holds Asia to the end of 2030, while DAZN has Spain, Andorra and Portugal to 2030, and Viaplay keeps the Netherlands and the Nordics through 2029.

So Apple’s real shot likely comes near the end of the decade, when a cluster of deals expires. Proving its worth won’t be simple, since Apple never tends to reveal audience figures. The most anyone has heard is that the Australian Grand Prix drew more viewers on Apple TV than on ESPN in 2025.

F1 is selling from a position of strength. Domenicali said “growth in global TV audiences continues in the third quarter, with several events, including the Italian and Dutch events, recording double-digit percentage growth.”

Apple clearly wants more of F1, and Domenicali answered that with one word. The bigger question is how much of the world F1 will give to a single company. For now, the sport’s answer is “not all of it.”

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