F1 thinks Apple will expand broadcast rights beyond the US
Apple TV’s deal as Formula 1’s exclusive US broadcast partner is still in its infancy, but the tech giant will look to broadcast F1 in other countries, according to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
This year, Apple TV and F1 began a five-year partnership in which every F1 race is broadcast exclusively on the Apple TV platform to US customers.
Domenicali said the Apple TV deal gave F1 an “incredible opportunity” to tap into the 18-24 market in the US, before addressing whether Apple itself could expand to vie for F1 broadcast contracts in other countries.
“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.
“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. We need to make sure that we maximise the opportunity that we can have market by market.
“But once again, yes, they're going to do it as soon as this opportunity will be open for them.”
Apple’s global aspirations would be ‘helpful’ for Liberty
Domenicali’s praise for Apple and its offering comes after F1 parent company president Derek Chang spoke at 'Formula One's Premium Playbook', an event hosted by The Race and Axios in Austin.
Chang said to Axios Correspondent Sara Fischer at the event: "We anticipated having a great partner. They [Apple] performed exactly the way we thought and frankly even better.
"It's common knowledge. It's a five-year deal and we have every intent of having a great partnership with them during that time and hopefully beyond."
During the Q3 conference call, Chang added that Apple’s interest in bidding for F1 broadcast contracts in other countries is “helpful” to Liberty Media as it puts those contracts up for bidding.
“To put a finer point on it, the affiliation with the Apple brand and F1, the two together are very complementary.
“Then the other part is probably on the product side… this product as a whole has probably exceeded expectations.
“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.”
In May 2026, F1 announced a five-year contract extension with Sky in the UK and Ireland while Sky Italia’s contract was extended to 2032. BeIN Sports secured an extension to its Asian contract to run until the end of 2030, while its Middle East, North Africa and Turkey contracts last through 2033.
Other major broadcasters include DAZN, whose contract to broadcast in Spain, Andorra and Portugal runs through 2030, and Viaplay, whose Netherlands and Nordic contract lasts until the end of 2029.
Domenicali added that “growth in global TV audiences continues in the third quarter, with several events, including the Italian and Dutch events, recording double-digit percentage growth".
