While some sports have negotiated huge broadcasting deals in the United States in recent years, Formula One (F1) might be drying up as they shop around for the rights to broadcast motor racing in the United States.
Liberty Media Corp, the company that bought F1 in 2017, is struggling to obtain full value for U.S. media rights to the 2026 season, according to a newspaper report.
The Wall Street Journal reported the U.S.-based media company sought US$150 million (A$242 million) to US$180 million a year for U.S. rights to the glamorous sport which is gaining traction in the world’s largest economy.
This is around double the $75 million to $90 million per year Liberty Media is receiving under the current three-year deal from ESPN, which is 80% owned by The Walt Disney Company through its ABC subsidiary and 20% by Hearst Communications.
ESPN aired the races for free before 2018. Since then, U.S. viewership for live F1 races has doubled to 1.1 million a season in 2024, according to Nielsen data.
The Journal reported in an article that ESPN walked away late last year from its exclusive negotiation window for a new package and Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, Amazon.com and NBC were lukewarm to the offer at the asking price.
The newspaper quoted people familiar with the talks without naming them in the article.
The U.S. represents a small proportion of total broadcasting rights which are estimated to contribute about one third of F1’s revenue of $3.65 billion, much of which comes from markets like the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and Brazil.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL) have clinched huge U.S. media rights deals in recent years but broadcasters are facing cost challenges.
In March 2021 the NFL signed a $113 billion 11-year media rights agreement covering the 2023 to 2033 seasons with CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN/ABC (Disney), and Amazon Prime Video.
In July 2024, the NBA finalised a $76 billion 11-year media rights agreement covering the seasons of 2025-26 to 2035-36 with ESPN, ABC, NBC and Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video.
Liberty Media (ASDAQ: LLYVK) shares closed $7.47 or 11.96% higher at $69.95 on Wednesday, benefiting from the strong U.S. stock market rebound.
