ESPN to ditch Formula 1 TV rights; Netflix and NBC interested

ESPN has aired Formula 1 races since 2018 and is entering the final year of a three-year extension that has the network paying about $90 million per season for media rights. The expected split comes even though ESPN had anticipated last fall that other networks would offer competing bids.

John Suchenski, ESPN's director of programming and acquisitions, told Front Office Sports last August: "There was (competition) the last time around, and it's kind of the downside of doing what we do really well and bringing a larger audience to these events and the success we've added. Unfortunately, the nature of the business is to create more demand and more competition."

NBC Sports and Netflix are potential replacements after both met with F1 last week, per Front Office Sports. The former broadcaster carried Formula 1 from 2012 to 2017, while Netflix - intent on adding live sport to its platform - has helped boost Formula 1's popularity in the U.S. with its "Drive to Survive" docuseries, which is set to release its seventh season next month.

ESPN averaged a record 1.21 million viewers per race in 2022, but that number dipped to 1.1 million in 2023 and stayed there in 2024.

The 2025 F1 season begins in Melbourne on March 16 and includes stops in Miami (May 4), Austin, Texas (October 19) and Las Vegas (November 22). (Report by Field Level Media for AP)