Formula 1 ties up with Apple: Landmark U.S. broadcast deal builds on F1 movie's huge box office success

Formula 1 has announced a 5-year deal with Apple for the global motorsports series' broadcast in the United States of America. The landmark partnership between the two global brands will begin next season.

Apple replaces ESPN, which had been the broadcast partner of F1 since 2018, and played a key role in popularising Formula One in the United States. But despite the succesful partnership, the sports broadcasting giant had notified about their decision not to extend its deal.

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Formula 1 ties up with Apple: Landmark U.S. broadcast deal builds on F1 movie"s huge box office success

Around the same time, Apple collaborated with Formula One for "F1 The Movie," an original film released internationally in cinemas and IMAX in June. The sports drama, which will make its global streaming debut on Apple TV in December, has already grossed nearly $630 million globally. It has also become the most successful sports movie in history and the most profitable of Brad Pitt's career.

"Thanks to Apple we are going to be ready to get into more houses and more in the culture of the American fans," Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali told reporters in a video briefing.

"This is something that will represent a big step change in our approach in the media landscape. But we know the power of Apple ... we know the technology that they have."

The landmark five-year deal gives both global brands a massive opportunity for growth in new paths and has the potential to become something bigger in future.

As per the new agreement, Apple TV will host all live action from grand prix weekends and will possibly become a bridge to add more U.S. fans to the Formula One bandwagon through mobiles and apps.

Some content, including select races and all practice sessions, will be freely available in the Apple TV app. Meanwhile, Apple TV subscribers can also watch Formula One's premium content without extra cost.

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It is believed that the deal involves a massive amount of money, but details have not yet been revealed on how much Apple spent to add F1 to Major League Baseball and Football (Soccer) in their existing sports bucket.

Apple is aiming to capitalise on the growing popularity of Formula One in the last five years, the huge success of "F1 The Movie" and the huge fan-base of Netflix docu-series 'Drive to Survive', which has skyrocketed Formula One's engagement in the USA, which currently hosts three F1 GPs.