Apple TV Claims First F1 Viewership Victory Over ESPN

Friday March 13, 2026 3:22 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple TV aired the first Formula 1 race of the 2026 season last weekend following an exclusive streaming rights partnership for five years, and Apple senior VP of services Eddy Cue is already calling it a win for the company.

Apple exclusive F1 partner
Cue told The Hollywood Reporter that viewership for last week's Australian Grand Prix was up year over year compared to the 2025 race, which aired on ESPN.

"The 2026 Formula 1 season on Apple TV is off to a strong start, with fans responding positively and viewership up year over year for the first weekend, exceeding both F1 and Apple expectations," Cue said.

As is typical for Apple TV, Cue declined to offer specific viewing figures, but we do know that last year's Australian GP garnered an averaged 1.1 million viewers for ESPN on its late-night time slot.

Any increase in viewership over ESPN is a victory for Apple, and with U.S. races like Miami and Las Vegas coming up, the company is likely betting on more ratings improvements over the previous rights holder.

F1 season access is included with every Apple TV subscription ($12.99 per month) in the United States. The partnership allows ‌Apple TV‌ to provide comprehensive coverage of Formula 1, including all practice, qualifying, Sprint sessions, and Grands Prix.

The Hollywood Reporter's full coverage of Apple TV and F1 is available to read online.

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Top Rated Comments

Onelifenofear

7 months ago

Apple TV is basically a US-centric service, showing third-rate typically-American quality programming. It's a pity they do not give a little more attention to the other 96% of the world. After all, the hardware products sell almost everywhere. (Indeed, that's how Apple makes its money, off the rest of the world.)

Third rate? All of these have won multiple awards - and there are plenty more. What do you require internationally? I t is an American company? They do make international products and I can assure you a lot are made all shot over the world.

The Studio
Severance
Foundation
Black Bird
Trying
Shrinking
Ted Lasso
For All Mankind
Bad Sisters
Silo
Platonic
Dickinson
Prehistoric Planet
Lessons in Chemistry
Dark Matter
Murderbot

International
[B]Slow Horses
Pachinko
Drops of Gods
Women in Blue (Las Azules)
Acapulco
Midnight Family
Liaison

Movies
CODA
Wolfwalkers
Come from Away
Fancy Dance
Killers of the Flower Moon
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Boys State
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Tetris
Greyhound
Finch
Blitz[/B]

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

conmee

7 months ago

Montreal isn't a US race... Miami, COTA (Austin), and Las Vegas are.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Deej

7 months ago

It's a shame they only have rights to broadcast in the US :(

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Mac Fly (film)

7 months ago

I still say all of this media content is a distraction for Apple. Focus on core product, software, hardware and innovation and design in those areas. Allow all the content players to fight in the mud.

"Media content is a different division therefore it's not a distraction for Apple." Keep telling yourself that.

Hit that "Disagree" button on my comment, you know you want to. They do and make too much stuff and quality across the board is suffering, in my opinion. Major software releases should come every two years (tick). New iPhone releases should come every two years (tock). Too many devices in all categories. Not enough sizes for the core devices. Product naming needlessly complex.

Hardware wise?

iPhone: two models and three sizes in each (5.7, 6.3, 6.9 inches). Cut the chaff.
Cleaner easier laptop sizes: 13-inch Neo, 13-inch Air, 14.5-inch Air, 14.5-inch Pro, 16.5-inch Pro.
Simple display size changes to make buying an iPhone and Mac laptop much nicer and easier.
What size do I want (I have three options)? What's my budget and how much power do I want?
Keep MBP chonky and all-powerful. Keep MBA thin and add more useful ports.
Over time as battery tech advances make iPhone thinner. Keep iPhone Ultra chonky and all-maxing.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

threesixty360

7 months ago

I still say all of this media content is a distraction for Apple. Focus on core product, software, hardware and innovation and design in those areas. Allow all the content players to fight in the mud.

"Media content is a different division therefore it's not a distraction for Apple." Keep telling yourself that.

Hit that "Disagree" button on my comment, you know you want to. They do and make too much stuff and quality across the board is suffering, in my opinion. Too many devices is all categories and not enough sizes for the core devices.

That’s all great until the content players start cutting you out on purpose and you start losing hardware sales because you can’t give your customers content and software they want.

We’ve been here before…

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

surferfb

7 months ago

So, in the US, Apple replaces both the F1TV and ESPN viewing options I think. So are the viewing numbers greater than those two combined services, or only ESPN's numbers?

I don’t have an answer to your question about viewership numbers, but it doesn’t replace F1TV. It gives all Apple TV subscribers access to F1TV, but the F1TV service still works like it always has.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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Apple TV Claims First F1 Viewership Victory Over ESPN

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