Netflix miss out on F1 broadcast rights in United States despite Drive to Survive popularity

The streaming giant were keen to acquire TV rights to Formula 1 in the US but were beaten by ESPN

Kieran Jackson
Formula 1 Correspondent
Thursday 10 November 2022 10:52 EST
Comments
Netflix reveal teaser trailer for Drive to Survive season four

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Netflix missed out on F1 broadcast rights in the United States last month after showing an interest in taking the contract from ESPN, a report states.

The streaming giant were, according to the Wall Street Journal, keen to acquire the TV rights to Formula 1 and capitalise on their immensely popular behind-the-scenes series Drive to Survive.

While the documentary show has been renewed for another two seasons - with the fifth season detailing the 2022 campaign expected to air in March 2023 - Netflix did not manage to gain the TV rights stateside, with ESPN renewing their deal for another three years.

F1 also has a long-term deal in place in the United Kingdom, with their contract with Sky Sports lengthening to 2029 - as announced in September.

However, the WSJ report adds that Netflix is actively considering moving into live sports streaming and holds an interest in the UK and France rights to the ATP Tennis tour, as well as the UK rights to the WTA tennis tour.

Netflix’s rival streaming platform, Prime Video, have already moved into taking live sports rights from traditional broadcasters and currently stream, amongst others, Premier League football, NFL and rugby union.

Netflix, a platform which now has more than 220 million subscribers, are looking to take advantage of the booming popularity of F1 in the United States, which will hold three races next year.

In addition to current races in Austin and Miami, Las Vegas will hold a street race along the iconic strip next November, with a launch party involving Lewis Hamilton taking place last weekend.

Last month’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas was the most attended race of the year, with 440,000 spectators over three days.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in