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

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

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.