What Sky's new F1 TV deal means for Apple

At the end of the 2022 United States Grand Prix, a short, grey-haired man waved the chequered flag from the gantry overlooking the Austin race track. He was mocked on social media for his lack of enthusiasm. We didn’t realise it at the time, but this was the start of something big. The ordinary-looking man who waved the flag was Tim Cook — one of the most famous and successful CEOs of all time — but the business he runs, Apple Inc., is no ordinary company.

In 2025, Apple’s annual revenue topped over $400billion a year; more than Meta, Netflix, and Intel combined. Today, 2.2bn people use Apple products. In David Pogue’s new book, Apple The First 50 Years, he wrote that the company sells 220million iPhones a year, bringing in $1m every 90 seconds. Under Tim Cook’s watch, Apple became the first firm ever to attain a $1trillion market cap. In 2025, it hit $4tn, making it the most valuable company in the world.

Taking over broadcast rights in the US

In the sporting arena, Apple took over the streaming rights to show Formula 1 in the United States from this year in a five-year deal, and executives at the company have discussed the possibility of global rights in the future.

Speaking at the Autosport Business Exchange in New York last autumn, SVP of Apple Services Eddy Cue mentioned his frustration with a fragmented sports broadcast landscape. “It’s never been a better time for a sports fan, because every sport in the world is available in some fashion to watch,” said Cue. “The problem is, it can be very hard to find. You have to sign up for multiple subscriptions, and if you’re travelling, it becomes almost impossible. If I want to watch an NFL game in London, I have to find a way to subscribe. But then I don’t have a UK credit card or address. So how do you fix that?”

Apple TV was only launched in 2019. It moved into the live sports arena in 2020 with MLB’s Friday Night Baseball, a weekly double-header under a seven-year deal. In 2023, Apple announced it had secured the global streaming rights to Major League Soccer. It was a 10-year deal estimated at $2.5bn. Initially launched as a separate subscription, that extra tier was later removed so all subscribers could watch every match, anywhere in the world.

Sky extends deals with UK & Italy

With this in mind, there was surprise last week when Sky grasped the opportunity to extend its TV rights to exclusively broadcast F1 for an additional five years in the UK until 2034, and in Italy until 2032. In the case of the UK and Ireland, there was still two-and-a-half years left to run on its original deal. So, why did it feel the need to pay another rumoured $250m a year — or $1.25bn in total — well in advance of the contract ending?

Little attention was given to Cook's appearance at the 2022 US GP as chequered flag waver

Photo by: Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images

Perhaps it felt the need to act before Apple’s influence over F1 grew into a dominant position, or maybe F1 simply couldn’t refuse the lucrative appeal of another major injection of cash. Since Sky secured exclusive rights in the UK (aside from the free-to-air British GP), F1 has enjoyed the financial windfall on offer. Back when it agreed its original deal, from 2019 to 2024, the BBC reported that the £1.2bn agreement amounted to approximately 11% of F1’s turnover at the time — by far its largest sponsor.

Let’s not forget, F1 became incredibly profitable thanks to the negotiations that former ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone deployed. He saw the value of selling the same product over and over again to different markets. At a time when TV coverage was pre-digital and beamed into living rooms via an aerial, he sold coverage of F1 to as many territories as possible, bringing in enormous revenues for very little outlay. He could even increase the price by getting rival regional TV stations to outbid one another.

The change in viewing habits

The television landscape has changed dramatically since then. Not only have younger generations moved away from traditional linear TV, but improved internet speeds have now made streaming a viable alternative. Media giants such as Netflix, Amazon, and Disney are only becoming more powerful based on their global subscriber numbers, with Netflix leading the way with more than 300m accounts.

Rather than being slighted by F1’s decision to extend with Sky, Apple will likely be unfazed

Mergers and acquisitions are also continuing to consolidate the landscape. Recently Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. has meant former products such as Eurosport and current TNT Sports are now part of HBO Max. Also in the UK, Sky is also looking to merge with part of ITV’s business. With this trend happening globally, F1 may eventually lose individual in-market deals anyway, with one or two media giants snapping up rights for entire regions. 

As it stands, individual markets are still hugely important for F1. Interest in Argentina is booming thanks to Franco Colapinto, with 17.2m fans in the country. Audiences in Italy are up 25% because of Kimi Antonelli’s success. Which then brings into question the purpose of F1’s own global broadcast channel, F1 TV?

But this is where F1’s partnership with Apple and Sky becomes interesting. Apple has the rights but is doing none of its own production or commentary. The option for viewers is to take F1 TV’s output, or choose Sky’s voices. In that regard, there is a mutual benefit. Apple TV is only five races into its new deal, and is very much the new kid on the block. But it has already established an unusual one-off partnership with Netflix, allowing the Canadian GP to be shown on the streamer for American viewers.

Speaking at ABX Miami, Apple's Eddy Cue detailed the company's early success and what else is to come

Photo by: Maya Gilmore / ABX Miami 2026 via Getty Images

Rather than being slighted by F1’s decision to extend with Sky, Apple will likely be unfazed. The Cupertino-based tech giant sees the potential in the years to come, and with their market capital, they are not going anywhere fast. For Apple, there is much more at stake than just a streaming channel.

The company has a vast array of services to tap into, from Apple News, Maps, Music, Arcade and Fitness+, with the goal of encouraging consumers to buy into its wider ecosystem. Ahead of Montreal this weekend, the company has introduced a brand-new interactive experience of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve within its Maps app.

The focus on the future

Also, the buzz around ABX Miami was not focused on global streaming rights, but on a sequel to the F1 movie. From an outlay of $300m, last year’s film generated more than double that at the box office, becoming Apple Original Films’ most successful release so far. If you were looking at global audiences, right now, investing in a sequel would be more beneficial than pursuing streaming rights. 

And to quote Tim Cook, there’s just “one more thing”. Despite travelling to China with President Donald Trump recently, Cook is stepping down. His role will be taken by John Ternus on 1 September. Why is this important? Well, if he ever waves the chequered flag at a grand prix, it will likely be with significantly more enthusiasm. 

Speaking to Reuters at ABX Miami, Eddy Cue said: “John drives a Porsche and does amateur racing. He would actually be here this weekend but he’s at Laguna Seca,” – where the IMSA Penske Porsche 963s were racing in a special 50th anniversary retro Apple rainbow livery. “So rest assured if anything he’s going to be at more races than Tim. He’s a huge, huge fan of F1, so you’ll continue to see full support from him. When we do something, we don’t do things halfway. The things that we do, we go all in. So we believe without a doubt that this is going to make a huge difference in what we can do to help motorsports.”

For now, F1 is committing to its partnership with Sky, but make no mistake, Apple’s ambitions are far bigger than just showing races.

Worldwide broadcast rights might be paused for now, but Apple's bigger plans are in play

Photo by: Eric Charbonneau / Apple TV via Getty Images