As expected, ESPN & F1 will continue their successful partnership for another three seasons, including potential expanded content.
In a press release on Saturday at the United States Grand Prix ESPN and F1 confirmed a well-known announcement. The extension to 2025 will continue to be commercial-free and will see at least 16 races air on either ESPN or ABC.
ESPN’s President of Programming and Original Content, Burke Magnus, stated:
“Formula 1 and ESPN have been a strong and successful team and we’re delighted to extend our relationship. We look forward to serving fans in some new and innovative ways in the next three years as we continue to bring the reach and relevance of the Walt Disney Company networks and platforms to Formula 1.”
The @WaltDisneyCo, ESPN & Formula 1 extend their relationship
Commercial-free presentations of @F1 races will remain on ESPN networks through 2025
More: https://t.co/Iamg8NcMHp | #F1 pic.twitter.com/S4gAINMT7H
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) October 22, 2022
The release noted that the deal allows ESPN to expand its F1 content and how it is presented to viewers. Expect new viewing options, shows, or events on ESPN+.
The Director of Media Rights and Content Creation for Formula 1, Ian Holmes, said:
“After Formula 1 returned to the ESPN networks five years ago, the popularity of the sport has grown impressively. The extension and expansion of our partnership is a reflection of exciting times ahead and a result of our shared desire to bring Formula 1 to as broad and diverse an audience as possible in the U.S. The popular commercial-free broadcasts ensure that viewers continue to engage with F1 before, during, and after the race. From next year we will have six races in the Americas, which means more favorable time zones to fans in the region, making the Formula 1 offering more compelling than ever.”
Recording Breaking TV Ratings
As we’ve been covering in recent weeks the F1 boom in America isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. In 2021 ESPN’s coverage of F1 averaged 949,000 viewers, a new record. So far this season Formula 1 races have brought in 1.2 million viewers on average. Over the past round rounds, TV ratings are up 36%.
The first Grand Prix in the United States, Miami, back in May brought in 2.6 million viewers settings the all-time record for a live F1 race.
Circuit of the Americas
This brings us to COTA and the US Grand Prix. Last year the race garnered 1.4 million viewers. With the continual momentum the series has seen in America and Miami’s figure earlier this year, how high can Austin’s TV rating go? Of course, this Sunday’s race has to face off against the NFL, something the Miami Grand Prix was able to avoid. A figure of around 2 million would surely be seen as a smashing success.
Following the US Grand Prix, F1 heads to Mexico City next weekend followed by Sao Paolo, Brazil.
