Formula 1 is gearing up for a new digital era in the United States – and if Stefano Domenicali is right, the sport’s next broadcast chapter could send viewership into uncharted territory.
After a successful run with ESPN that helped fuel F1’s American boom, the championship is now shifting its focus to Apple TV. And according to the sport’s CEO, this isn’t just a change of channel – it’s a strategic leap into a hyper-connected future.
Domenicali is convinced the partnership will amplify F1’s footprint beyond anything it has previously achieved in the U.S.
The Italian sees Apple as a lifestyle integration that will embed F1 into the daily digital habits of millions.
“When we are talking about Apple in the U.S., we are talking about a new partner of Formula 1 that is believing in us with a great plan of being the protagonist of the growth in the U.S. of the sport through their channels, through their applications, through their way of pushing a product that is not only technological, but is a new tool of connectivity,” Domenicali said.
For a sport that thrives on global spectacle, the emphasis on connectivity is key. Apple’s ecosystem — spanning devices, apps and streaming platforms – offers F1 a direct pipeline into millions of households.
“Apple is in the hands of the majority of people because it allows everyone to be connected. We want to be connected and relevant and that's where we believe that we took the right decision to go in this direction.”
The message is clear: this isn’t just about broadcasting races. It’s about embedding Formula 1 into daily digital life.
Domenicali was careful to underline that the move does not diminish what came before. ESPN played a pivotal role in building F1’s recent American surge, culminating in record-breaking audiences last season.
“I don’t want to, for a single second, talk badly about the ESPN relationship because they were the first to believe in us,” he explained.
“I need to thank them and as you know, with Disney World, the collaboration is huge in the area of licensing and other things that we are doing together. We had good meetings with the new CEO of Disney, Josh D’Amaro, to talk about bigger steps that we can do even more.”
That relationship, Domenicali insists, remains strong. But Apple represents something different – a chance to experiment in a market that is already highly evolved in its streaming habits.
“But I do believe that the reach that we're going to have through the streaming platform, through Apple, will be even bigger in the future and it is what we want to test in a market that is more mature than the others,” commented the F1 chief.
It will allow us to enter in the houses of other people in a different way, in great quality that is very important for us. So, that is what I believe the Apple relationship will bring to us in the American market.”
In other words: bigger reach, sharper delivery, deeper penetration.
Perhaps the most intriguing element of the new deal is its demographic potential. F1’s American audience is getting younger – and more diverse – a trend Domenicali sees as central to the sport’s expansion strategy.
“We have a worldwide sport, but the U.S. markets for sure are markets where we can see the potential growth in terms of interest, in terms of awareness, in terms of business,” he said.
“And we do believe that the partner that we have chosen in the world of streaming is the right one, if you consider that the American market in terms of streaming is one of the most mature ones, if you compare with others like Europe or other ones.”
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Apple, he suggests, won’t be a passive broadcaster.
“Apple will be very pushy to use all their tools that they have, with all the different applications and platforms that they have, not only in terms of Apple TV - and I just want to reiterate the fact that all our F1 TV subscribers can connect with Apple TV, being part of their offers, spending less and there will be a lot of content that they're going to push.”
And the numbers already tell an encouraging story.
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