F1 exec cites Apple’s ‘enthusiasm’ as reason for ESPN departure

Some sports media observers are skeptical about Formula One’s new media rights deal with Apple, which is set to begin this year.

After Apple’s first foray into live sports with MLS got off to a lackluster start that spurred an entire restructuring of their deal late last year, after the North American soccer league wrapped up its third season on the streamer, it is reasonable to view the Formula One deal with a healthy amount of skepticism. After all, Apple TV, despite its attachment to one of the world’s largest corporations and most iconic brands, accounts for less than half-a-percent of all television viewing in the United States.

Discoverability isn’t exactly a guarantee when the platform is so sparsely consumed.

But F1 executives see the partnership in a much different light. They see a platform that will give F1 the white-glove treatment. Speaking with Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, F1 chief media rights and broadcast officer Ian Holmes explained the racing circuit’s rationale.

“I think what’s interesting to us is the sort of DNA of the company, what are they well known for? The iPhone, but it’s more than that — technology, the experience, the style, the style backed up with the substance — and I think a lot of that you could apply to Formula One. It’s a really good brand fit,” Holmes told SBJ. “Other things were their enthusiasm. That shouldn’t be overlooked.”

Apple showed its enthusiasm for F1 compared to the rest of the market was quite high when the streamer offered a reported $150 million per year for U.S. media rights, quite a bit higher than the $85 million per year ESPN had been paying (and seemingly wanted to continue to pay) for the circuit. However, F1 made a concerted choice to trade the reach of ESPN for the revenue of Apple.

While Holmes praised F1’s partnership with ESPN, which brought in record viewership for the series, he doesn’t necessarily buy that the reach will be all that different on Apple TV, citing the difficulties of finding F1 programming, which tended to hop around ESPN’s linear networks.

“I’m not going to pretend that Friday practice in the middle of the afternoon is box office television, but if it’s on ESPNEWS and then the next session is on ESPN College and then ESPN3, it doesn’t help discoverability,” the F1 exec said. “Whereas having it all housed effectively on a single page (on Apple) definitely increases the knowledge of exactly what content is available.”

The new F1 season gets going in March from Australia, before the global circuit makes stops throughout Asia and the Middle East. Given the time difference, those races won’t be too indicative of Apple’s overall success. The Miami Grand Prix on May 3 will be the streamer’s first true test this year.