Apple eyes US Formula 1 broadcast rights after 'F1: The Movie' success, FT reports
An Apple logo is seen at the entrance of an Apple Store in downtown Brussels, Belgium March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
Apple is in talks to acquire the U.S. broadcast rights to screen Formula 1 when the contract becomes available next year, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, following the success of Brad Pitt-starrer "F1: The Movie".
The report follows the strong box office performance of Apple's high-octane racing film "F1: The Movie", which has grossed $293 million in its first 10 days, according to Variety and other outlets.
The iPhone maker is challenging current U.S. broadcaster ESPN, owned by Disney, for the Formula 1 rights next year, the FT report said, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
Netflix's "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" series helped boost the sport's popularity in the United States, a momentum Apple now hopes to capitalize on.
Several media outlets reported in February that Netflix is among the contenders for Formula 1's U.S. broadcasting rights from the 2026 season as ESPN's exclusivity period to negotiate a new contract with F1 expired.
Apple and F1 did not immediately respond to Reuters request for a comment. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
25 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Rwanda, Congo agree on outline for economic integration framework as part of peace deal, US says
WASHINGTON/PARIS - Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday agreed on an outline for the regional economic integration framework, according to the U.S. State Department, as the two countries take steps toward delivering on a peace deal signed in Washington last month. The tenets agreed on Friday summarize the framework, which includes elements of cooperation on energy, infrastructure, mineral supply chains, national parks and public health. Rwanda and Congo signed a peace deal in Washington in June at talks held by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which aims to bring an end to fighting that has killed thousands and attract billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. As part of the deal, Kinshasa and Kigali agreed to launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said. A source familiar with the matter said a preliminary draft of the framework has been agreed to and there would now be an input period to get reaction from the private sector and civil society before it is finalized. The framework is planned to be signed at a meeting of heads of state at the White House. No date has been set yet for that meeting, the source said. In the Friday statement, Rwanda and Congo affirmed that each country has "full, sovereign control" over the exploitation, processing and export of its natural resources and recognized the importance of developing mineral processing and transformation capacity within each country, according to a copy seen by Reuters. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump deploys nuclear submarines in row with Russia World 'Optimistic' Bessent says US has makings of a deal with China Asia Asia-Pacific economies welcome new US tariff rates, but concerns over extent of full impact remain Singapore Man in SAF custody after allegedly vaping on bus while in army uniform Asia 'Like me? Approach me directly, okay?': Inside a matchmaking event for China's wealthy Opinion America is tearing down another great public institution Opinion Quiet zones in public spaces can help people recharge in the city Tech Reporting suspected advanced cyber attacks will provide a defence framework: Shanmugam Kinshasa views the plundering of its mineral wealth as a key driver of the conflict between its forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo. Reuters reported in May that Congolese minerals such as tungsten, tantalum and tin, which Kinshasa has long accused neighbouring Rwanda of illegally exploiting, could be exported legitimately to Rwanda for processing under the terms of the deal being negotiated by the U.S., according to sources. The two countries are committed to ensuring that the minerals trade no longer provides funding to armed groups and to create a world-class industrial mining sector in the region, as well as to ensure better cross-border interoperability on mineral supply chains, according to the statement. They also agreed to connect new infrastructure to the U.S.-backed Lobito Corridor, underscoring Washington's aim of greater access to resources in the region and efforts to counter China. The Ruzizi III hydropower project and Lake Kivu methane exploitation were the only specific projects mentioned in the statement, despite U.S. emphasis on critical minerals. The countries said they intended to prioritize financing for Ruzizi and work together to exploit the methane gas sustainably. REUTERS
Business Times
25 minutes ago
- Business Times
Brad Pitt has a lesson for Formula 1's green makeover
Every film star entering their seventh decade knows they've reached an age when they have to play to type. If only venerable sports franchises had the same self-awareness. F1: The Movie, the Brad Pitt-Formula 1 crossover currently in cinemas, illustrates this contradiction perfectly. Pitt used to appear as romantic leads and sword-and-sandals heroes, and in comedy turns and art-film roles. As he's aged into his sixties, that range has been boiled down to its original essence, leaving him typecast as a pretty, and increasingly rugged, maverick. Audiences don't seem to mind. F1: The Movie saw the biggest US opening for a Pitt vehicle since 2013's World War Z. F1, the sport, is taking a different approach. It wants to broaden its appeal – to younger people, women and particularly to Americans, who've long favoured the IndyCar and Nascar championships instead. That charm offensive has spawned the latest film, as well as a Netflix documentary series now in its seventh season. More absurdly, it's led F1 into the claim that it's going to reduce its carbon footprint to net zero by 2030. The latest update came last week. The sport has cut emissions by 26 per cent since 2018, a press release proclaimed, mostly by using sustainable fuels for its cars and transport operations, changing the ways it moves staff around the world and using renewable energy to power its sites. An accompanying promotional video is full of images of solar panels, race fans on bicycles, and trucks and aircraft powered by zero-carbon fuel. This earnest ambition is ridiculous, for a couple of reasons. Primarily, it's so light on detail as to be next to meaningless. While F1 boasts about the CO2 it's saving by using sustainable fuels in race cars, by far the biggest part of the carbon footprint for sporting events comes from all the fuel that's burnt getting fans to the event – and that's not counted. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Meanwhile, the sustainable aviation fuel that it's using to cut its carbon budget isn't necessarily going into the planes that fly the cars, crew and equipment to the 24 races held each year. Instead, it comes in the form of tradable certificates, stating that somewhere in the world the sustainable aviation fuel exists. Sustainable aviation fuel currently costs three to five times more than traditional jet fuel, and needs to be cost-competitive if it's to take a bite out of aviation's carbon footprint. F1's spending is far too small a share of the total to make much of a difference on that front. You can justify all these decisions, to be sure, but the choice of metrics puts a thumb on the scales. Whether to count fan travel towards your own carbon footprint is a grey area in most greenhouse reporting standards. Major events like the Olympics and Fifa World Cup declare it, but you can still ignore it and remain within the letter of the regulations. Similarly, there are so many loopholes and dubious assumptions around emission-reduction certificates that the market for carbon credits has been collapsing in recent years. Sustainable aviation fuel, however, is a frontier industry, where scrutiny tends to be less exacting. Such skirting within the regulations is very much in keeping with the spirit of F1, where mastery of race strategy and the rule book can often be as decisive as mastery of the track. In F1: The Movie, it's Pitt's nerdy ability to deploy safety cars and red flags to his team's advantage without getting disqualified, rather than his simplistic 'drive-fast' dictum, that actually determines his success. That just highlights the second problem with the sport's net-zero drive. Because this is F1, for God's sake! A sport built from the ground up on the roar of internal combustion engines, the stink of burning petrol and rubber, and the adrenalin produced when you round a corner at about 260 kilometres per hour. The chief sponsor is Saudi Arabian Oil, the world's biggest crude oil producer. A more sensible explanation for the current emissions-reduction drive is that the sport has long depended on car manufacturers using it as a test bed for their engine research and development, a pool of money that's been dwindling as the industry focuses on electric vehicles (EVs). The current focus on hybrid drivetrains and alternative fuels isn't about F1's own net-zero ambitions, under that theory, but a way of tempting back carmakers like Ford and Honda, which have been losing interest as the energy transition accelerates. To the extent F1 will really make it to net zero, it will come from the decline of the sport itself. That doesn't look like happening any time soon: The EVs in the rival Formula E, for all their superior acceleration and top speed, can't yet match the average pace of a hydrocarbon-powered single seater. In the meantime, an industry that accounts for roughly one two-thousandth of 1 per cent of the world's fossil fuel emissions should just accept that the fate of climate change won't be decided by whether Lewis Hamilton is using refined crude or used cooking oil to power his Ferrari. Pitt isn't going to remain relevant by giving himself a Timothee Chalamet makeover. F1, similarly, should quit pretending it's part of the climate solution. It's noisy, smelly, fast and dirty. That's the whole point. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Bessent says US has 'makings of a deal' with China
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference at government quarters Rosenbad after the trade talks between the U.S. and China concluded, in Stockholm, Sweden, July 29, 2025. Magnus Lejhall/TT News Agency/via REUTERS/File Photo WASHINGTON - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that he believed that Washington has the makings of a deal with China and that he was "optimistic" about the path forward. "This week's negotiations in Stockholm have advanced our talks with China, and I believe that we have the makings of a deal that will benefit both of our great nations," Bessent said in a post on X that was subsequently deleted. "I am optimistic about the path forward," he added. A Treasury Department spokesperson said the post was being reposted because the images attached to it had not uploaded correctly. The spokesperson also noted that the language in the post was in line with what Bessent had said in various media interviews this week. In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Bessent said the United States believes it has the makings of a trade deal with China, but it is "not 100% done." U.S. negotiators "pushed back quite a bit" over two days of trade talks with the Chinese in Stockholm this week, Bessent told CNBC. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. REUTERS
