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An increased focus on qualifying is included in the new deal, which was disclosed ahead of Sunday’s U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Photo:
Dppi/Dppi/Zuma Press
ESPN and Formula One announced a new broadcast deal Saturday that will keep the global motor-sports series on the network through 2025.
The agreement will keep the current commercial-free format for live races on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, which are all owned by
Walt Disney Co.
ESPN has broadcast F1 in the U.S. since 2018.
At least 16 races will air on ABC and ESPN each season, the network said in announcing the renewal. ESPN Deportes will continue as the Spanish-language home of F1 in the U.S.
Race weekends will continue to include live telecasts of practice sessions and qualifying, as well as prerace and postrace coverage. The new agreement includes an increased focus on qualifying, with more sessions airing on ESPN or ESPN2.
ESPN said its F1 2021 season set a record for the most-viewed ever on U.S. television, with an average of 949,000 viewers per race. Live F1 telecasts have averaged 1.2 million viewers in 2022, the network said.
F1 has exploded in popularity in the U.S. since the 2019 Netflix documentary series, “Drive to Survive,” first aired.
The terms of the new deal, announced ahead of Sunday’s U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, weren’t disclosed.
The May telecast of the inaugural Miami Grand Prix had an average viewership of 2.6 million, the largest U.S. audience on record for a live F1 race, ESPN said.
Write to Ginger Adams Otis at Ginger.AdamsOtis@wsj.com
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