Opinion: Netflix would be the ideal broadcast partner for Formula 1 in the USA

Multiple reports suggest that Netflix may become Formula 1’s primary broadcast partner in the USA when ESPN’s rights expire at the conclusion of the F1 2025 season.

Today, we’re going to look at why Netflix may be interested in acquiring the rights to F1, and why this move could be such a boon for an American fanbase that has come to associate the sport with the streaming service courtesy of docuseries Drive to Survive.

Netflix and Formula 1: A match made in American broadcasting heaven

If you’re looking to watch a hit TV show or a beloved movie in 2025, there’s a good chance you’ll use a streaming service to tune in. While Netflix pioneered the art of streaming by turning its movie rental business into a subscription-based platform that allowed viewers to watch any number of movies at the click of a button, countless other platforms have popped up over time.

One area that Netflix has lagged behind, though, has been in the airing of live sports.

Back in December 2022, Netflix’s co-CEO and chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, stated that the company had “not seen a profit path to renting big sports.

“We’re not anti-sports. We’re just pro-profit,” he added.

Other platforms soon stepped in to fill that gap, with Amazon, YouTubeTV, and Peacock truly transforming the live sport game. Now, most major cable television networks in the United States have an accompanying streaming platform that allows you to tune into a sport as it happens.

And now, Netflix wants in. In November of 2024, a much-publicized boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson became the most-watched live sporting event in history, with Netflix reporting that it amassed 108 million viewers for a single event.

Further, the platform enjoyed a strong viewer base for two NFL games on Christmas Day, while its acquisition of the WWE’s Monday night RAW program has paid dividends; log into the platform on a Monday, and RAW is the No. 1 show on the service.

That Netflix is looking to F1 next is no surprise, particularly thanks to its huge success with the docuseries Drive to Survive.

More on the success of Drive to Survive

👉 Drive to Survive Season 7: Release date, what to expect and more details

👉 Five reasons why F1’s Drive to Survive success hasn’t been replicated

Broadcasting most live sports requires a huge lift on the part of the broadcaster when it comes to organizing at-event coverage and piecing together a quality show from various different camera angles. Netflix has managed to sneak around this with the NFL by partnering heavily with CBS Sports, while the WWE’s scripted nature allows for greater predictability and stability when it comes to airing the show live.

With Formula 1, though, the sport itself produces the video feed that is then transmitted to all of its individual broadcasters. In the US and Canada, that is taken a step further because those regional broadcasters simply air Sky Sports F1 commentary and pre-race coverage to North American audiences.

However, the relatively lighter load for Netflix that comes from acquiring F1’s international feed should open up opportunities for the service to provide US-based coverage — something that we’ve been missing here in America since ESPN started pulling from Sky’s F1 broadcasts.

For many new fans, the UK-specific coverage can be a huge barrier; consider how many times Crofty mentions a footballer from days gone by, or how frequently we’re told to ‘press the red button’ on our remotes for more coverage. It creates a feeling that growing American audiences are considered of secondary importance to already established British and European ones.

But beyond the potential for US-specific coverage, Netflix also offers adaptability. Fans would be able to simulcast Grands Prix, or to tune in from their phones wherever they are — at brunch, perhaps, or during a night out.

Further, Netflix has already demonstrated an impressive ability to provide unique stats or recap shows with its current slate of sports streams.

And there’s the fact that Netflix is the most ubiquitous streaming service, and that the platform has over 81 million subscribers in the United States, compared to just over 66 million cable subscribers (which is, in itself, an unrepresentative number considering how many different cable packages exist, and how many of those millions of people may pay for a package that doesn’t include Formula 1). An F1 broadcast on Netflix would make the sport accessible to a greater number of Americans, and with DTS already finding a comfortable home there, it could make for a far easier conversion.

There are still plenty of kinks that Netflix needs to work out with its sports broadcasts, including outages and buffering problems — but with the platform increasingly experimenting with the live sports format, it’s likely these concerns would be addressed before F1 made its big Netflix debut.

Read next: Netflix eyeing major F1 broadcast deal after Drive to Survive success – reports