Netflix, the maker of the hit F1 docuseries Drive to Survive, is seriously considering a bid for the live Formula 1 broadcast rights in the United States, it has been claimed.

F1 has enjoyed a major boost in popularity over recent years with the Drive to Survive series, launched in 2019, widely credited for introducing the sport to millions of new fans.

Netflix to bid for F1 broadcast rights in the USA?

The seventh series of Drive to Survive is expected to be released ahead of the F1 2025 season, which commences with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16.

Multiple reports on Friday have claimed that Netflix is exploring the possibility of expanding its influence on F1 with the streaming service expected to launch a bid for live Formula 1 broadcast rights in the USA.

ESPN has held the F1 broadcast rights in the United States since 2018, utilising the coverage provided by the Sky F1 channel in the United Kingdom.

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With its current contract – understood to be worth around $90million per year – due to expire at the end of the F1 2025, ESPN’s exclusivity period to discuss a new deal is widely reported to have expired, opening the door for a potential bidding war.

It is said that Netflix is strongly considering launching a bid for the F1 broadcast rights in the United States.

Netflix has shown an increased interest in live sports content since the appointment of Kate Jackson, formerly ESPN’s vice president of production, in November 2024.

It set a new record for the most-streamed sporting event of all time when it broadcast the boxing fight between Mike Tyson and social media star Jake Paul at the end of last year, with Netflix also screening two NFL matches on December 25.

Meanwhile, a 10-year deal worth $5billion for Netflix to broadcast wrestling commenced last month, with the streaming service also landing a deal to screen soccer’s Women’s World Cup in the US in 2027 and 2031.

It is understood that the upcoming series of Drive to Survive is the last under F1’s current contract with Netflix, with a renewal widely expected to be struck.

Netflix will also release a Drive to Survive spin-off show, based on Formula 1’s all-female F1 Academy feeder category, later this year.

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