ESPN and Formula 1 announced plans to keep the racing league on their network, agreeing to a new three-year deal.
F1 returned to ESPN in 2018 following their previous partnership from 1984-1997. After enjoying double-digit TV viewership growth in the U.S. during the last two seasons, ESPN and F1 value their continued partnership. The agreement will keep the FIA Formula One World Championship on ESPN and ABC through 2022.
“When we brought Formula 1 back to ESPN two years ago, we had faith that Formula 1 fans in the United States would support the coverage,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN executive vice president, programming and scheduling. “That faith has been rewarded many times over, and we greatly appreciate how fans have responded in record numbers.”
The new three-year agreement will also see ESPN Deportes become the exclusive Spanish-language home for all Formula 1 races in the U.S. beginning in 2020. F1 races will be available on both the ESPN Deportes TV network and the ESPN app.
“Our partnership with ESPN has delivered a 19 percent increase in viewership across the US and we are delighted to extend our partnership through to 2022,” said Sean Bratches, Managing Director, Commercial Partnerships at Formula 1. “The U.S is one of our key focuses for growth and ESPN know and understand the US Sports audience like no one else. The combination of their dedicated coverage and Formula 1’s amazing racing spectacle is a perfect partnership for us to build on our recent success with US audiences.”
According to the press release, Formula 1 is averaging 671,000 viewers on ESPN networks through 18 races this season, up 19 percent from last year and 24 percent from 2017 when F1 was carried by NBC networks.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.