Ferrari's Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (R) and Ferrari's Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr (L) compete in the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah on December 5, 2021. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
ESPN has been the home of Formula One in the United States of America since 2018
ESPN and Formula One have reached a new broadcast deal which will see the network exclusively telecast the sport till the end of 2025. Formula’s One popularity and viewership booming in the United States and ESPN are totally looking to make the most out of it. The network will continue to broadcast F1 in the US on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC, all owned by Walt Disney. ESPN Deportes will continue to broadcast the sport in Spanish-language in the US.
The new deal implies that at least 16 races will be on ABC or ESPN and all race weekends will include live coverage of practice and qualifying. As per reports, the network had an average viewership of 949,000 last season. That has increased to more than 1.2 million tuning in on average over the first 18 races this season.
Speaking on the deal, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “They were really the first to believe in us here in America. What ESPN did for the American fans is really special and is a reason why we are renewing this collaboration for the next three years.”
Here’s what fans feel about the renewal of partnership between Formula One and ESPN.
“Great, but would PLEASE stop punting FP sessions and Qualy off onto ESPNews? Nobody gets ESPNews. It’s your home race and you’ve made it so few people can watch Qualy later today. How is that supporting the sport?”, wrote a fan.
“THANK YOU!!! No ads during races is such a blessing”, wrote another fan.
“Announce latifi safety car driver next season”, trolled another fan.
“Can you put your own commentators? The Sky Brit are bias all the way”, read another tweet.
“You do a great job with it. Thanks especially for not having commercials during the GPs”, tweeted another fan.
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