Apple’s purchase of the streaming broadcast rights for Formula 1 seems to have been worth it: at least in the first week of broadcasting, more people watched than the company and Formula 1 itself expected. According to figures now available, more people tuned in to the Australian Grand Prix on March 8th than last year via the US sports broadcaster network ESPN (which is majority owned by Disney). According to Apple content boss Eddy Cue, they are off to a strong start. However, figures for the second round in China (March 13th to 15th) are not yet available. It continues in Japan from March 27th to 29th.
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Interested since the Brad Pitt film
The iPhone company did not provide any information about exactly how many Apple TV viewers attended the Grand Prix in Australia. Last year, ESPN averaged 1.1 million viewers. The problem with the broadcast is always that it comes at an unusual time for US fans – late at night. The 4th and 5th rounds in Miami (May 1st to 3rd) and Canada (May 22nd to 24th) will be interesting, both of which are in a time zone that makes sense for American viewers. Apple is said to have invested a lot of money in the technology, the races can be seen in 4K with Dolby Vision, there is multi-view, including podium and driver views, so that you can put together your own view.
However, Apple only managed to secure the broadcast rights for the home market. In other regions of the world, Formula 1 runs through other channels. Apple has been particularly interested in the topic since the success of the Brad Pitt film “F1”, which is said to have brought new records in usage and viewership for Apple TV.
Apple TV users don’t pay extra
Commendable about Formula 1: Anyone who has subscribed to Apple TV for 12.99 US dollars (9.99 euros in Europe) gets access; the transmission does not cost anything extra – at least this year. The F1 TV Premium app, the direct offer of Formula 1, is still available in the USA, but is offered free of charge if you have an Apple TV subscription.
The Formula 1 management seems to be happy about having won Apple as a partner. Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali said they wanted to “maximize” their growth potential in the USA through the collaboration.
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(bsc)