Disney pays up to 18x more to keep F1 rights

MADRID • Walt Disney has renewed its deal to show Formula One races in the United States, paying at least a 1,500 per cent premium to hold on to the sport as its popularity surges, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The company will pay between US$75 million (S$104 million) and US$90 million a year for the rights as part of a three-year deal, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Disney had been paying about US$5 million a year under its previous deal, the person said.

Disney will show most of the races on the TV networks ABC or ESPN, but can also put events on the sports-streaming service ESPN+. Representatives for ESPN and F1 declined to comment.

F1, which has long been popular in Europe, has gained traction among US audiences in recent years. Viewership of races on ESPN jumped 56 per cent last year from a year earlier, and hundreds of thousands of people have attended races in Miami, Florida and Austin, Texas.

A Netflix series taking viewers behind the scenes of the sport has helped the streamer attract subscribers, and the service has held talks about buying the rights to air races.

Amazon and Comcast have also shown interest in F1, according to Sports Business Journal, which first reported the deal.

Meanwhile, Madrid has officially expressed an interest in hosting an F1 race, the city's regional government said on Thursday.

Although there are no Formula One-grade tracks in Madrid and Spain already hosts a race in Barcelona, which has a contract until 2026, the Spanish capital believes it can open talks with the organisers, Liberty Media, about hosting a race.

Further details about the bid were not disclosed while Liberty declined to comment.

Madrid hosted nine F1 grands prix from 1968 to 1981 at the Jarama Circuit, which is outdated and would need a major upgrade to be able to host a race again.

Last year, the local government of Morata de Tajuna, 36km south of Madrid, confirmed that it was seeking to build an FIA Grade 1 circuit with the ambition of hosting F1 and MotoGP races in the future.

There are a joint-record 22 Formula One races scheduled this year and while the organisers are keen to expand the sport's geographical reach, they have looked primarily at adding venues in Africa and America.

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS