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F1 and Done

Liberty Media’s sales pitch for Formula One’s U.S. media rights has thus far fallen flat due to the asking price, the sport’s time zone problems, and viewership numbers that lag behind social media enthusiasm and a broader cultural hype machine.

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F1
Why isn’t the F1 package more valuable? The main reason is that F1 is a global sport, and Liberty is merely selling a U.S. package. Photo: Clive Rose/Formula 1/Getty Images
Julia Alexander
April 15, 2025

Back in 2022, ESPN was reportedly paying Liberty Media about $90 million per year for U.S. media rights to Formula One. But these days, amid the league’s cultural resurgence and broader, always-in-overdrive hype machine, many assumed that Liberty would seek a much richer payday on its new U.S. rights deal. In fact, it’s been widely reported that the league hoped to fetch up to twice the current price, or between $150 million and $180 million per year. And in an era when NBA rights are going for $76 billion over a decade, the Savannah Bananas have a Disney deal, and a single holiday NFL game can fetch nine figures, many in the industry assumed there would be a taker.

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