The 2026 F1 season got underway in Australia as Apple televised its first race weekend after winning American broadcast rights away from ESPN.
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished 1-2 in a Mercedes sweep as new regulations turned the field upside-down and inside-out, producing racing that the top racing series around the globe had never seen before. The new rules and engine-battery system provided more action, but proved extremely controversial with both drivers and fans. Speeds are down, overtaking is battery dependent, and the starts seem dangerous and chaotic. Even former four-time world champion Max Verstappen has compared the racing to Mario Kart.
But while the sport seems overwhelmed with uncertainty and angst, the same can not be said for Apple. At least that’s the truth according to Apple.
In an exclusive given to The Hollywood Reporter, Apple claims that their first broadcast of Formula 1 eclipsed what ESPN was able to draw on linear television a year ago. However, in continuing their total lack of transparency when it comes to their sports rights, they provide no data to actually back that claim up with numbers.
Apple‘s deal with Formula 1 is only one Grand Prix in, but the tech giant is bullish on what it has seen so far.
In a sign of strength for the streaming platform, Apple’s senior VP of services Eddy Cue tells The Hollywood Reporter that viewership for last week’s Australian Grand Prix was up year over year compared to the 2025 race, which aired on ESPN.
“The 2026 Formula 1 season on Apple TV is off to a strong start, with fans responding positively and viewership up year over year for the first weekend, exceeding both F1 and Apple expectations,” Cue says.
ESPN drew 1.1 million viewers for the Australian Grand Prix last year. Could Apple really top that? It’s a highly dubious claim.
Apple TV+ has an estimated 45 million subscribers. Cue has claimed there are more, but again he and Apple refused to say just how many. But that’s a global number. The American number that could access the race is estimated all the way down at 18.7 million subs.
Compare that number to ESPN, who has an estimated 60 million cable and satellite subscribers, in addition to millions more streaming. The only thing that could potentially flip the scales in the favor of Apple is the full integration of F1TV into their platform, but again that does not seem like it should make a dent in the 1.1 million viewers who watched on ESPN last year. And that’s an apples to oranges comparison given Apple would be counting viewers that weren’t included in the ESPN count.
Also, one is behind a subscription paywall. One is on linear television. There is an ease and an automatic nature for sports fans to find live sports on ESPN. That does not exist for Apple TV+. When you factor in navigating an entirely new ecosystem for dedicated F1 fans, let alone casuals, and the prospect of Apple beating out ESPN is even harder to fathom.
But Apple being opaque with sports viewership numbers is nothing new. For the vast majority of the tech giant’s tenure with Major League Soccer, they have refused to give out real data regarding viewership numbers. MLS and Apple have slowly started to selectively release some numbers, but they are all ones that are PR-friendly even though feelings are mixed about the success of that arrangement.
If Apple is so pleased about the success of their F1 debut, why not get the viewership numbers independently verified? Why not send out a detailed release so the world can see all the data instead of giving a vague quote to a Hollywood trade outlet? Why not share how many subs have flocked to the platform so they can get their Formula 1 fix?
Of course, Apple could take an easy step if they wanted to silence skeptics. They could release an actual number for their viewership of the Australian Grand Prix. Until then, it’s hard to take this news too seriously. Apple might as well say that more people watch Friday Night Baseball than the Super Bowl and it would carry the same weight.
About Matt Yoder