F1 agree '£1BILLION UK TV deal’ with Sky Sports

Max Verstappen is giving a thumbs up (left of image), Lewis Hamilton looks downcast in a Ferrari jacket (centre of image) and Lando Norris is smiling (right of image) in a compilation of the three drivers — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 secure NEW '£1BILLION UK TV deal'

The home of F1 on TV has been set for the next eight years

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 6 May 2026 15:44 Updated: 16:19

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One of the highest-paid television deals in Formula 1 history has just been struck.

Sky Sports has been the TV home of F1 in the UK since 2012, when the broadcaster acquired the rights to the pinnacle of motorsport.

Previously, F1 was shown to audiences around the UK on channels such as ITV and the BBC, but the public service broadcaster gave away their free-to-air rights in 2016 to Channel 4, who still show highlights of every race weekend for free.

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But to watch all the live action of an F1 race weekend, fans have had no choice but to tune into Sky since 2019, when they acquired the exclusive rights to the championship.

Sky's contract was last renewed in 2022 and was set to run through until 2029, but now British media have reported that an extension announcement is set to arrive today (Wednesday, May 6) to confirm Sky Sports as the home of F1 until 2034.

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F1 commits to Sky Sports amid Netflix and Apple interest

The Daily Mail have reported that the new contract which will see F1 remain exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK is worth £1billion, a figure which dwarfs even the most recent deal made by Apple TV.

The streaming service recently took over the commercial rights to show F1 races in the US, taking over from ESPN in a five-year agreement said to be worth around $750million (£558million) in total.

After outbidding the former US home of F1, Sky were reportedly nervous that unless a contract extension was agreed soon for the broadcasting rights, Apple could set their sights on a UK takeover as well.

Though Sky's existing contract still had multiple years left on it, both parties are said to have been keen to strike a more long-term arrangement instead of following the US model.

Even streaming giants Netflix have started to make moves in the F1 broadcasting space, with the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix set to be the first race shown live on the platform, in a joint-stream with Apple TV.

But talks between F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the chief executive of Sky Group, Dana Strong, reportedly reached a conclusion in recent weeks, with the Italian F1 president sharing his view that the European market is not yet ready to make the leap away from traditional TV viewing.

It looks like F1 will remain in the hands of Sky and their UK talent pool which includes the likes of Martin Brundle and David Croft for the foreseeable future, whilst Sky Italia are also believed to have signed an extended contract, which will run until 2032.

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