F1 explains talks with Amazon over TV rights and streaming
Formula 1 says it is in “regular contact” with Amazon over potential TV rights deals and making its own streaming product available through its platform.

A report from the Financial Times in December claimed that F1 was in “advanced” talks with Amazon over streaming races in 2021, building on an existing partnership with Amazon Web Services.
Amazon has been expanding its live sport offerings in recent years, picking up rights across Premier League football, tennis and the NFL.
Speaking to select media including Motorsport.com following the launch of the latest version of F1 TV, F1 director of media rights Ian Holmes said the series was in “regular contact” with Amazon. But Holmes explained how this covered both a regular broadcasting rights deal and the possibility of making the F1 TV product available via Amazon’s services.
“We’re actually engaged in them on a couple of discussions at the moment, two types of specific discussions,” Holmes said when asked by Motorsport.com about a possible deal with Amazon. “You might be familiar with a thing called Amazon Channels. That would be an example where you’ve got Amazon Prime, which is where you see the content they buy, such as quite a lot of tennis, depending on where you are.
“It sits within their content, channels where they carry additional OTT offerings – in some cases linear channels, in some cases OTT offerings. We are in discussions with them on both fronts. We’re talking to them about specifically acquiring our rights, in the same way you would sell to any other media company. But we’re also talking to them about a Channels arrangement where we have got the opportunity of putting F1 TV into the market.”
Read Also:
F1 will make the premium version of its streaming service available in 85 countries for the 2021 season, expanding to Brazil, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Holmes said it was possible for broadcast agreements to allow for both a traditional rights package and F1 TV Pro, as seen in Brazil this year, and that this could extend to an Amazon deal.
“Could you do a deal where on the one hand they acquire your rights, we carve out F1 TV and F1 TV is carried on channels? Maybe,” Holmes said in relation to Amazon. “They’re no different from any other pay TV offering, in the sense that if they’re acquiring the rights, they may want exclusivity.
“But in some markets, they’re not acquiring the rights, and some of the markets we’re talking to about channels, and we already have a deal in place with another party, so we couldn’t do the rights side.
“The answer is, we’re talking to them, we talk to them generally, and we’re talking to them specifically on a couple of examples.”
Related video

Previous article
What Ferrari did and didn’t tell us about its new SF21 F1 car
Next article
F1 planning first HDR TV broadcast tests in 2021

About this article
Series | Formula 1 |
Author | Luke Smith |
F1 explains talks with Amazon over TV rights and streaming
Trending
How Do Drivers Stay Fit For F1 Grand Prix?
Ronnie Peterson and Jochen Rindt Tribute
#ThinkingForward with Juan Pablo Montoya
The delay that quashed Aston Martin’s last F1 venture
Aston Martin’s only previous foray into Formula 1 in the late 1950s was a short-lived and unsuccessful affair. But it could have been so different, says Nigel Roebuck.
Verstappen exclusive: Why lack of titles won't hurt Red Bull's ace
Max Verstappen’s star quality in Formula 1 is clear. Now equipped with a Red Bull car that is, right now, the world title favourite and the experience to support his talent, could 2021 be the Dutchman’s year to topple the dominant force of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes?
Is Formula 1 as good as it has ever been now?
For many, many years Formula 1 has strived to do and to be better on all fronts. With close competition, a growing fanbase, a stable political landscape and rules in place to encourage sustainability, 2021 is on course to provide an unexpected peak
How Williams’ new structure adheres to a growing F1 trend
Williams held out against the tide for many years but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, the age of the owner-manager is long gone
When a journeyman driver's F1 career lasted just 800m
Nikita Mazepin’s Formula 1 debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix lasted mere corners before he wiped himself out in a shunt, but his financial backing affords him a full season. Back in 1993 though, Marco Apicella was an F1 driver for just 800m before a first corner fracas ended his career. Here’s the story of his very short time at motorsport’s pinnacle.
How Raikkonen's rapid rise stalled his teammate's F1 career climb
Kimi Raikkonen's emergence as a Formula 1 star in his rookie campaign remains one of the legendary storylines from 2001, but his exploits had an unwanted impact on his Sauber teammate's own prospects. Twenty years on from his first F1 podium at the Brazilian GP, here's how Nick Heidfeld's career was chilled by the Iceman.
The nightmare timing that now hinders Mercedes
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton took victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix despite, for a change, not having the quickest car. But any hopes of developing its W12 to surpass Red Bull's RB16B in terms of outright speed could not have come at a worse time.
How Verstappen's Bahrain mistake can only make him stronger
Max Verstappen lost out to Lewis Hamilton at the Bahrain Grand Prix by a tiny margin, slipping off the track just as victory was within his grasp. But the painful lesson from defeat can only help Verstappen come back even stronger