Rumor: Apple plots global streaming F1 deal for Apple TV+

I’m having some difficulty accepting the latest Apple TV rumor. That’s because it looks like the company that wants to build carbon neutral products is considering spending billions of dollars on broadcast rights for one of the least carbon neutral pastimes, Formula 1.

The green agenda

So, what’s the speculation around Apple’s involvement in F1?

A report in Business F1 Magazine says Apple is developing a deal the Formula 1 Group simply can’t refuse, one which would double the groups revenue for TV rights. This would allegedly be a $2 billion investment to secure exclusive streaming rights to Formula 1 coverage

The report explains that Apple is taking a slow approach to this and is prepared to secure rights on a country by country basis as they become available.

Apple is also producing a big budget F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, and is making a documentary about Lewis Hamilton.

It is already known that many in Apple’s senior management are petrol heads, Apple TV chief Eddy Cue sits on the board at Ferrari, for example.

Now it seems Apple is considering exclusive streaming rights to Formula 1 coverage as it continues to expand its sports entertainment offer.

How does this fit together?

All the same, it is hard to square the circle given that F1 is by its nature a celebration of the fossil fuels humans must navigate away from in order to secure any kind of future.

That’s not to say the sport isn’t making some attempt to clean up its act. In 2019 it committed to being net carbon zero by 2030, in a report which confirmed the sport is responsible for 256,000 tones of CO2 emissions each season. Around 45% of this is generated by the logistics of putting on races with another 27% stemming from transportation of people.

FI said it would try to offset this damage with tree planting and carbon capture technology. Is this enough? Not according to legendary F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, who said:

“These large corporations that have a lot of money and power behind them and can definitely make change happen quicker but it’s not their No 1 priority. Until there is a point where it is the No 1 priority for governments and for the world, then it’s going to continue to be a slow burner.”

Where will this sit in the supplier report?

Formula One also makes use of increasing quantities of sustainable fuel and has paid lip service to making improvements in its carbon output, which perhaps Apple can help with, or at least manage the media messaging more effectively.

We shall see. But it is pretty challenging to imagine where in Apple’s annual Environmental Responsibility report it would list the carbon neutral (or not) status of one of its key entertainment suppliers, which at that point would be F1.

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