Netflix may get Formula 1 rights from ESPN

Netflix is one of the only subscription-based streaming video services that doesn't offer live content, but that could change if it wins the rights to a certain type of motor racing.

According to media reports, Netflix is one of several media providers vying for digital distribution rights to Formula One. ESPN, a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communication, presently holds those rights in the United States, but the broadcast licence is slated to expire later this year.

ESPN officials revealed this week that they are in talks with Formula 1 to extend those rights, and that they have submitted a bid of roughly $70 million, according to Insider, which is significantly below the racing league's aim of $100 million.

Comcast's NBCUniversal, which shuttered its national sports channel NBCSN last year in favour of streaming more sports on its standalone service Peacock, is also reportedly bidding for Formula 1 rights.

Netflix, on the other hand, could benefit the most from obtaining the rights: While the streaming services of Comcast and ESPN have increased in recent years, Netflix's has recently shrunk, with the company confirming that it lost more customers than it acquired in its most recent financial quarter.

Even before Netflix's most recent report, there had been indications that the firm was interested in acquiring sports rights, particularly Formula 1.

Netflix appears to have done more than simply consider it: Insider reports that the corporation has been in talks with Formula 1 for several months, especially after the streaming service's Formula 1 documentary "Drive to Survive" sparked renewed interest in the sport among American TV viewers.