Apple announces F1 details, and a surprising Netflix partnership

It’s almost time for the green flag.

After lengthy rumors, last October Apple announced it had bought the U.S. rights to the Formula One racing circuit. Next week, the races begin, and Apple has now detailed the viewing experience for the season.

First, the basics: Every Apple TV subscriber has access to all the video feeds from live races, practices, and qualifying. There’s no separate package to buy, and all the video will be available within the TV app on all of Apple’s platforms as well as many other smart TVs and connected devices.

According to Apple SVP of Services Eddy Cue, race video will be in 4K HDR with 5.1 audio. Cue said that like Apple’s other sports broadcasts, the video will be less compressed than content from other services, one reason Apple’s stuff tends to look better than the competition.

The TV app supports Multiview, which allows for the display of up to four video feeds at one time. To make it easier on users who might be uncomfortable building a custom Multiview layout, the app will be able to build different combinations of multiview with just one click—for example, if you click the Red Bull multiview option, you’ll get a large view of the race feed with smaller onboard views from the two Red Bull cars. (You can also set up custom Multiviews and even edit the ones created by the presets.)

Every session will be presented in both English and Spanish audio, and Apple is using the F1 TV feed as its primary feed—but also offering the very popular Sky Sports video feed as an option, and either feed can be used with Multiview. There are 30 extra feeds, including a race tracker; driver data; “podium channels” that show the video of whichever cars are in first, second, and third place; and all 22 driver cameras.

Users of Apple’s Vision Pro won’t get a 3D race map (yet—though that would be amazing, wouldn’t it?), but they can add a fifth camera view to the multiview for an even more immersive experience.

According to Cue, Apple was inspired to become a Formula One broadcaster after working with the circuit on “F1: The Movie.” “What it really did is it let our teams work together for years, and what I discovered is we shared the same vision, in the sense of being innovative and focused on providing the best fan experience,” he said.

Perhaps the most surprising announcement on Thursday was that Apple and Netflix, which have had a rather stand-offish relationship when it comes to video programming, have struck a deal to swap some Formula One-related content. Formula One’s growing popularity in the United States is due, perhaps in large part, to the high-profile success of the Netflix docuseries “Drive to Survive.” The latest season of that series, debuting Friday, will premiere simultaneously on both Netflix and Apple TV. Presumably, in exchange for that non-exclusive, Apple will also non-exclusively allow Netflix to broadcast the Canadian Grand Prix in May. (Insert obligatory wish that Apple and Netflix would bury the hatchet and enable Watch Now support in the TV app for Netflix content.)

Netflix isn’t Apple’s only F1 content partner. The company said it would be providing free streamer Tubi with “exclusive alt-casts for multiple races.” An alt-cast is an alternative version of the main broadcast, like the Manning Brothers doing a sort of live podcast during a Monday Night Football game or Nickelodeon’s animated take on live NFL broadcasts. It’s unclear what the Tubi alt-cast will actually be, but I love the idea of Apple embracing the alt-cast concept—and using it to find a different audience with a partner.

Since Apple’s rights are limited to the U.S., I assume most of these partnerships will involve races that take place during waking hours, since many races do tend to start in the middle of the night over here. On that note, Apple did emphasize that it’s working hard not to spoil the results of races in the TV app, since many American fans will watch on a time-delayed basis.

Other partners Apple announced Thursday were IMAX (select World Championship races will be shown on IMAX screens in the U.S., again presumably ones taking place during waking hours), Comcast, Everpass, Prime Video, and DirecTV. Some of those may just offer resold versions of Apple TV, and others (like Everpass and DirecTV) will make races available to commercial establishments like bars and restaurants.

On Thursday, both parties pitched their relationship as not being between Apple TV and Formula One, but between Apple and Formula One. Following last year’s Monaco maps tied to the Grand Prix, Apple added fancy Melbourne maps in advance of next week’s race, and I’d expect more fancy racing-focused maps in the future. Apple Music, Fitness, Podcasts, Sports, and even its retail stores will be part of a larger Formula One push. It’s clear that the playbook Apple used to push “F1: The Movie” will continue with this wider relationship, at least in the U.S.

Last November, I got to experience watching a Formula One race with my pal Myke Hurley, who is an avid F1 fan. It was a pretty good time, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Apple’s implementation of all these features works out during next week’s race. It won’t be so fun to watch without Myke, though. Maybe I’ll FaceTime him during the race.