F1’s U.S. viewership is down in its first season on Apple TV after it moved away from ESPN following the 2025 season, a report from USA Today says. It’s based on info from the Samba analysts company.

The Miami Grand Prix’s household reach was down 68% this year compared to last year, while the Monaco Grand Prix was down 66%, the article claims. Eight of the nine races analyzed this season have experienced household reach declines — except for the Japanese Grand Prix, which didn’t change.

“One hypothesis our team has for this finding is that F1 fans may have activated an Apple TV free trial to be able to access the F1 race,” Samba’s vice president of measurement science Alyson Sprague said in a statement to USA Today. “But that they didn’t find enough value in the trial to continue on as a paid customer.”

Samba also notes that 30% of 2026 F1 viewers hadn’t used Apple TV at all during the second half of 2025. USA Today says this represents “ an influx of new viewers for the streamer that may matter more than putting up big numbers for specific events.”

Apple is the exclusive U.S. broadcast and streaming home for Formula 1 from 2026 through 2030. Subscribers get full access to F1 TV Premium at no extra cost, featuring up to 30 additional live feeds, driver cameras, and team audio in a five-year deal valued at roughly $750 million

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Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today