Apple TV Streams Austrian Grand Prix Free for U.S. Viewers

Apple TV will make the entire Austrian Grand Prix weekend available free to U.S. viewers with an Apple ID, giving fans access to practice, qualifying and the race itself from June 26 to June 28 at the Red Bull Ring. The race is scheduled for 6 a.m. PT, 9 a.m. ET on Sunday. It is Apple TV’s first free-streaming Formula 1 event and the latest move in Apple and Formula One’s push to grow the sport’s American audience.

Apple secured U.S. Formula 1 rights at the start of the season in a deal reported to be worth $150 million a year after Formula 1 moved entirely away from linear television this season. Apple has promoted the series through Times Square billboards, IMAX theater screenings, free Tubi alt-casts and a shared Canadian Grand Prix telecast with Netflix.

Apple has said its Formula 1 viewership so far has been comparable to or better than last year’s ESPN numbers, though it has not released public figures. ESPN averaged a record 1.32 million viewers last season. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said at the Indy 500 that he had heard viewership was up 25% to 30% and called the broadcast product “awesome,” saying it appears likely to keep improving.