Formula One moves to ESPN and ABC in 2018
By Alex Herbst
Formula One coverage on American television will be changing ahead of the 2018 season. ESPN and ABC will cover the world championship going forward.
The television history of the Formula One world championship in America begins with the legacy program Wide World of Sports on broadcast network ABC. The first event covered was highlights of the Monaco Grand Prix. Now, F1 is heading back to the alphabet network and cable companion ESPN in a multi-year deal.
Following five years of coverage from NBC Sports, Formula One will be moving their races to ABC and ESPN, with all 21 events airing live across three networks. ABC will cover two of the races live, with the United States Grand Prix and Mexican Grand Prix being shown in October.
The broadcast network will also air the historic Monaco Grand Prix on tape delay, following coverage of the Indianapolis 500.
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The remainder of the races will be split between sports networks ESPN and ESPN2. The mothership will cover three races live, being from Monaco, Canada, and Great Britain. All other races will be seen live on ESPN2. Coverage of all practice and qualifying sessions will also be shown live, likely airing on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
This will be the first time that Formula One races have aired on the ESPN family of networks since 1997. Other motorsports coverage available on their sports networks includes select IndyCar races (through 2018) and the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) drag racing on ESPN3. SportsBusinessDaily originally reported and Beyond The Flag confirmed that the world feed will be used for coverage, including the use of the world feed’s announcers.
Here is how the Formula One world championship television schedule breaks down:
| Date | Time | Event | Network |
| March 25 | 12:55 a.m. | Australian Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| April 8 | 1:55 a.m. | Chinese Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| April 15 | 10:55 a.m. | Bahrain Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| April 29 | 8:55 a.m. | Azerbaijan Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| May 13 | 7:55 a.m. | Spanish Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| May 27 | 7:55 a.m. | Monaco Grand Prix | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. | Monaco Grand Prix | ABC * | |
| June 10 | 1:55 p.m. | Canadian Grand Prix | ESPN |
| June 24 | 7:55 a.m. | French Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| July 1 | 7:55 a.m. | Austrian Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| July 8 | 7:55 a.m. | British Grand Prix | ESPN |
| July 22 | 7:55 a.m. | German Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| July 29 | 7:55 a.m. | Hungarian Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| Aug. 26 | 7:55 a.m. | Belgian Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 2 | 7:55 a.m. | Italian Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 16 | 7:55 a.m. | Singapore Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| Sept. 30 | 7:55 a.m. | Russian Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| Oct. 7 | 12:55 a.m. | Japanese Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| Oct. 21 | 2:55 p.m. | United States Grand Prix | ABC |
| Oct. 28 | 2:55 p.m. | Mexican Grand Prix | ABC |
| Nov. 11 | 10:55 a.m. | Brazilian Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
| Nov. 25 | 7:55 a.m. | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | ESPN2 |
* re-air
Sean Bratches, managing director of commercial operations for Formula One, and a former ESPN executive, had this to say about the new rights deal:
"“We are excited about the return of the world’s foremost motor racing platform to the ABC and ESPN platforms. ABC’s Wide World of Sports first started airing live grands prix in the early 1960’s and this linear and digital partnership with ESPN represents a significant step forward in achieving Formula 1’s aim of broadening the sport’s appeal. The U.S. market is very important growth opportunity for Formula 1 and we are looking forward to working with ESPN to ignite the growing fan interest.”"
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The deal between Formula One and ESPN / ABC is a multi-year deal, but does not include over-the-top (OTT) rights. The world championship continues to hold those rights internally in preparation of launching their own service under new owner Liberty Media. What do you think about ESPN taking over American Formula One rights starting in 2018? Will you be watching the races on their new home for the future?