The Sydney Morning Herald, part of the Nine Entertainment fold, reported on Nine’s interest in the local F1 rights once the current Fox Sports deal comes to an end.
According to the report, the plan would be for F1 to join the likes of IndyCar, the World Rally Championship, and Formula E behind the Stan Sport paywall.
Interest in the F1 rights was confirmed by Nine’s chief executive Matt Stanton with a throwaway line at the Macquarie Australia Conference.
When asked if Nine wanted the F1 rights, Stanton reportedly said, “yep, definitely”, before joking that he doesn’t want Piastri to be winning races, as it drives the price up.
“I am the only person cheering he doesn’t actually win,” he said.
If a play for the F1 rights from Stan was successful it could bring F1 and the English Premier League under the same umbrella, given speculation that Nine is closing in on a deal with Optus to take over Optus Sport, which has the EPL rights.
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Speedcafe understands that the current Fox Sports deal runs until the end of next season, with formal negotiations between F1 and any suitors expected to start later this year.
Under the existing agreement, Fox Sports has the rights for all F1 races except the Australian Grand Prix, the rights for which are currently held by Network 10.
Paramount, which is 10’s streaming service, could also bid on the F1 rights, according to the SMH report.
Nine/Stan have also been linked to the ongoing Supercars TV rights talks, although Fox Sports has firmed as the favourite to retain the pay TV portion of the new deal.
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