Eddy Cue Slams 'Backwards' Sports Streaming as Apple Nears $140M Formula 1 Deal

Apple's head of services, Eddy Cue, says the modern sports viewing experience has "gone backwards," calling for more bundling and collaboration to fix a market that has become too fragmented for consumers. Speaking at Motorsport Network's Autosport Business Exchange NYC, Cue noted that while fans have more access than ever, they often have to sign up for "1,200 subscriptions" to get it.

Cue's comments came as Apple is reportedly finalizing a deal for the exclusive U.S. streaming rights to Formula 1, said to be worth around $140 million per year, reports CNBC. That figure lines up with earlier reports that Apple and F1 were nearing an agreement. While he didn't confirm the deal, Cue said, "We do love F1," and noted that while its U.S. viewership is still "pretty tiny," the sport has "huge potential." The interest follows Apple's blockbuster F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which Cue said is the "highest-grossing sports film of all time" and will make its streaming debut in December.

He also detailed Apple's unusual "all-or-nothing" sports strategy, explaining that the company has intentionally shied away from bidding on rights unless it can acquire an entire portfolio, as it did with Major League Soccer. He called the company's deal for MLB's "Friday Night Baseball" a "test" but said Apple would not alter its vision just because leagues prefer to sell their games to multiple media partners. "We're not going to compromise," Cue said. "We don't have to do sports the way that they are. There's plenty of people doing that. So the world doesn't need us to do that."


Cue stressed that leagues and their partners need to work together to modernize the viewing experience, suggesting that if a league has two partners, a fan should easily be able to switch between them or even do picture-in-picture. "If we want people to watch games, and we want all sports to grow, I think some of these things need to be fixed," he said. Cue added that Apple is "in it for the long run," saying the company expects to be around for a while and is prepared to adapt as the sports landscape evolves.

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