Apple is circling a big F1 deal, and Eddy Cue is warming up the crowd. As reports point to a $140 million-per-year package for U.S. rights, Apple’s services chief has been everywhere this week talking Apple TV and the messy state of sports streaming.
’More Bundling’
Fresh off Matt Belloni’s The Town podcast, Cue hit the Autosport Business Exchange NYC and spoke with CNBC’s Alex Sherman. On stage, he didn’t sugarcoat where streaming sits today compared to cable:
“We’ve gone backwards. (…) You used to buy one subscription, your cable subscription, and you got pretty much everything they had. Now, there’s so many different subscriptions, so I think that needs to be fixed.”
He didn’t unveil a grand plan, but he did tip the angle: “more bundling.” Less than a day later, Apple announced an Apple TV and Peacock bundle. It isn’t sports-first, but it tracks with the idea Cue floated.
Cue also flagged what better tech could unlock for leagues and fans, and how the industry still hasn’t stitched it together:
“If I’m a league, and I have two partners, for example, it should be very easy for me to go between them and do all kinds of things between them and do picture-in-picture, but I can’t. And so I think that there are definitely solutions to some of these. It’s harder, but that’s why we’re all here”
’We do love F1’
When conversation turned to Formula 1, Cue leaned in. He reportedly “told the panel the movie is the highest-grossing sports film of all time at the box office,” and “didn’t shy away from the imminent F1 rights deal. ‘We do love F1,’ said Cue,” according to CNBC.
What This Points To
- Apple wants fewer hoops. “more bundling.” is the giveaway. Fewer logins. Simpler bills. Clearer value.
- Tech as a feature, not a buzzword. Picture-in-picture across partners, seamless handoffs, smarter live features. That is the bar Cue is setting.
- F1 fits the brief. Huge global audience, cinematic presentation, year-round storylines. It is the kind of premium league Apple likes to platform.
The Big Open Question
If Apple lands the package, what happens to fragmentation in the U.S. market? One reported term is the shutdown of the standalone F1.TV service stateside. That would line up with Cue’s push to reduce subscription sprawl, but it also puts pressure on Apple to deliver best-in-class features on day one.
Bottom Line
Cue isn’t announcing the deal. He is framing the why. Consolidate where it helps, use tech to make live sports feel premium, and give fans less friction. And if you were wondering how Apple feels about racing, the quote says it all: ‘We do love F1’.
- AirPods Max 2 Are Here – You Can Pick One Up Today - April 1, 2026
- Clover Retribution Codes ( March 2025 ) - March 17, 2026
- Infinity Fighters Codes for March 2026 - March 17, 2026