Formula One has confirmed it will launch a new OTT subscription service called F1 TV.
F1 TV will provide commercial-free live streams of each race, qualifying and practice sessions with multi-language commentary, starting with English, French, German and Spanish. The platform will offer exclusive access to all 20 on-board driver cameras.
At launch, F1 TV will appear in nearly two dozen markets, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary and Mexico, as well as much of Latin America.
Access will initially be available through desktop and web platforms, with mobile apps and smart-television apps being phased in on Amazon, Apple and Android devices. Pricing for the F1 TV Pro service, which will offer unique feeds, will be offered on a monthly basis of between $8 (€6.50) and $12, with annual rates varying between markets.
Subscribers will also be able to watch interviews, as well as live races of the main support series, the FIA Formula 2 Championship, GP3 Series and Porsche Supercup, among others.
A cheaper, non-live subscription tier, F1 TV Access, will also provide live race timing data and radio commentary, as well as extended highlights of each session from the race weekend and archive content.
Frank Arthofer, F1’s head of digital, told the Reuters news agency that the service is expected to launch for the opening grand prix of the season in Melbourne.
Arthofer said that the subscription service could attract up to one million customers, with the platform generating about $100m over five years.