Apple Inc. is in advanced talks to secure the United States broadcast and streaming rights for Formula 1 when the package becomes available next year, according to the Financial Times and corroborated by Reuters. The move would challenge Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN, which has held exclusive U.S. rights since 2018 but whose contract expires after the 2025 season. People familiar with the negotiations told Puck’s Dylan Byers that Apple has tabled an offer between $150 million and $200 million a year—well above the roughly $85 million to $90 million ESPN currently pays. Formula 1’s owner, Liberty Media, has not yet decided on a winner and is expected to weigh additional bids, including interest previously signaled by Netflix. The Cupertino-based company is seeking to deepen its live-sports portfolio on Apple TV+, which already carries Major League Soccer under a 10-year agreement and a package of Friday-night Major League Baseball games. Winning the elite motor-racing series would mark Apple’s most expensive U.S. sports rights acquisition to date. Apple’s pursuit follows the commercial success of its Brad Pitt-led “F1: The Movie,” which has generated about $300 million in worldwide box-office receipts since its late-June release. Liberty Media is betting that heightened U.S. interest—spurred by the film and Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” series—will justify a step-change in rights fees for the next contract cycle.