The NBC Sports Network, which took over American coverage of F1 from SPEED in 2013, had a four-year deal in place with the intention being of seeking a five-year extension. However, at the beginning of 2017, the fourth year of NBC's deal, Liberty Media famously bought F1 from its previous owners CVC. Almost from the outset however, Liberty made it clear that one of its key plans for the sport moving forwards was live streaming, effectively cutting out the middleman broadcaster. This was enough to cause NBC to have second thoughts about extending its deal. 'At the beginning of the fourth year we began having conversations about a five-year extension which would have seen a significant...
Full Story »