ESPN extends U.S. F1 broadcast deal for three years

ESPN will continue to broadcast Formula One in the United States until 2022 after posting double-digit viewership growth over the past two seasons.

Through 18 races this season, F1 has averaged 671,000 viewers on ESPN networks, an increase of 19 percent over the average of 561,000 at this point last year on ESPN networks and up 24 percent from the average of 542,000 on NBC networks in 2017. The growth in the demographic of people aged between 18 to 34 -- a target area of growth for F1 -- is up 81 percent from 2018.

The extension will see F1 races continue to air live and commercial-free on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC, while all practice sessions, qualifying and races will air live and in replay…