As the global auto sport explodes in popularity and U.S. media rights for Formula 1 are up for grabs in 2023, Netflix, ESPN and NBCUniversal have apparently taken an interest in the international auto racing circuit.

The three companies are bidding for a new streaming license for F1, which begins in 2023, according to an insider report in Monday. NBCUniversal said in a statement to TechCrunch that it has nothing further to add to the Business Insider story. No comment from Netflix.

Disney-owned ESPN is the only company so far that has confirmed. In a statement to Insider, John Suchenski, director, Programming & Acquisitions, ESPN, said, "We are aggressively pursuing a renewal — we feel that we have a distribution package and event presentation that can't be matched in the industry … It has been a mutually beneficial relationship."

"Understandably, they are looking at other options," he added.

ESPN has had the rights in the U.S. since 2017, and at the moment, it holds these rights. However, as reported, the rights are expiring this year. F1 is reportedly targeting $100 million for the rights. Reportedly, ESPN opened with an opening bid of approximately $70 million, clearly below the targeted amount.

Comcast's NBCUniversal exercised the rights for the previous five years. At the start of 2022, NBC closed its all-sports NBCSN. Comcast's satellite broadcaster Sky retains the U.K. and Ireland rights to Formula 1, a deal which runs through 2024.

According to sources who spoke to Insider, Netflix is among the suitors that have been holding talks for months, but they also said that the company does not have an in-house negotiator on sports. This may put them at an on-field disadvantage.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings alluded to thinking about bidding for F1 rights. In September 2021, he spoke with German magazine Der Spiegel, hinting that Netflix is considering buying into the sports category. He said, "A few years ago, the rights to Formula 1 were sold. At that time, we were not among the bidders today; we would think about it." He added that Netflix would be interested only if it could "control the source" and win exclusive rights.

Co-CEO of Netflix Ted Sarandos recently said on the Q1 2022 earnings call, "I'm not saying we never would do sports, but we would have to see a path to growing a big revenue stream and a big profit stream with it." So while he did say that Netflix wouldn't use live sports to generate new subscribers, live sports aren't necessarily banned from Netflix's future plans.

The Netflix long-running docuseries, "Drive to Survive," has been credited for fueling Americans' interest in the team-based auto racing event. Morning Consult reported that Americans who identified themselves as fans of the sport increased by 33% over the past two years, per survey data. The global decision intelligence company also wrote, “More than half of F1 fans (53%) said the series, which debuted in 2019, played a role in their becoming a fan, including 30% who said it was a ‘major reason.’”

After losing 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter, the company's perspective toward live programming and advertising has changed. The streamer is going to receive an ad-supported tier cheaper this year and has confirmed that the plans for livestreaming are still at an early stage for programming – such as stand-up comedy specials and reality TV shows. Live sports have yet to be reached by Netflix, but it's starting to look that way.

It would be in Netflix's best interest to keep up with its rivals as the streaming wars only gets tougher. For example, Apple recently made a deal to stream Major League Baseball and is bidding on NFL's "Sunday Ticket." Peacock also grabbed the exclusive rights to dozens of MLB games. In addition to the rights to Netflix NFL's exclusive streaming of "Thursday Night Football," 21 New York Yankees games exclusively in the New York market are also available. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery already possess a portfolio of sports content.

A win for Netflix with Formula 1 rights would constitute a significant change for the company.