The World Feed was established after television rights to Formula One were first sold in the 1970s. Under the original model, a host broadcaster from each country produced the feed for its own home race — TF1 for the French Grand Prix, the BBC for the British Grand Prix, RAI for the Italian Grand Prix — and this signal was shared with international broadcasters. The quality and editorial approach varied considerably between host broadcasters, with local productions often accused of favouring domestic drivers and teams at the expense of the broader race narrative.
From the 1996 season, Formula One Management (FOM), the commercial arm of the sport, began producing an enhanced digital version of the World Feed for the F1 Digital+ subscription satellite service — internally nicknamed "Bernie Vision" after then-chief executive Bernie Ecclestone. This pay-per-view tier offered additional features unavailable on the free-to-air signal: dedicated onboard camera channels, pitlane coverage, live timing data, and cameras following cars lower in the running order. The operation required transporting approximately 200 tonnes of equipment to each race — 18 trucks for European rounds, two Boeing 747 jumbo jets for flyaway events — and establishing a 1,200 square metre air-conditioned production tent at every venue, a structure colloquially known as "Bakersville" after Eddie Baker who ran it.
F1 Digital+ was shut down by Ecclestone at the end of the 2002 season after financial failure, but FOM retained the production infrastructure it had built. From select races in 2004, FOM began gradually taking over World Feed production from host broadcasters where local producers could not guarantee consistent international-standard output. New graphic overlays introduced in 2004 brought elements from the Digital+ era back to the standard broadcast: lap counters, track status indicators, and rev counters. Team radio was first broadcast at the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix and was available at every race from 2006 onward.
By the 2007 season, FOM directed coverage of all but three races. By 2008 only two remained with host broadcasters: the Monaco Grand Prix, produced by Télé Monte Carlo, and the Japanese Grand Prix, produced by Fuji Television. Télé Monte Carlo continued to produce the Monaco feed until the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix — the last F1 World Feed ever produced by a host broadcaster — before FOM assumed full control from 2023, completing a process that had begun almost two decades earlier.
The World Feed has been produced in 16:9 widescreen since the 2007 Australian Grand Prix, with some host broadcasters having trialled widescreen formats before that point. Fuji Television filmed and broadcast the Japanese Grand Prix in high definition for its domestic audience from 2006. For the 2011 season FOM made a high-definition feed available to broadcasters for the first time. From 2012 the audio was recorded in 5.1 channel Dolby Digital surround sound. From 2017 the footage was broadcast in 4K ultra-high definition.
Alongside the main World Feed, FOM produces a suite of supplementary channels for broadcasters who take the enhanced package: a pitlane channel with alternative angles, weather and tyre information, and extra team radio; multiple onboard channels that rotate between different drivers throughout a session; a driver tracker showing live car positions; a timing screen with live lap times and sector data; a Battle Channel — co-produced with Sky Sports UK — focusing on a split-screen view of contests between up to three cars; and a Data Channel with information on pit stops, tyre status, weather, and FIA statements.
In 2018, FOM launched F1 TV, an over-the-top streaming platform providing live commercial-free coverage of all races including access to all onboard camera feeds. The service launched initially in Germany, France, the United States, Mexico, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, and parts of Latin America.
The BBC broadcast Formula One until 1996, after which rights moved to ITV. The BBC returned in 2009 when ITV chose to exit the sport, and held live rights for three seasons. A cost-sharing deal struck with Sky Sports in 2011 saw Sky Sports F1 — a dedicated Formula One channel — carry live coverage of every session from 2012, while the BBC broadcast live half the races and extended highlights of all others. The BBC exited the television arrangement early after the 2015 season and Channel 4 took over the free-to-air rights through 2018. Sky extended its contract to 2024 in 2016 and became the exclusive live rights holder in the UK and Ireland from 2019, with the British Grand Prix and race highlights remaining on free-to-air. Channel 4 retained the British Grand Prix live and highlights of remaining races through 2026. In May 2026, Sky signed a deal worth approximately £1 billion securing Formula One rights in the United Kingdom through 2034.
ESPN broadcast Formula One in the United States from 1984 to 1997. From 1998 to 2000 coverage was split between Speedvision (full live coverage) and Fox Sports Net (usually tape-delayed). From 2001 to 2012, Speedvision — later renamed Speed — carried the full championship, with select races simulcast on broadcast networks including ABC, CBS in 2005, and Fox from 2007. NBC Sports held a four-year deal from 2013, carrying the majority of coverage on NBCSN with four races per season on the main NBC network. ESPN reacquired rights for a multi-year deal beginning in 2018, using Sky Sports' production for its broadcasts. ESPN extended that deal through 2025 in October 2022. Ahead of the 2026 season, Apple TV obtained five-year exclusive streaming rights to the sport, with selected races also to be broadcast live in IMAX theatres across the United States and an arrangement with Netflix to carry the Canadian Grand Prix alongside Apple TV.