Formula E, the electric racing championship, has developed a new free-to-air (FTA) media rights agreement with ITV, one of the country’s oldest terrestrial broadcasters, in the UK.
ITV will broadcast the 11th season of the electronic racing series, which includes 16 E-Prix races and qualifying sessions for the ABB FIA Formula E World Cup.
These matches will be shown on ITV4, one of the company’s linear freeview television channels, as well as ITVX, its streaming platform. The stations will also broadcast nine live races and a custom highlights program.
Richard Botchway, Assistant Commissioner, ITV Sport, said, “This new deal brings Formula E fans some of the biggest races across Season 11 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. We are delighted to be the free-to-air partner and look forward to welcoming Formula E to ITV and ITVX.”
The agreement established ITVX as a growing powerhouse in UK sports broadcasting. The outlet covers Serie A, grade one horse racing, and rugby union, which includes the English Premiership and the Six Nations.
Formula E has established itself as a noteworthy fixture on the world sports scene since its debut season in 2014-15. Its 10-year existence has witnessed a slew of broadcasting agreements, with the company’s UK media footprint shifting significantly between numerous institutions.
The BBC was the league’s primary UK broadcast partner for numerous years, but it later switched to Channel 4—another FTA broadcaster with a long history in racing—before shifting to pay TV channel TNT Sports last year.
Though an agreement with ITV may be less profitable than with subscriber-based TNT Sports, the series’ return to FTA TV may help it improve its popularity and reach.
Aarti Dabas, Chief Media Officer at Formula E, said, “We’re delighted to offer UK and Ireland fans even greater access to our incredible championship via our two fantastic media partners – TNT Sport and now ITV – giving them more ways to watch and taking them even closer to the sport. With our new post-race weekend highlights show on ITV, fans will be able to get bespoke content directly from the paddock helping educate, excite and entertain new and loyal fans alike. We can’t wait to bring our fans more track-side action and continue to grow the sport.”