The agreement has secured four-and-a-half hours of WRC exposure per rally on the pay-TV platform, with complementary programming set to be provided via ESPN Classic and the ESPN.co.uk website.
The coverage will begin on February 2 with an hour-long documentary, and each of the 13 WRC 2011 season races will be previewed in one-hour programmes, with 30-minute highlights shows broadcast on all three days of each rally. A one-hour round-up show will then be aired in the week following the rally, with ESPN Classic featuring 30 one-hour WRC archive programmes as well as two new documentaries.
“This is a pioneering TV agreement, not only in the UK but globally,” said Simon Long, CEO of North One Sport, which is the WRC’s promoter. “It brings the exciting prospect of more coverage, fresh programming and more promotion than ever before. The combination of the innovative content, production and digital promotion that ESPN offers combined with our revamped sport is extremely good news as we seek to reach out to new fans in the UK.”
“WRC is a superb, dynamic product with a fervent following and a growing legion of enthusiasts, and it fits extremely well as a key part of ESPN’s growing portfolio of motorsports from across the UK and Europe,” said Jeroen Oerlemans, vice-president and channel manager at ESPN’s Europe, Middle East and Africa division. ESPN already has an extensive motorsports programming portfolio, including German touring car, GT1 and Superleague Formula action.
