International sports broadcaster Eurosport has expanded a rights agreement for the Formula E electric car-racing series to cover 54 markets across Europe.
The deal will run for three years, from 2017-18 to 2019-20. The 2017-18 campaign will get underway on December 2-3 with a double-header in Hong Kong.
Eurosport will show live coverage of all 14 races during the upcoming season on an exclusive basis across Europe, excluding the UK and Italy, where the rights will be non-exclusive.
Eurosport will also have sublicensing rights and will sell on some rights to free-to-air broadcasters in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
Eurosport started broadcasting the championship in Germany, Poland and the Nordic region in 2015 before adding the Netherlands last year.
In motorsport, the broadcaster already has rights for the Le Mans 24-hour endurance in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, the MotoGP motorcycle-racing championship in six European territories, the World Touring Car Championship in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, and the SBK motorcycle-racing championships in Europe.
“Having broadcast the championship on Eurosport for the past two seasons, we believe we have played an important part in helping to grow the sport,” Eurosport chief executive Peter Hutton said. “Particularly when you consider our established coverage of motorsport in Europe, we are thrilled to be able to play a part in bringing the sport to more people and seeing Formula E back on Eurosport’s screens once again for 2017-18.”