Ironman signs live streaming partnership with Facebook

The Ironman triathlon series has signed a global content partnership with social media platform Facebook.

Under the agreement, Facebook will provide live coverage of the 2018 Ironman season, commencing on Sunday with the Ironman France event in Nice.

Facebook will cover a total of 16 races across three continents, culminating with the Ironman World Championship event in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on October 13. The last event on the schedule is in Tempe, Arizona on November 18.

In addition to live race coverage, there will be a 20-episode live weekly show entitled ‘Ironman: 40 Years of Dreams,’ which celebrates Ironman’s 40th anniversary. This will debut on Facebook Watch on July 5 and runs through to November 15.

Matthieu van Veen, chief revenue officer for Ironman, said: “We are confident that our lineup of programming will have broad global appeal to our loyal athletes and fans and will introduce new athletes to our community.”

Live race coverage and weekly episodes, as well as a range of on-demand programming, will be available in the United States on Facebook Watch and globally via the Ironman now Facebook page.