Motorsport
News
Sky NZ lands ARG, Motorsport Australia rights, Motorsport.tv offers streaming
Pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand has agreed a deal to be the exclusive broadcaster in the country for Australian Racing Group and Shannons Motorsport Australia Championship events in 2021
Ally to sponsor inaugural Nascar Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway
Ally Financial, a leading digital financial-services company, has been named the presenting sponsor of the inaugural Nascar Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway in June
ServusTV adds WRC rights in German-speaking countries
Commercial broadcaster ServusTV has acquired World Rally Championship rights in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the next two years, further enhancing its motorsports portfolio
Pitbull becomes part-owner of Nascar’s Trackhouse Racing Team
Popular US musician Pitbull has become a part-owner of Nascar Cup Series organization Trackhouse Racing Team ahead of its debut season in 2021.
Nascar’s Netflix sitcom to be released day after Daytona 500
The Crew, a new Netflix sitcom focused on a small Nascar Cup Series team, will be released on February 15, the day after the stock car racing series' season-opening Daytona 500 race
Extreme E turns to Al Kamel Systems for TV graphics, data and timekeeping
Extreme E has agreed a deal for Al Kamel Systems, the Madrid-based supplier of graphics, data processes and timekeeping to the motor sports industry, to support its broadcast with timekeeping, TV graphic…
Formula 1 Esports Series breaks viewing records
Last year’s Covid-19-disrupted F1 season led to a record number of fans tuning in to the F1 virtual action for their racing fix.
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WRC to head into Arctic Circle with new Finnish rally
The World Rally Championship (WRC) has today (Thursday) announced it will venture into the Arctic Circle for the first time, with Finland being granted a second event on the 2021 calendar in place of the…
Eurosport to show inaugural Pure ETCR electric touring car series
International broadcaster Eurosport will show the inaugural season of the electric touring car racing series, Pure ETCR
McLaren F1 driver Norris carves path for young, entrepreneurial athletes with gaming brand
Following his successes streaming sim-racing during lockdown, McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris felt compelled to set up an esports team. But a conversation with gaming content company, Veloce Esports, persuaded him to set up a content collective instead. Callum McCarthy reports.
Nascar ready for lift-off with revamped schedule, Michael Jordan as team owner
After successfully staging its 2020 season in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nascar is primed to reach new heights next year. "We set a path that we wanted to be a leader,” Daryl Wolfe, Nascar's chief operations and sales officer, tells SportBusiness.
‘We’re got to take the Aston Martin brand to the next level’ | Jeff Slack, Racing Point F1
Jefferson Slack represented some of the world’s leading sports talent, ran Serie A giants Inter Milan and headed IMG’s football division during the first three decades of his career. Now
Williams Racing commercial director on reshaping motorsport’s sponsorship model
Tim Hunt, commercial and marketing director at Williams, wants sponsorship platform to focus on “the USPs of being an F1 team”
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Extreme E forced into latest launch delay
Extreme E has again been forced to delay its inaugural event amid the challenges being placed on global motorsport by Covid-19, with the electric off-road racing series stating its Desert X Prix in Saudi…
Judge suspends F1’s São Paulo race promoter contract
Formula 1’s deal with the new promoter of the São Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil has been placed into doubt after a judge decided to temporarily suspend the contract reported to be worth R$100m (€15.4m/$18.8m).
Sky Sports is latest broadcaster to acquire Extreme E rights
UK pay-television broadcaster Sky has become the latest broadcaster to acquire rights to Extreme E, the electric off-road racing series
Formula E launches new esports competition
The Formula E electric car-racing series has launched a new esports competition, which will begin later this month and culminate in a grand final event in March
Arthofer to depart F1 at end of January
Frank Arthofer is stepping down as Formula 1’s director of digital and licensing after four years in the role.
Cognizant makes global play as Aston Martin F1 title sponsor
US-based IT multinational Cognizant has been named as the new title sponsor of the Aston Martin Formula 1 team in a multi-year deal that will showcase Cognizant on the global stage
IndyCar pushes back 2021 season start as St. Petersburg road race shifts to April
The NTT IndyCar Series has pushed back the start of its 2021 season by five weeks, with the original season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg delayed until April 25
ORF secures Formula E renewal in Austria, series to begin with Saudi night races
Austrian public-service broadcaster ORF has renewed its Formula E rights for a further three seasons, through to 2022-23
Tributes paid to John Hogan, the “king of sponsorship” in Formula One
Tributes have been paid to John Hogan, the former sponsorship chief for Philip Morris International and a leading light in Formula One sponsorship, who passed away on Sunday
Lequien appointed as new head of World Endurance Championship
Frédéric Lequien has been named the new head of Le Mans Endurance Management (LMEM), the organisation which operates the World Endurance Championship (WEC) motor-racing series.
Extreme E signs rights deals in Greece and China, details NEP’s production role
Electric off-road racing series Extreme E has agreed new rights distribution deals with Greek pay-television operator Cosmote and Chinese internet platform Channel Zero
F1 holds ‘substantive’ talks with Amazon over streaming deal
Chase Carey, the outgoing chief executive of Formula 1, has revealed that the motor-racing series has held talks with retail giant Amazon over a potential streaming rights deal
Sport1 picks up rights to DTM support series
German sports broadcaster Sport1 has acquired rights to the DTM Trophy, the support series for the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, the German touring car property
Globo ends legal battle with Turner over football rights, ‘nears’ F1 deal
Brazilian media group Globo and pay-television broadcaster Turner have drawn a line under their legal dispute which had been sparked by the introduction of a controversial media rights measure
Formula E signs TVA Sports rights deal, Extreme E kits out with Moncler
Pay-television broadcaster TVA Sports has agreed a three-year deal to become the exclusive French-language broadcaster of Formula E in Canada
Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing unveils founding commercial partners
23XI Racing, the Nascar Cup Series team co-founded by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, has unveiled the founding commercial partners for its inaugural season in 2021
US investment group to acquire a third of McLaren Racing
MSP Sports Capital will invest $246m (€202.7m) into McLaren Racing for an initial 15-per-cent stake, rising to a maximum 33 per cent by the end of 2022, valuing the UK-based motor-racing team at $740.5m.
SBT and Disney ‘to submit combined bid’ for F1 rights in Brazil
Commercial free-to-air broadcaster SBT and the Disney media group are set to put in a combined bid for rights to Formula One from 2021 in Brazil, following the recent breakdown of the Rio Motorsports proposal
Red Bee provides Extreme E with satellite and digital distribution, OTT platform
Extreme E, the new electric off-road racing series, has engaged media services company Red Bee Media to support its broadcast production worldwide in a technical services role
Chip Ganassi Racing unveils Skillz mobile game app
Motor racing organization Chip Ganassi Racing has partnered with mobile game platform Skillz and game developer Gamie Studios to create a new competitive mobile game called Chip Ganassi Racing Blitz.
WRC launches dedicated channel on Motorsport.tv
World Rally Championship has launched a dedicated channel on Motorsport.tv, the OTT streaming platform operated by digital media group Motorsport Network
BMW becomes latest Formula E founding partner to exit series
BMW has joined fellow German automotive manufacturer Audi in ending its involvement in the Formula E electric car-racing series
Saran Media Group retains F1 to showcase on S Sport in Turkey
Saran Media Group, the Istanbul-based media-rights agency, has retained broadcast rights in Turkey to motor racing’s Formula 1 World Championship until 2023.
Absolute Racing targets Asian F3 push in 2021
Shanghai-based racing team Absolute Racing is planning a multi-car assault for the team’s fourth consecutive season in the F3 Asian Championship.