The new Promoter of the FIA WRC, Red Bull Media House and the sportsman media group, has confirmed a strong lineup of broadcast partners following the Championship´s first event of the 2013 season - the iconic Rallye Monte Carlo which finished on 20 January.
The World Motor Sports Council announced the identity of the new Promoter in October last year and the joint venture of the two companies has, in a short space of time, secured some impressive worldwide broadcast rights deals. In season 2013 the WRC will visit 13 different countries and the global nature of the Championship is reflected in the broadcast deals already secured.
A preliminary list of broadcast partners published at wrc.com/fanzone reveals that the new season of WRC will be widely available across a blend of free to air and pay television around the world.
Partners in established European markets include Canal +, France Télévisions, TF1 and L´Équipe 21 (France), MTV 3 and YLE (Finland), SVT and Viasat (Scandinavia), Sport TV and RTP (Portugal) and Canal + (Spain), OTE (Greece), Rai, Sportitalia and Canale Italia (Italy) and RTBF (Belgium). At a time when Volkswagen has re-entered WRC, free-to-air agreements have been concluded in Germany with Sport1, Servus TV, RTL and n-tv. Extensive TV coverage is also available in the Republic of Ireland, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Wales with further deals still to be announced.
In Central and South America, Fox Sports will broadcast coverage from the Championship with ESPN having secured the rights in Brazil.
A pan regional deal with ESPN Star Sports will deliver the best of the action to Rally fans in over twenty five Asian territories. Market by market deals are also in place in Japan (J Sports), Malaysia (Astro), Thailand (Truevisions), Australia (Speed) and New Zealand (Sky NZ).
Pan African broadcaster SuperSport continues its long standing relationship with the WRC ensuring coverage across the continent. Additional rights deals are currently being negotiated, including the Middle East and the UK.
In addition, the new Promoter’s innovative plans for digital strategy have delivered immediate results. Figures on wrc.com monitored in the week of Rallye Monte Carlo showed more than 1,1 Mio. visits, nearly 10 Mio. page impressions and an average visit duration of above 10 minutes. Additionally on social media almost a million fans of WRC were actively involved on facebook, YouTube and twitter.
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