E1 Series agrees three-race broadcast deal with DAZN

E1 Series has signed an international broadcast partnership with sports streaming service DAZN.

Contract:

• Deal runs until the end of the current season, starting from the race in Monaco next month
• Action from the electric powerboat racing championship will be available as part of the platform’s free tier
• The rights cover markets such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Japan and Southeast Asia

Context:

After a flurry of broadcast deals at the start of the season covering Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and MENA, E1 Series has struggled to keep up that momentum. While this new contract seems promising on the surface, it is only in place until the end of this season.

DAZN is evidently not totally sold on E1 yet, so this will act as a trial run for the innovative championship. As a new series, being broadcast on the platform’s free tier is crucial for building an audience. If successful, then DAZN may look to revisit this media rights contract with more concrete terms in the future.

The freemium offering from DAZN already has select content from the World Rally Championship (WRC) as part of an eight-year media rights deal, so the platform is clearly trying to beef out its motorsport content. 

Comment:

Rodi Basso, chief executive of E1 Series, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with such an innovative and world leading sports entertainment organisation in DAZN, in our first ever season.  

“It’s a credit to our new and innovative approach to racing on water, and the way we combine state-of-the-art technology together with sporting jeopardy to create an exciting and unique experience to sports and entertainment fans around the world.” 

Coming next:

With E1 Series visiting Geneva for its next round from 29th to 30th June, the new broadcast deal with DAZN will not come into effect until the race in Monaco from 26th to 27th July. It will then cover the remaining two races of the season in Rotterdam (7th to 8th September) and Hong Kong (9th to 10th November).

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