Exclusive: Formula E on backing the “engine room” of free-to-air

Formula E VP of media Jonathan Salt has told Broadcast Sport that the racing series is keen to continue its strategy of free-to-air broadcast partners. 

Speaking as the compeitition celebrated a record 561 million viewers globally for its season 11, Salt said, “Broadcasters are so important for reach and performance,” adding that, “We want to be in the big shop window,” and, “Our broadcasters are the biggest microphone for the championship.”

In particular, free-to-air broadcasters are, “the engine room for sponsors, partners, and host cities.”

Formula E has seen particuarly strong growth in the UK, where it is shown by ITV and TNT Sports. Season 11 had a 41% year-on-year cumulative audience increase for Formula E-related coverage on the last campaign, according to the data collected by Kantar, and the UK is part of four, “tier one” territories for the sport, alongside the US, China and Germany. 

While Salt said, “Live races are the pinnacle of our sport,” content around those has helped with these numbers, and he believes the bespoke highlights shown by ITV on Mondays after race weekends are, “working well.” He added that the aim is for, “people to consume Formula E 365 days of the year, whatever format that’s in,” taking inspiration from the, “innovative, personality led content,” of the Baller League and the way Fox Sports and IndyCar have promoted their drivers in recent seasons. He is also keen for the sport to, “break into other programmes.”

This strategy will continue, with D2C, “not something that would move the needle for [Formula E].” For the UK specifically, Formula E could look to repeat its strategy of partnering with local publications to promote broadcast coverage, as it has already done in Germany, Italy, and India. Salt said, “We want to create more content with partners to grow the sport and reach new audiences,” and, “the UK is a great place to do this too.”