ITV4 and ITVX are set to carry seven hours of live coverage from each of the 10 race days per season, alongside extensive highlights programmes
TOCA, the organiser of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), has agreed a three-year extension to its broadcast rights deal with ITV.
This extends its UK free-to-air broadcast partnership through to at least the end of the 2029 season.
The new contract starts next year and sees ITV continue to broadcast the BTCC live, free-to-air on ITV4, as well as on ITVX. It will show seven hours of live coverage from each race day.
Every Saturday qualifying session will also continue to be shown live online via the ITV YouTube channel.
Extensive highlights will also remain across ITV4, ITVX and (when schedules permit) ITV1, with all main race day and highlights programming available on-demand via ITVX.
Meanwhile, all day live race-day coverage will continue worldwide via the BTCC YouTube channel, excluding the UK and North America. The BTCC will also share additional video content online, including ‘as live’ race clips being posted across social media.
ITV has aired the BTCC since 2002, with this latest extension taking the partnership to 27 successive years.
ITV will show:
- 10 x 7hr live broadcasts per channel
- 10 x 90min BTCC highlights programmes
- 34 x 60min support race highlights
- UK and global live streaming of BTCC qualifying via YouTube
- Global live-streaming of the full race-day on YouTube (outside of the UK/USA)
Specifically:
- All main race day broadcasts will be shown live on ITV4 and ITVX
- Saturday qualifying streamed live on the ITV YouTube channel
- BTCC highlights will be shown on ITV4, ITVX and (when schedules allow) ITV1
- Support Race highlights will be shown on ITV4
- Full BTCC race day coverage will be available, on demand, on ITVX and ITV Sport YouTube
Niall Sloane, ITV director of sport, said: “This new deal continues our long-standing commitment to broadcast the very best British Touring Car Championship action, free-to-air, for the UK audience on ITV. Our partnership with the BTCC spans nearly three decades and we look forward to the upcoming seasons delivering an extensive package of coverage for our viewers to enjoy across ITV, ITVX and YouTube.”
Alan Gow, BTCC chief executive, added: “I’m extremely pleased and proud to have finalised our new contract with the ITV Network, thus continuing our excellent and continually expansive broadcast partnership for the BTCC and its support championships into an incredible 27th year.
“This new contract underlines my unwavering commitment to continue to keep the BTCC as freely accessible to as many people as possible… rather than for it to be hidden behind a paywall. My policy has always been for the BTCC to have the widest reach achievable, and our long relationship with ITV makes that happen.
“In fact, the BTCC is the only UK motorsport that has live, free-to-air coverage of an entire championship on mainstream linear television… and, thanks to our great partners at ITV, long may that continue.”
No comments yet