Eleven Sports acquires DTM rights in Poland and Belgium, Kubica set to race

International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports has secured rights to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) touring cars series in Poland and Belgium.

Eleven has agreed deals in Poland, covering the 2020 and 2021 seasons, and in Belgium, covering the 2020 season, with DTM’s umbrella organisation ITR.

The 2020 season is scheduled to start on July 11, with race organisers stating that they will be “taking a flexible and pragmatic approach to scheduling to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved”.

Popular Polish driver Robert Kubica, who previously raced in the  Formula 1 motor racing series, is set to compete in the 2020 DTM season.

Danny Menken, Eleven’s group managing director, said: “DTM is a much-loved racing series and will be a great addition for our motorsports fans in Poland and Belgium. In Poland, our viewers will have the chance to continue to follow a national hero in Robert Kubica while DTM will be something new and a bit different for our subscribers in Belgium. We’re excited to get going.”

The deal is an addition to Eleven’s motor sports coverage in Poland. It has held rights to F1 since 2016, with its most recent deal running from 2020 to 2022. It also currently holds rights to the Speedway Ekstraliga, the top-tier motorcycle speedway in Poland. Both properties are currently postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eleven Sports in Poland is 99.9-per-cent owned by the Polish media company Telewizja Polsat, after it acquired all but one share from parent company Aser last year.

Late last year, German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 renewed its domestic rights deal with ITR for a further two-seasons until the end of 2021.