International sports broadcaster Eurosport has agreed a four-season extension to its rights deal with the World Endurance Championship and the motor racing series’ flagship race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The new agreement begins next year and runs until 2020. Eurosport has agreed extended rights to show the 24 Hours of Le Mans exclusively in Europe, outside of free-to-air general entertainment channels. It will also present the race across Asia-Pacific and additional races on the WEC calendar across both regions on a non-exclusive basis.
Eurosport has been a long standing rights holder of 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is operated by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. ACO also serves as promoter of the WEC.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans and the remaining eight rounds of the WEC calendar each year will continue to be available across multiple Eurosport platforms, including television channels and Eurosport Player, the live and on-demand digital sport platform. As well as live race coverage, Eurosport Player is set to continue to carry a range of additional content, such as on-board camera feeds.
Pierre Fillon, president of the ACO, said: “We’re very focused on developing TV coverage of the Le Mans 24 Hours and the FIA WEC, and we gave an undertaking to our partners to achieve this. This new agreement confirms our determination. It will strengthen our positioning and result in the enhanced broadcasting of our world championship events and the flagship race, the Le Mans 24 Hours, across Europe and Asia-Pacific.”
The partnership was brokered by the Infront Sports & Media agency, the exclusive media rights partner of the ACO and WEC.