Cycling’s Hammer Series has agreed deals with social media platforms Facebook and Twitter, along with video-sharing service Dailymotion, to live stream its entire 2018 season free of charge.
Created by the Infront agency and the Velon media and marketing body of pro cycling teams, the Hammer Series debuted with one event last year in Limburg in the Netherlands.
Organisers claim that more than three million cycling fans watched the racing online last year, including 1.4 million on Facebook for the inaugural event live from Limburg.
A new Hong Kong event announced earlier this month will make its Hammer Series debut on October 14 while a race in Stavanger, Norway, is scheduled to open the 2018 season on May 25-27. The Series will return to Limburg on June 1-3.
Mark Buttermann, director of summer sports at Infront, said: “After a very successful digital-first approach for the inaugural race in 2017, being able to live stream all three races of the Hammer Series in 2018 across the leading social platforms represents a major milestone for us and perfectly reflects the digital essence of Infront's and Velon's project.
“This will enable Hammer Series to engage with even more fans and provide them with live thrilling content and data for free on any device, anywhere and at any time.”