German sports broadcaster Sport1 has acquired rights to motor-racing series the World Endurance Championship.
Under the agreement, Sport1’s free-to-air channel will broadcast live coverage and highlights of all races and qualifying sessions during the 2017 WEC season, with the exception of the 24 Hours of Le Mans event in France.
Full streams will also be provided on the broadcaster’s website, alongside selected broadcasts on its pay-television channel, Sport1+. Coverage will also include circuit presentations, driver analysis, podium coverage and interviews.
In addition, highlights and clips from all races will be made available on Sport1’s website, apps and social media channels.
The agreement was brokered by the Infront Sports & Media agency, which handles worldwide media rights distribution for the series.
Gérard Neveu, chief executive of the World Endurance Championship, said: “As our visits to the Nürburgring in 2015 and 2016 have shown, there is a strong following for endurance racing and – within our WEC family – we have not only famous German manufacturers but also other global brands with a powerful presence in the country. We are delighted about this TV partnership, and look forward to working with the channel to expose the WEC for a fascinating 2017 season.”
The 2017 WEC season gets underway on April 16 with the 6 Hours of Silverstone event in England. Germany will stage its event, the 6 Hours of Nürburgring, on July 16.