Indonesian public-service broadcaster TVRI has acquired rights for this year’s inaugural 8 Hours of Sepang motorcycle racing event, in a deal with Eurosport Events, the commercial rights-holder of the FIM Endurance World Championship.
The free-to-air TVRI Sport channel will show live coverage of the Malaysian race from start to finish on the weekend of December 14-15. TVRI will also show delayed coverage of the two remaining European rounds of the 2019-20 FIM EWC, at Le Mans in France on April 18-19 and Oschersleben in Germany on June 6, before showing live coverage of the final round of the championship in Suzuka, Japan on July 19.
Apni Jaya Putra, director of programming and news affairs at TVRI, said: “As the broadest [reaching] TV station in Indonesia, TVRI is very proud to have this partnership with Eurosport Events to broadcast FIM EWC. Indonesia has the biggest [audience of] automotive sports enthusiasts in Asia. Therefore, this cooperation will mutually benefit both parties.”
François Ribeiro, head of Eurosport Events, the promoter of the FIM EWC, said: “This agreement with TVRI is a new and very important step in the growth of the championship, like our partnership with Nippon TV in Japan. TVRI’s broadcast will cover one of the world’s biggest two-wheeler markets, and provide significant visibility in Indonesia. What’s more, the country’s proximity to Malaysia will encourage many fans to travel to Sepang.”