UK pay-television operator Virgin Media will broadcast live coverage of tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) Mexican leg of the Formula E electric car-racing championship.
The Mexico City ePrix will mark the first time a Formula E event has been staged in Mexico and will be available for free to all Virgin Media subscribers on channel 996.
The race, which starts at around 10pm GMT, will also be streamed live in the UK via video-sharing websites YouTube and Dailymotion, as well as on the official Formula E mobile application and website. Earlier this week, pay-television broadcaster BT Sport expanded its rights deal to also show live coverage of the race.
David Bouchier, chief digital entertainment officer at Virgin Media, said: “We’ve taken the opportunity to cover not only the ePrix itself but also, for the first time, Formula E fans will be able to watch all the day’s action from Mexico City, starting with the first practice session. We know Formula E has a passionate and growing fan base in the UK, and we are delighted to offer extended coverage to Virgin Media subscribers.”
Commercial broadcaster ITV, which holds the live rights to Formula E in the UK, stated last month that it wouldn’t be providing live coverage of the Mexico City ePrix on its ITV4 and ITV4 HD channels due to a scheduling clash with the semi-final of the Snooker World Grand Prix. ITV will instead show delayed coverage of the race and a highlights programme on Sunday.
The Mexico City ePrix – the fifth round of the 2016 Formula E season – will take place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit.