Motorsports remains one of the fastest-changing and most progressive segments of the sports industry. It has long been a leader in adopting new technology early on, and this is now being reflected in the partnership between the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and Infront which first started in 2015.
With the introduction of the Hypercar category this season, the series is expected to become more competitive than ever. Indeed, Audi, Ferrari, Peugeot, Cadillac and Porsche have already confirmed their commitment and will be among the contenders together with Alpine, Glickenhaus and Toyota for the victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans centenary edition in 2023. The return of some of the sport’s most celebrated names will bring new attention to races just as motorsport as a whole is experiencing a huge upturn in attention. “This is a very exciting time for endurance racing. We expect epic battles on the track in the years to come and we will be able to tell incredible stories to our fans across the world”, explains Frédéric Lequien, FIA WEC CEO.
As endurance racing will see more manufacturers battling on the track increasing the intensity of the sport, WEC and the ACO hope to be able to share that excitement with a growing number of followers.
In the noisy and disruptive world of content, there is a necessity from sport to increase the volume of interactions with fans on a global scale. Together with WEC and ACO, Infront therefore developed a multi-platform distribution plan in core markets allowing fans to consume action via multiple touchpoints. A good illustration of this is France where fans have been able to access 24 Hours of Le Mans coverage via multiple sources including Discovery-owned channel Eurosport, free-to-air channel L’Équipe, WEC owned-OTT service not to mention the many clips and highlights continuously available on WEC’s social media channels.
Moreover, since taking over the media distribution back in 2015, Infront has gradually extended the geographical reach of WEC by widening the scope of the historical partnership with Discovery and closing numerous agreements with national broadcasters including JSports, SuperSport, L’Équipe, RTL 7 Netherlands, RTL Nitro, TV2 Denmark, Sky New Zealand and many more. As a result, fans across 196 countries have been able to enjoy WEC action on the track this season.
Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), added: “Infront has worked with us on elaborating a strategy that enables us to fully leverage our content offering while always keeping us operationally involved in all decisions and bringing us to the table with broadcasters. We highly value their complete transparency and expertise and are looking forward to the upcoming years together.”
The long-term renewal of the exclusive media rights partnership reflects the trust within the collaboration and the results Infront has achieved. “Both teams have made a superb job in securing extensive media distribution worldwide, including long-term pan-regional as well as multiple single-territory deals while generating strong revenues in the same time. We welcome this extension with WEC and the ACO and have a clear goal in mind for the years to come: make sure the media distribution we deliver for WEC grows together with the sport of endurance”, comments Julien Ternisien, Senior Vice President Summer Sports at Infront.
The 2022 season features six races across three continents, kicking off with the official prologue in Sebring, USA, in March and concluding with the 8 Hours of Bahrain in November. Fans will be able to enjoy the highest level of sportscar racing through a wide-ranging programme including extended live coverage plus race highlights, driver analysis, podium coverage, interviews and more. For more information, see the WEC 2020 Calendar.
The WEC is the premier international sportscar championship in the world, offering motor manufacturers a real-world relevance to advances in road car design and crossover technology, performance and safety. Strong, stable regulations allow for complex yet beautiful sports prototypes featuring the latest in hybrid technology, independent chassis and engines suppliers competing at the highest levels, and the world’s leading luxury car marques going head-to-head in the GT categories. Over 30 cars are on track at the same time, leading to action, excitement, endless passing and entertainment for fans worldwide.
The WEC offers teams, drivers, partners and stakeholders a unique stage on which to compete, at premier race circuits around the world. Ranked alongside the Olympics, the Super Bowl and the soccer World Cup, the cornerstone of the WEC remains one of the world’s greatest sporting events, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Contested over six rounds across Europe, Asia and the Middle East – there are races of varying distances, from the shortest at 6 hours to the longest at 24 hours.