Velocity to become FIA WEC North American broadcast partner
The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) has confirmed a new long-term broadcast partnership with American cable and satellite TV giant, Velocity.
Part of Discovery Inc, and specializing in automotive programming, the agreement gives Velocity and Motor Trend the right to show live coverage in the USA and Canada of all qualifying sessions and races from the world’s leading endurance racing series which includes the prestigious and globally recognized 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Coverage, which will be in association with Discovery Inc-owned Eurosport, begins from the season-opening Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on 4-5 May.
Velocity will broadcast live coverage during the 2018-2019 Super Season, with the action available across the channels, as well as Motor Trend’s mobile app and its website. Aimed primarily at an "upscale male" audience, the network focuses on automotive-oriented programming and other shows of interest to its viewership, very much in line with the target audience of the WEC and its partners.
Gérard Neveu, CEO of the FIA World Endurance Championship: “We are very happy to have reached this agreement with Velocity, a channel which is available to more than half the households throughout the USA. The USA is a key market for the WEC and over 65 million people will now have access to it, offering our sport of endurance racing an extraordinary opportunity to engage with mass audiences.”
Robert S. Scanlon, President of Velocity and TEN Video Content: “Without question the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the most iconic auto racing event in the world. Eurosport produces world-class live coverage of the event every year. Nowhere else in the U.S. or Canada can fans access their best-in-class coverage, and get a broader, richer Le Mans experience than with Velocity on television, MotorTrend.com online and the Motor Trend app on connected devices.”