Formula E has announced new broadcast distribution partnerships in the United States that will see races shown to more households than ever before.
The new agreements, which coincide with the start of Season 10 in January 2024, will see five races aired live on CBS Television Network and simulcast on Paramount+. Both channels are already featured prominently within the Roku streaming platform, which will broadcast a total of 11 races across its channels next year.
Those additional races will be available on The Roku Channel, a leader in free ad-supported streaming, and will also be easily accessible through the Sports Experience on Roku’s Home Screen.
Roku is a leader in free ad-supported streaming, counting more than 70 million global active accounts, and is the number one TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico based on hours streamed.
CBS Sports Network will also show one highlights programme per round.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
As revealed by @THR and @SBJ, we are going BIG in the US next season! 🇺🇸
We will have more races on @CBSSports in addition to @Roku signing us for their first live sports rights deal as the streaming home of Formula E 🤝
Great things for Season 10 ⚡️
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) June 27, 2023
In addition to offering streamers the live races, Roku will also bring its audience a robust offering of Formula E library content, including Formula E’s docu-follow series ‘Unplugged’, as well as race previews, highlights, replays of all races and more.
“This is a powerful new partnership with CBS and Roku that will dramatically increase Formula E’s audience reach and maximise discoverability of our programming in the USA,” said Aarti Dabas, Chief Media Officer of Formula E.
“We value the strength of our ongoing relationship with CBS and are delighted to join forces with Roku and supercharge Formula E content on their market-leading platform.”
David Eilenberg, Head of Content, Roku Media, added: “It’s an honour to partner with Formula E on Roku’s first-ever live sports partnership, making it easier for millions of TV streamers to discover the thrill of Formula E races through the unique integrated viewing experiences only available on Roku.
“We look forward to working together with Formula E, as well as our longstanding partners at CBS and Paramount+, to drive viewership to this programming and to connect new audiences with the exhilarating world of Formula E.”
The announcement comes on the back of Saturday’s Portland E-Prix, where over 20,000 fans descended on the Portland International Raceway to see Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy claim victory.
Teammate Sebastien Buemi finished fifth, as Envision moved within six points of the top of the Constructors’ Standings.