Roku and Formula E Bet Big On a New Type of Sports Rights Deal

Usually when you turn to a TV channel or streaming platform that has a live sporting event, they won’t point you in the direction of another rightsholder. After all, why secure exclusive rights if you can’t hoard them for your own platform? and Formula E are taking an entirely different approach for their , which kicks off Jan.

13 from Mexico City. It is a significant partnership, marking Roku’s first ever exclusive live rights, and giving Formula E, a fast growing electric racing circuit, a massive streaming platform as it seeks to expand in the U.S. Roku, of course, is also an aggregator of content — including sports, via its sports hub — and in an unusual move for streaming services, in addition to streaming its own races live, it will actively promote races from Formula E’s other U.S.

broadcast partner: CBS and Paramount+. “From a viewers perspective, there’s one destination you can come to and always find the races, always find the content regardless of where it’s airing,” says Joe Franzetta, head of sports for Roku Media. “The challenge for us in the [U.S.] market was fragmentation, which was fans watching races on network and then dipping out and then not finding Formula E,” adds Aarti Dabas, Formula E’s chief media officer.

“So for us, it’s solving the fragmentation problem, but it’s also offering fans an immersive experience taking them deeper into the sport, which is what we wanted to do.” Roku is creating a Formula E zone that will feature the live races, as well as shoulder programming like its behind the scenes series , race replays, and ultimately new programming, including a Roku exclusive called , which will be produced at each leg of the championship, with new episodes dropping about 24 hour after the race.

“It’s going to be with an American host [Georgia Henneberry] and she is holding a Roku mic with a Roku and Formula E mic flag,” Franzetta says. “I mean, it’s a bespoke, custom, per event show that is designed to really speak to the American audience.” It’s all part of a strategy to help grow the sport in the U.S., where racing is popular, but with international racing circuits (Formula 1 being the most famous) still finding an audience.

And Roku and Formula E are also betting that Recharge and Unplugged can further grow the sport. “I think the way has really sort of turn Formula 1 around and it’s purely because they get to see the backstage stuff, they get to see the driver personalities more,” says Jake Dennis, a driver for Andretti Formula E and the defending champion.

“You know, they are fans at heart and they do enjoy the racing but when they connect with the driver better, it’s always going to promote more interest, more exposure and more people returning to watch the sport.” “[The U.S. is] a really critical market for us, and you can see it’s a motorsports market,” adds Dabas.

“We still have the reach of CBS, but then we have the depth of what Roku can offer as well, helping us engage our audiences better and grow them as well, coming in through the new shows, so it was really important that everybody found that one place so once a fan starts watching on Roku, they can continue watching on Roku for the whole season.” Formula E is in some ways the ideal sport for Roku to launch with.

It has a built in fanbase, but has lots of room to grow in the U.S. There’s another rights partner that Roku can help funnel viewers towards when they have their races, and the races themselves are compact and short, at least compared to some other live sports events. “You know these races are 45 minutes long, so it’s super short and sweet,” Dennis says.

“They don’t take up your whole day, and they are action packed with excitement. You know, the day is pretty full on, you’ve got two practice sessions, qualifying, and a race. So for the fan engagement is really good, they’re never really sat around, not doing too much.” And for Roku, Formula E can also operate as a test lab, a place to enhance the live sports experience and perhaps show some other leagues and circuits what the streaming platform is capable of.

“Not only does this mark our first live sports package — which is an exciting milestone for us — but it also shows how we can work with partners to really sort of build the best overall experience for our users, for our partners, for our sponsorship partners,” Franzetta says. “At the end of the day, we can create an always on experience, right? It’s not just the live races and the practice and qualifying sessions.

It’s an immersive experience that we can build.” THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day More from The Hollywood Reporter.