The 94th edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo is set to start the 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC) season with a roar. The legendary route blends alpine endurance with a rare urban spectacle. Rallye Monte-Carlo 2026 [22 to 25 January 2026] is set in the dramatic scenery of the high-altitude hub of Gap.
With a route spanning 17 stages and over 339 kilometres, crews face a relentless mix of dry tarmac, slush, sheet ice, and snow, often all within a single ten-minute window.
WRC is producing the world feed for its rights holding broadcasters, as well as Rally.TV+, its streaming platform, with its long-time technical services partner, NEP Finland.
While WRC is planning a host of new broadcast innovations to accompany the launch of the new generation of cars that will hit the dirt in 12 months’ time, the 2026 season is not completely bereft of inspiration.
Florian Ruth, WRC Promoter’s senior director content and communication, tells SVG Europe: “Next year there will be some major changes for the broadcast, while this year is a bit of a transition year for the broadcast. It’s the last year of the current generation of cars, so therefore we didn’t change, for example, the TV graphics as that is what we’re aiming to change for next year, but we have one major change this year; a technical format change. We’re switching from 1080i to 1080p.”
Massive change
He goes onto to explain why WRC has decided to improve the quality of its broadcasts now: “It’s a little step, but it’s a massive step in terms of quality of our broadcast. We are actually increasing the quality of the broadcast for our fans, for our viewers all around the world. This will be very visible [in the broadcast], especially [on the footage from] the onboards.
“All our onboard cameras are natively 1080p, so what we’ve been doing is down-converting all our content, not only from the onboard cameras, but also for example, from our heli footage. So we will have less conversion and a higher quality. This will be recognisable on the broadcast from the first stage onwards this season, where we will offer our feed in a higher quality for our fans.”
The location of the WRC rallies is the reason this step change has taken time, and also why the promotor is not pushing for 4K. Explains Ruth: “A lot of championships and sports are discussing the quality and a lot of championships have gone to 4K, which for us on the way how we produce and for the remoteness of our events, is just not possible. So we discussed a lot what would make sense for us, and 1080p is for us at the moment the best possible quality output that we can provide.”
Ruth notes the step forwards has meant a lot of changes for both WRC and for its partners on the broadcast: NEP Finland, Tata Communications, and SES.
He says: “That’s quite a massive change in the production. It took quite a long time to get to this point, but also to prepare our broadcasters for this, and to prepare all our channels for this. Right now as we speak, we’re doing a test with all our broadcasters. So we’re doing test feeds so that all our takers are prepared for next week,” Ruth says, speaking one week before the event.
Monaco will be the first time that WRC goes live with 1080p. Ruth comments: “The files and the volume and the quality is just so much higher when you switch the broadcast from 1080i to 1080p. We were on 1080i for a long time just because of the circumstances and the surroundings at the rallies, which are such remote areas to get the signals out of, and so on. But now we have found a good technical concept and we’re confident that we can push out the higher quality.
“We are increasing the bandwidth with our partners; it starts with our technical provider, NEP, upgrading all their facilities to 1080p, and with our connectivity partner Tata Communications, so we need bigger fibre, but also with our satellite distributors, SES, because also there, we’re switching the capacity. So we are increasing and we are investing in transportation and in capacity for our viewers. It’s a joint effort from us with all our partners.”
The investment in 1080p will also make a difference to WRC’s social media output, increasing the quality for fans watching clips. Ruth adds: “All of all our clips and so on will be just more crisp, more sharp, and even more spectacular than what we’ve had before.”
Fever pitch
Rallye Monte-Carlo is going to be present in Monte-Carlo itself more than ever this coming weekend. The race will be in the city streets on Thursday for the opening ceremony on Saturday for a Super Special Stage, and again on Sunday for the Prize-Giving Ceremony.
Says Ruth: “We have quite a spectacular Thursday ahead of us, with three stages on Thursday after the ceremonial start. What is just historically so spectacular is always the first night stage in Monaco, in Monte Carlo. There will be thousands of fans. It’s a massive spectacle. It’s all the fans with the flares and fireworks and creating this absolute spectacle on Thursday night, and obviously we want to broadcast this and bring it to our viewers at home.”
The Super Special Stage in Monaco Harbour is a co-production between WRC Promotor and Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) TV.
The production consists of:
- 11 x traditional cameras (including ultra motion)
- 2 x mini cameras (for immersive and specific angles in chicanes)
- 2 x drones (serial and FPV shots)
- 1 x stop line interview camera
The production in the heart of Monte Carlo will utilise many of the Formula 1 Grand Prix camera positions. Notes Ruth: “We’re using a lot of positions from the Grand Prix when they produce the Formula One there. Obviously this part is part of the Formula One track, so there are few, especially the high camera positions, but also with the drones and so on, we can really capture nicely the harbour and the flare of Monaco.”
The drama will reach a fever pitch on Saturday evening as WRC returns to the streets of the Principality for a competitive Super Special Stage around Port Hercule, which will mark the first time the sound of WRC engines have echoed off the harbour walls in competition since 2008.
Comments Ruth: “The other new thing is that on Saturday we go in the evening back to Monaco Harbour, back to the heart of Monaco with a Super Special Stage right on the harbour. This will be spectacular because we really bring the rally back into the town, not only with the ceremonial start and the podium as we used to do, but with a full super special stage right in the heart of Monaco Harbour.”
Super Special Stages are still full competition stages, but they showcase the sport for fans on site as well as those at home. WRC will carry out the Super Special Stage as a co-production with Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) TV.
Says Ruth: “We will have 12 or 13 cameras plus two drones for the super special stage. So a really, really nice co-production with ACM TV and its team whom we’re producing with.”
On the final day of the Monaco Rally, the cars return to Monte Carlo, “On Sunday, we have another four stages before the rally concludes in Monaco with the podium again. The Power Stage always finishes with the famous Col de Turini, one of the most famous and iconic mountain passes in the world.” Col de Turini is renowned as a premier stage of the Rallye Monte-Carlo.
The Automobile Club de Monaco will also be broadcasting the Rally Start Ceremony live online from the Place du Casino in Monaco, as well as the Prize-Giving Ceremony. These events will be broadcast on the ACM Facebook and YouTube pages and on the ACM website. Meanwhile, for WRC enthusiasts looking for a more immersive experience, subscribing to the official Rally.TV platform is a must.
