WRC Promotor set to launch new OTT and linear TV channel for rally fans with Rally.TV this summer
WRC Promotor is bringing together its three properties – WRC, ERC and World RX – together into a 24/7 TV and OTT channel, Rally TV. Rally Finland 2021 bought stunning pictures to viewers almost from the Arctic, in Rovaniemi in the absolute north of the country
Rally fans are set to have access to more rally action than ever before thanks to Rally.TV, a new development set to break cover in mid-summer 2023 from World Rally Championship (WRC) Promoter.
An evolution of the hugely successful WRC+ platform from WRC, the new Rally.TV will become the new home of rally. It will feature an over the top (OTT) version that will be available on an app set to launch later this summer, as well as a linear TV version that will appear on rights holder properties, to be announced in coming months.
Subscribers will be able to catch every second of action from the WRC, European Rally Championship (ERC) and World Rallycross Championship (World RX) all in one brand-new app, live and on demand, enjoy non-stop action with the 24/7 channel, and dive into an unmatched motorsport experience with all the latest features.
Speaking exclusively to SVG Europe about the new TV and OTT channel, Florian Ruth, WRC Promoter senior director for content and communication, said: “Now we’re overseeing those championships we’ve rolled out a similar content strategy with our all live product. We built OTT platforms for each individual product. So we had, compared to our WRC+ offering for the WRC, the ERC+ offering for the European Rally Championship and the RX+ for the World Rallycross. But as we started to build up the platforms, we actually realised that with the amount of content we have of up to 600 hours live during a year, that we need to combine it into one app for a fantastic experience.
“So all of our three different championship apps will merge into one app, and we call it Rally TV. And not only will all those offers merge into one app, but we have started a linear 24/7 TV channel called Rally TV. So all our offerings – all the live events, all the live hours, all the highlights, all the history – this all will be shown in a 24/7 linear channel called Rally TV.”
While the Rally TV 24/7 linear channel is now available on the separate championship apps, the new app combining all the WRC Promoter properties will be launched this summer, with WRC Promotor partner Comcast.
“We have a different distribution for the Rally TV channel itself,” Ruth continues. “I cannot say too much about this yet, but we will launch it on various other platforms. There are various models where we have Rally TV windows on existing channels with partners who have the Rally TV channel in their offering, but also we will launch some fast channels.”
WRC Promotor became the rights holder for World RX in 2021, taking over from IMG, and the FIA agreed it would take over the ERC from Discovery in 2022.