"We were all shocked at how well the car ran today, but I felt like the whole pit crew was really plugged in the whole race."
Yes indeed, the possibilities for spinning clever (to us) imaginary sports cliches based on made-up Formula E electric car racing league driver quotes are seemingly boundless, a chasm as wide as the myriad means and ways a streaming company can legitimately say to the world, "Yeah ... we've gotten into live sports."
On first glance, Roku appears to have done precisely just that ... but Formula E's audience numbers are indeed impressive (more on that further down).
Announcing a deal in collaboration with CBS Sports, Roku is now the exclusive streaming home of Formula E, the world’s first all-electric FIA World Championship motorsports series.
Roku's FAST, the Roku Channel, will starting next year live stream in the U.S. 11 races per season conducted by the London-based Formula E, and classified in what is officially called the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
In addition, CBS Sports also contracted with Formula E to broadcast five races each season, starting in January. Those races will be simulcast on Paramount + With Showtime. Both CBS and Paramount + are, of course, available on the Roku platform.
Roku Channel will also air all kinds of non-live Formula E programming, including race previews and highlights, replays, and a new docuseries called -- wait for it -- Unplugged.
UPDATED: According to a Formula E press rep, the racing series' last season, its eighth, drew a cumulative cross-platform global TV audience of 381 million viewers, with prominent outlets including the BBC factoring in.
Halfway through season 9, Formula E viewership is currently up 7% over season 8 ... which was itself up 20% over season 7.
As you might expect, the rep told us that the Roku deal offers the racing series a unique opportunity to reach younger demos on the top connected TV platform in North America.
And of course, Roku isn't the only streaming company to leverage its way into live sports via auto racing. Netflix made a serious play for the bigger Formula 1 circuit before ESPN/Disney renewed their rights with the series last fall.
“It’s an honor 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,” said David Eilenberg, Roku Media’s head of content, in a statement.
Added Aarti Dabas, Formula E’s chief media officer: “This is a powerful new partnership with CBS and Roku that will dramatically increase Formula E’s audience reach and maximize discoverability of our programming in the USA. We value the strength of our ongoing relationship with CBS and are delighted to join forces with Roku and upercharge Formula E content on their market-leading platform.”
