W Series Announces New USA Broadcast Partnership With ESPN
May 9, 2022
W Series will include ten races at eight Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends in 2022, and ESPN will broadcast live coverage of all qualifying and race sessions across their portfolio of channels, including ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPNEWS.
W Series’ 2022 season began with a double-header in Miami, Florida, this weekend (6-8 May). They were the first of three W Series races in the USA this year, as the Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, will stage the penultimate race of season three in October. That follows W Series’ highly-acclaimed debut in the USA last October when Jamie Chadwick became a two-time W Series champion in front of a record 400,000 fans across the weekend.
ESPN, Inc. is the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment brand featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets. Formula 1 races have aired in the USA on ESPN and its affiliated networks since 2018.
Catherine Bond Muir (Chief Executive Officer, W Series) said:
“W Series is building great momentum in the USA following the incredible finish to last season at COTA where our women drivers showcased their skills in front of a record crowd. As a result of that, we will stage three races in the USA this year, starting with a double-header in Miami this weekend.
“W Series Miami presented by Hard Rock will be the biggest event we’ve ever staged, and I am delighted that ESPN – with its reputation as the leader in sports broadcasting in the US, and who has done such a good job of promoting motorsport, and particularly Formula 1, in North America – will broadcast live coverage of all W Series races this year. I hope that the USA will become our largest market, and ESPN is a great step towards making that happen by helping us reach new audiences.”