World RX live on free-to-air TV in UK & Ireland
The FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy and operated by IMG, will be broadcast live and in full for the first time on free-to-air television in the UK and Ireland in 2016. Quest has secured a deal to broadcast all 12 Championship rounds live on Sunday afternoons. In addition, the highlights show will be available to watch on ITV4 the following Tuesday evening and on Eurosport.
Last year Quest broadcast the highlights on Monday evenings with the final round in Argentina shown live on the channel. ITV4 – part of the ITV network – has not shown rallycross previously but has agreed to air World RX Championship highlights at 8pm on Tuesday evenings. Eurosport has committed to broadcast World RX highlights for the third year in a row.
Quest is available on Freeview channel 37, Sky on 144 or Virgin on 172. ITV4 can be viewed on Freeview channel 24. Eurosport 1 is available on Sky channel 410, Virgin Media 511 and BT TV 412. Eurosport 2 is on Sky channel 411, Virgin Media 525 and BT TV 413.
Simon Downing, SVP Head of Channel Quest, commented: “It is incredibly exciting to bring live coverage of the entire World RX season to Quest in 2016. The championship has proved increasingly popular with our viewers. Adding comprehensive coverage of all the action this year ignites our sports offering yet further.”
Niall Sloane, ITV’s Head of Sport, added: “Bringing the best of the FIA World Rallycross Championship action to our viewers free to air in a lively highlights show is another exciting addition to our portfolio of motorsports on ITV4.”
Paul Bellamy, World RX Managing Director for IMG, concluded: “We are delighted that two separate broadcasters are taking our rallycross coverage in 2016 – the appetite for free-to-air broadcasters who are keen to televise our sport is clearly growing. Having had a regular highlights slot on Quest last year, we were pleased to see the growth in viewing figures as the season progressed. To have ITV4 and Eurosport take our highlights package is excellent as it allows fans to watch delayed coverage if they miss the live broadcast. Swedish public service broadcaster SVT has already committed to showing World RX live and it’s fantastic that the UK and Ireland have now followed suit and are also showing rallycross on free to air TV. We expect to announce some more terrestrial TV deals in the upcoming months.”
