07/07/2020
NEWS STORY
Red Bull-owned ServusTV has agreed a three-year deal that will see it share free-to-air broadcasting of F1 in Austria with ORF.
From 2021, ServusTV and ORF will split the broadcasting of free-to-air F1 across both stations, with the exact split of races to be decided on and announced before the start of each season.
The only exception to the split will be that both stations will broadcast the Austrian Grand Prix live.
In addition to the live broadcasting rights, the license package includes detailed highlight summaries as well as the rights for online and mobile.
Following its recent acquisition of rights including, UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League, the new partnership with Formula 1 is a huge step towards the best sports programming on Red Bull-owned ServusTV.
"After the historic season opener at the Red Bull Ring, I am especially pleased that next year we will be broadcasting the Austrian Grand Prix for the first time and many more races live on ServusTV!" said ServusTV Director General Dr. Ferdinand Wegscheider. "The new agreement with the Formula 1 fills us with pride and we will do our utmost to write another success story in Austrian motorsport coverage, parallel to MotoGP.
"With Formula 1, MotoGP and the Superbike World Championship, ServusTV will offer the best live motorsport program to viewers from 2021 onward. The cooperation with ORF makes sense economically and guarantees that Formula One fans have access to all races live on free-TV."
"We are delighted to have concluded this new and unique agreement," said Ian Holmes, Director of Media Rights Formula 1. "F1's loyal fans will be able to enjoy the best of both worlds with comprehensive live and delayed coverage shared between the two-leading free-to-air platforms in Austria. I am sure Formula 1 will benefit from ServusTV's extraordinary energy, style and enthusiasm which will perfectly complement ORF's hugely popular, knowledgeable, and respected production. We look forward to welcoming ServusTV and continuing our on-going relationship with ORF."
These are economically challenging times also for ORF," added ORF Director General Dr. Alexander Wrabetz, "and with the acquisition of the live broadcasting rights of the current Bundesliga season and the UEFA Europa League, ORF was recently able to secure free-TV rights that are equally important for sports and sports fans. ORF has already cooperated with domestic private broadcasters in the past, for example in the case of football rights.
"Although the agreement with shared broadcasting rights is a novelty, this cooperation guarantees that Formula 1 will also remain an integral part of ORF's TV program in the coming years - while at the same time complying with economic requirements. And that is good news for all motor sports fans in Austria."