Formula E News: CMG to air races live in China

Formula E today announced the biggest multi-year media partnership in championship history with Chinese national broadcaster, CMG, airing every race of the season live for the first time.

The blockbuster new deal means all 17 races in Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, starting with the Hankook Mexico City E-Prix on Saturday, 13 January 2024, will be available live on CMG’s CCTV platforms.

Premier sports channels CCTV5 and CCTV5+ will air Formula E races, including the inaugural Shanghai race doubleheader in May. Digital platform Yangshipin will also carry races plus all practice and qualifying sessions.

Jeff Dodds, CEO, Formula E, said:

“This is huge for Formula E as we get ready to race in our biggest season yet. For the first time, every Formula E race will be available live in China on CCTV, the nation’s largest sports platform. We are excited to work with CMG as a major new media partner for Formula E and focus on supercharging our audience growth in China through the coming seasons.”

Formula E will race for the first time at the Shanghai International Circuit with a double-header of races on Saturday, 25 May and Sunday, 26 May 2024. The first-ever Formula E race was held in Beijing on Saturday, 13 September 2014, with Sanya and Hong Kong also hosting a total of seven races in China to date, the most recent in March 2019.

Two Chinese-owned teams compete in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship: Envision Racing and ERT Formula E Team and Chinese fans can follow them on CMG.

Envision Racing won the ABB FIA Formula E Teams’ World Championship last season, and have also appeared in the series since the first event in Beijing where they originally competed as Virgin Racing Formula E Team.

ERT Formula E Team has also competed in the championship since the very first race in Beijing, originally under the name China Racing Formula E Team.

Formula E races on CCTV platforms in Season 10:

After the season-opener in Mexico City on Saturday, 13 January 2024 comes the first doubleheader of Season 10 and the only night races under lights – innovative, sustainable LED lighting – from the street circuit surrounding the UNESCO World Heritage site in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

Next stop is the intensely challenging street track in Hyderabad, India, before a return to the carnival atmosphere of São Paulo, Brazil.

Formula E will make history with Round 6 on Saturday, 30 March when it becomes the first motorsport world championship to race on the streets of Tokyo.

After that is another visually exotic new venue for TV viewers with a doubleheader race weekend on the track in Misano, Italy, on the northern Adriatic coast, of course to be shown on CMG.

The spiritual home of motorsport, Monaco, is the next stop before the season builds to a climax with four consecutive doubleheader race weekends where the world title storyline is sure to twist and turn with every race.

Berlin is first up, with a brand-new track layout and maintaining its record as the only city to host Formula E racing in all ten seasons.

The showpiece Shanghai event follows, with a doubleheader of races marking Formula E’s first visit to the city.

Portland, Oregon, is the next stop with the 22 drivers getting two races to try to beat the record of 403 race overtakes from last season’s Portland event.

Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship concludes in London on the weekend of Saturday, 20 July and Sunday, 21 July – perfectly situated for sports fans on the weekend between the UEFA EURO 2024 final and the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Friday, 26 July.

Last season, both the Drivers’ and Teams’ world championship titles were decided on the final weekend of the season, with four drivers in with a chance of winning the coveted crown. Britain’s Jake Dennis was the ultimate warrior, claiming his first world championship, racing for the Andretti Formula E team.