ITV Agrees New British Touring Car Championship Broadcast Deal

March 21, 2013

British broadcaster, there ITV will continue to broadcast live free-to-air television coverage of the MSA British Touring Car Championship until at least 2017.

With one year of the current agreement remaining a new three-year addition to the existing partnership has now been signed. 

The 60-minute race highlights programmes will  continue on ITV, ITV HD, ITV4 and ITV4 HD in the week following each live event. These will be repeated three times and are also available to view for 30 days after broadcast via the online ITV Player. The itv.com website will again include live streaming of the Saturday afternoon qualifying session and will have a comprehensive catalogue of race highlights available throughout the season.

BTCC Series Director Alan Gow said: “ITV’s commitment to the BTCC is unrivalled in British motor sport. I’m absolutely delighted to have signed this new contract, which maintains the same vast level of free-to-air coverage the series currently enjoys until at least 2017.

“The determination from both parties to finalise this deal, more than a year before the expiration of our current contract, is testament to the strength and huge appeal of the BTCC. Many of our teams have been able to sign long-term deals with partners during what’s become a record-breaking age for the BTCC and this new broadcasting agreement will enable them to further build for the future.

“ITV’s commitment means that more than 230 hours of each BTCC season will be broadcast… and, of course, a great many more hours if we include ITV’s ‘+1 hour’ rebroadcast stations to those figures. This new deal further validates the unrivalled popularity and strength of the BTCC and our incredibly strong relationship with ITV is something that I’m immensely proud of.”

Niall Sloane, Director of Sport at ITV said: “The British Touring Car Championship has been a hit with viewers on ITV4, and ITV Sport is delighted to have secured the rights until at least the end of the 2016 season. We look forward to more great racing and stories in the years to come as the BTCC continues to evolve.”