CBS and the sailboat racing circuit SailGP have reached a record-setting media rights extension, the league announced Tuesday.
Per release, CBS will broadcast 12 races throughout the season on the CBS broadcast channel, starting Saturday with the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix at 2:30 p.m. ET. An additional three races in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York will air coverage on the CBS Sports Network cable channel.
CBS has aired the racing circuit since 2019. The new deal will feature 54 hours of coverage across CBS Sports platforms, a record for the property.
The SailGP and CBS partnership is unique in the sense that most races will not air live. For instance, the race in Dubai that is airing on Saturday took place last month. However, this allows CBS the flexibility to air the circuit on days where it is light on programming, and almost certainly gives SailGP more broadcast exposure than it would have otherwise.
“We are thrilled to make history with the largest-ever U.S. broadcast deal for SailGP as the appetite for the most exciting racing on water continues to grow in the U.S. market,” said Sir Russell Coutts, SailGP Chief Executive Officer in a statement. “Coming off record-breaking audience figures from last season, CBS Sports’ expanded commitment to our league provides another proof point that SailGP is one of the world’s fastest growing sports and entertainment properties.”
“SailGP is high-octane, dynamic racing against the backdrop of the world’s most beautiful vistas,” said CBS Sports VP of programming Greg Trager. “They have a growing fanbase and we look forward to welcoming them back for another exciting season.”
According to the press release, SailGP increased it’s international broadcast audience by 48% last season, reaching 193 million households worldwide. It’s not clear exactly how those figured were measured.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.