BT, KSA sign up for Extreme E
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Editor
| 21 March 2021
Less than a fortnight before the electric race series makes its debut in Saudi Arabia, UK pay-TV channel BT Sport and Saudi Arabia’s leading TV sports network, KSA Sports, have been added to the live event’s broadcast portfolio.
BT KSA Credit ExtremeE 21 March 2021
The series will feature electric SUVs competing in extreme environments around the world – in Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Greenland, Brazil and Patagonia, places which have all been affected by the climate crisis - and is geared towards highlighting the impact of climate change and human interference in some of the most remote parts of the world. As well as highlighting a variety of environmental issues including, desertification, rising sea levels, glacier retreat, deforestation and ice melt, the series hopes to raise awareness of the climate emergency by mixing sport with purpose to inspire change.

Extreme E aims to leave behind a long-lasting positive impact through its legacy programmes and showcase the performance of all-electric vehicles in extreme conditions, promoting their adoption of electric vehicles in the quest for a lower carbon future for the planet. Some of the biggest names in motorsport have founded teams including Formula One World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg with teams X44 and Rosberg X Racing respectively. Fellow Formula One star Jenson Button has not only founded a team – JBXE – but will also be behind the wheel. Teams will be gender balanced.

Following the inaugural race in Saudi Arabia (3-4 April), the series will visit Senegal (29-30 May), Greenland (28-29 August), Brazil (23-24 October) and Patagonia (11-12 December). By holding races in areas that are suffering at the hands of the environmental crisis, such as tropical rainforests and the Arctic, the aim is to raise viewers' awareness and interest in environmental issues. Nine teams are confirmed to compete at Extreme E’s opening round in the deserts of Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. Extreme E’s mission to ‘race without a trace’ and minimise local impact, means the evert will not be open to spectators, with fans instead invited to follow the action through the live TV broadcast and on social media.

In the UK segment of the latest in the broadcast partnerships, BT Sport will air all five of this year’s X Prix live in-full as well as the championship’s race highlights on-demand, beginning with live coverage of the Desert X Prix from Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, on 4 April. In addition to the live action, BT Sport viewers will also be able to access Extreme E’s regular ‘Magazine’ show – an insightful behind-the-scenes look at the people and science surrounding this unique ‘sport for purpose’ series.

“Sports broadcasting, like every industry, has a part to play in climate change and our coverage of Extreme E will be a constructive step in highlighting positive environmental messages to our customers,” said Simon Green, head of BT Sport, commenting on gaining rights to broadcast the series. “I know how important this is as part of BT’s ongoing efforts to become a net zero carbon business by 2045 and for BT Sport to become one of the greenest broadcasters in the UK.”
Extreme E also becomes the latest motorsport event to be broadcast by KSA Sports, which will broadcast live all five of the brand-new FIA-endorsed rallies as they take place over the course of the year. The new series follows in the footsteps of F1, the Dakar Rally and Formula E for the broadcaster.

“The support given by KSA Sports has been the driving force in allowing us to grow motorsports across the Kingdom to this point,” said Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) which is co-organising the debut race in Saudi Arabia. “It is to our immense delight that they have chosen to continue to back our events with the agreement to broadcast next month’s Al Ula Extreme E X Prix and the season thereafter, which itself marks a new dawn for motorsports on a global scale.”