US national network CBS will double its coverage of SailGP after expanding its rights deal with the international sailing series ahead of its fourth season.
CBS has held rights to SailGP since its inaugural season in 2019 and its current agreement runs until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
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The broadcaster’s increase in coverage will see 12 dedicated hours aired on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+ streaming platform, doubling the network’s content starting from the upcoming season.
As part of the increase, more than 50 hours of original programming will also be aired across the CBS Television Network.
The expanded coverage comes after last season’s success. The third season of SailGP became the most watched sailing event on US broadcast in more than 30 years, with the France SailGP in Saint-Tropez last October averaging 1.6 million viewers during CBS’ broadcast.
The Spain SailGP on November 13 also averaged 1.6 million viewers, topping the previous record by 27,000 viewers.
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By GlobalDataDan Weinberg, executive vice president of programming at CBS Sports said: “We're very happy with the success of our partnership with SailGP going back to the league's launch. It is an exciting brand of racing that continues to grow and attract fans from all over the world.”
Ben Johnson, senior vice president of strategy and commercial development at SailGP, added: “We are excited to extend our partnership with CBS as we work together to deliver our world-class events to audiences in the United States.
"Evidenced by the record-breaking viewership in season three, the thrilling nature of our stadium-style competition is changing the perception of sailboat racing as we continue to elevate the sport into the mainstream."
The fourth SailGP season started in Chicago on June 16 and 17 with the US round. It continues this weekend (July 22 to 23) with the Los Angeles SailGP that will see 10 national teams race in the Outer Harbor racecourse at the Port of Los Angeles, California.
Last month (June), the series secured rights in New Zealand with Warner Bros. Discovery NZ, which is providing coverage of all 12 SailGP events via its free-to-air channel Three, as well as its streaming platform, ThreeNow.
UK commercial broadcaster ITV also secured rights ahead of the season start, with coverage aired across its ITV1 and IT4 linear channels, with nine events exclusively shown on the ITVX streaming service.
