The FIA Formula E World Championship has grown its cumulative audience for Season 8 beyond the record-breaking levels achieved in the previous season with a four-way battle for the title, a new qualifying format and a return to racing in Asia contributing to the new highs.
Among a series of broadcast presentation and sporting enhancements introduced for Season 8, a new qualifying format saw all 22 drivers compete in two groups with the top four in each going into a head-to-head knockout ‘Duels’ tournament.
“A first for world motorsport and a popular innovation for fans, the cumulative audience for qualifying increased 49% compared to audiences for the traditional fastest-lap format in Season 7,” said the Formula E in a statement on Thursday.
The biggest-ever Championship calendar of 16 races in 10 cities included a return to Asia with debuts in Jakarta, Indonesia, and a double-header in Seoul, South Korea, to close Season 8. India will make its debut on the calendar in February.
“The Jakarta race in June was the first Formula E race in Asia since 2019 and was the most-watched domestic race in the championship’s 100-race history with a cumulative audience of 27.6m in Indonesia.
“Live viewers made up the majority of Formula E’s audience for the first time in Season 7 and that trend continued in Season 8 with a 10% increase in live audiences YOY to 216m, part of a 20% growth in total cumulative audience to 381m,” the statement added.
Total viewing hours for Season 8 races increased by 58% compared to Season 7 and the championship enjoyed a 28% YOY increase in the average viewing duration per live race.
Across Formula E’s social and digital channels there were significant gains in video views (+165% vs. Season 7) and engagements (up 49%) as a refreshed social media content strategy came into effect.
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