Canal+ fends off competition to secure Formula 1

Canal+ has fended off competition from Altice to secure a new agreement for the carriage of Formula 1 motor-racing until 2020.

The deal will enable the pay TV broadcaster to air complete coverage of Formula 1, Formula 2 and GP3 competitions for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Canal+ has been a partner of Formula 1 since 2013, and the deal will come as a relief to the broadcaster, which has lost a number of key sports rights to competitors including BeIN Sport as well as Altice.

The pay TV operator will air over 10 hours of live coverage of each of the 21 Grand Prix races each season. This year will also see the return of the French Grand Prix to the Castellet circuit, and Canal+ has promised to give special treatment to this race.

“Canal+ Group is delighted to have secured the rights to Fomula 1 until 2020 and the ability to continue to offer to its subscribers this great competition in its entirety and exclusively,” said Canal+ Group CEO Maxime Saada.

“This result is a testament to the work of the sports production team at Canal+ led by Thierry Celeman. It has worked out how to create editorially distinctive coverage of this major event, which brought us the prize for best broadcaster in 2014. This win will also be embraced in every way by Vivendi which will work to extend the partnership with Formula One Management around digital with Dailymotion, gaming and music.”