TNT Sports snaps up last-minute SailGP rights in UK and Ireland

TNT Sports, the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned pay-TV broadcaster, has secured exclusive rights in the UK and Ireland to the SailGP international sailing series.

The deal has been secured ahead of the start of the 2024-25 season which gets underway in Dubai this weekend.

Through the agreement, TNT Sports will provide live coverage of all events this campaign on its TV channels and Discovery+ streaming platform. This will include the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix on July 19-20 – SailGP’s first event in the UK in three years.

In addition, SailGP and TNT Sports will work together to promote the championship and the Emirates Great Britain Team – co-owned by sailing legend Sir Ben Ainslie.

Rights to SailGP in the 2023-24 season were held in the UK by commercial broadcaster ITV.

Melissa Lawton, SailGP chief content officer, said: “The UK has a passionate and engaged sailing fanbase and we will work closely with TNT Sports to grow awareness of the league and captivate a brand new audience of racing fans.”

Earlier this week, the series added prominent Brazilian broadcaster Globo to its media partner stable for the upcoming season.

Globo joins BandSports, the sports-dedicated cable TV network, as a broadcast partner of SailGP in that market.

In a busy period, SailGP has also secured several major commercial deals recently, announcing tie-ups with the likes of Emirates, DP World, and Rolex.

The 2024-25 SailGP season will feature a record 14 races, four new locations – Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, and Auckland in New Zealand – and 11 teams.

The sailing league joins a premium TNT Sports rights portfolio that includes soccer’s UEFA Champions League and English Premier League, the UFC mixed martial arts promotion, motor racing’s Formula E, and the MotoGP premier motorcycling series – a deal recently renewed by the broadcaster.

TNT Sports has also, in terms of sailing rights, been showing the 2024 America’s Cup competition from Barcelona, through a deal announced in August by WBD.

Elsewhere in sailing, WBD acted as host broadcaster and distribution partner for The Ocean Race, the round-the-world event, in 2023. Sportcal