The WEC and l’Equipe: the collaboration is renewed for two years
The World Endurance Championship will be broadcasted for free on La Chaîne l'Equipe until 2025. All races will be covered, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
After a stint on France Televisions, the 24 Hours of Le Mans have seen their free-to-air broadcast being handled by La Chaîne l’Equipe since 2021.
Since then, the channel has broadcasted the entirety of the races from the World Endurance Championship, with of course coverage of the key moments of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The commentary was notably provided by Marc Minari, formerly a presenter on TF1’s Automoto until 2003, and who has also worked for the predecessor of Motorsport TV, the highly acclaimed Motors TV.
The collaboration worked well, the audiences in Le Mans were spectacular (11.5 million viewers on the entire setup): it’s not illogical for the contract to have been extended for the next two years (2025 being the stage for Aston Martin’s return in the top category).
Everything is well tied up
The growing aura of the WEC, with manufacturers coming back in force and a competition more fierce than ever, is an opportunity to grow the audience and further promote the discipline.
Pierre Fillon, the president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, knows that it is crucial to offer fans and engaged manufacturers the broadest possible coverage of our sport. L’Équipe is a high-quality broadcaster that allows us to offer the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans to an entire territory in the best conditions.
As for Frédéric Lequien, the head of the WEC, it will also be of great significance to be able to offer live coverage, for enthusiasts who cannot attend (the WEC races or Le Mans). And l’Equipe is a perfect partner in this regard.
« Our goal is to make the WEC as accessible as possible for our fans and it is essential to be able to watch the events from home. The impressive reach of L’Équipe in households and its high-quality media coverage will help us achieve this goal in France. »
The 14 manufacturers involved in the WEC (including Hypercar and LMGT3) will compete in early March for the 1,812 km race in Qatar, marking the opening of the championship.
