GEN4
Formula E finds a new home on Disney+, ESPN+
The deal starts with the arrival of the GEN4 car and 2026/2027 season this December.
Credit:
Simon Galloway/LAT Images
Credit:
Simon Galloway/LAT Images
Formula E is set to make a big change in terms of visibility when season 12 gets underway this December. It has signed a new multiyear deal to broadcast the sport on Disney+ and ESPN+ in 144 countries, with live coverage of each entire ePrix, from practice through qualifying to the race. The new media deal means that here in the US, Formula E will be shown on ESPN+ from next season; since 2023, the sport has been shown live on Roku.
“This is a landmark moment for Formula E and reflects the incredible momentum behind our Championship,” said Formula E’s CEO Jeff Dodds. “Disney’s unrivaled global reach and storytelling will introduce Formula E to millions of new fans while bringing them closer than ever to the drama, innovation, and excitement of electric racing. As we enter the GEN4 era, this provides an exceptional platform to accelerate our global growth and continue building one of the world’s most exciting sports properties.”
Actually, the new deal will mean fewer eyeballs on the sport, at least here in the US. More than 100 million US households subscribe to Roku (as of April this year), whereas ESPN+ has been losing subscribers since peaking at the end of 2023 and is now down to roughly 24 million households in the US.
As we’ve previously covered here at Ars, next season was already shaping up to be a massive one for the electric racing series. It debuts the new GEN4 car in December as well. The new car has double the power of the current racer, with a nominal 603 hp (450 kW) from a twin-motor, all-wheel drive powertrain that goes up to 804 hp (600 kW) in Attack Mode. Which means that for much of a lap, a Formula E GEN4 car will generate as much power as a 2027-spec Formula 1 car; the F1 car is also stuck with just 602 hp from its V6 engine when the battery has no charge.
F1 cars will still be faster over a lap of a given circuit thanks to less mass, more aerodynamic downforce, and the use of slick tires. Formula E’s car should have better acceleration from low speed thanks to a pair of electric motors, but next year it will still use treaded tires, generate less downforce, and weigh 18 percent more. Still, the much faster nature of the GEN4 machines versus the current GEN3 cars means that Formula E will race at new venues in season 12, dropping some of the tight city center street circuits it originally raced at in favor of some traditional road courses like Brands Hatch in the UK and the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
