Coverage of all PURE ETCR events across 2021 season – Broadcast deal brings all-electric motorsport to fans in Baltic region – Ground-breaking new series to begin in June
Motorsport fans in the Baltic region can watch the drama unfold in PURE ETCR during 2021 thanks to a brand-new agreement with media giant TV3 Group to broadcast every event on its TV3 Sports Open channel.
TV3 Group is the leading media group in the Baltic region and operates the top commercial free-to-air channels in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania plus the largest Direct-to-Home (DTH) and Over-the-top (OTT) platforms showing premium films and sporting events.
Among the elite sports that PURE ETCR will join on TV3 Sports Open are MotoGP, MXGP, NBA, Euroleague and EuroCup basketball, WWE, UEFA Champions League and English Premier League football and ATP tennis.
Electric vehicles are currently experiencing a surge in popularity in the Baltic region. Latvia was the EU’s fastest-growing electrified-vehicle market in 2020 with a 328 per cent increase in registrations compared to the previous year.
In Lithuania, more than 8,000 applications were received last year for a scheme run by the Environmental Project Management Agency (APVA) scheme offering incentives to people wanting to trade in a gasoline-powered vehicle for an electrified one, while a similar system has also been rolled out in Estonia since the beginning of 2020.
PURE ETCR, the world’s first all-electric, multi-brand touring car championship, will host its first full season in 2021 with a calendar comprising five all-action events in Europe and Asia, beginning at Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi, Italy, on June 18-20.
The competing machines are the most powerful touring cars ever built with a peak power of 500kW – the equivalent of 670bhp – generated by their electric motors.
Raimonds Zeps, TV3 Group Head of Sports, said: “We’re delighted to be among the first broadcasters of the new all-electric touring car championship, PURE ETCR. The Baltic region has a very loyal motorsports fanbase that is always demanding more content to meet their needs. Our region-leading premium sports channel viewers will be surprised not only by the power of the brand-new 500kW PURE ETCR vehicles, we also believe, will appreciate the different competition format compared to traditional motorsports competitions. We see an increasing interest from our viewers in electric motor racing, which is why we see a lot of potential for PURE ETCR.”
Xavier Gavory, PURE ETCR Series Director, said: “We are very pleased to secure this broadcast agreement with TV3 Group, which will bring the high-intensity action of PURE ETCR to the Baltics. Support for motorsport is extremely high in the region, as we have experienced first-hand through Eurosport Events’ previous visits to the region with the FIA European Rally Championship. We can already see through what’s gone on in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia over the past 12 months that there is enthusiasm to use and to find out more about electric and electrified vehicles, so to be able to show the potential of such cars to another large audience is a fantastic opportunity for the series and its participants.”
