Discovery and The Ocean Race have established a new partnership to unlock the power of The Ocean Race and the engaging content it produces, as well as to bring sailing into the homes of viewers across Europe through a range of Discovery’s channels and platforms over the coming year.

The cooperation will see extensive coverage of The Ocean Race and a joint approach in attracting and serving fans and partners alike, beginning with the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe in Lorient, France on 29 May. Discovery, the global leader in real life entertainment that serves passionate fans with content that inspires, informs and entertains, will present the race live, primarily through Eurosport, its leading multi-sport brand and the number one sport destination in Europe.

The Ocean Race is a pinnacle event in sailing and has long been considered the toughest test of a team in sport. Since 1973, the around the world race has attracted the best sailors in the world and pushed them to the limit. In recent editions, building on a heritage of environmental stewardship by its sailors, the Race has led the way in developing an award-winning sustainability programme, inspiring change and driving impact towards the restoration of ocean health. 

Launching in 2021, The Ocean Race Europe will be shown across Eurosport’s television channels and digital platforms, including live coverage of the start across 54 markets in Europe and in 19 languages. Eurosport’s coverage will also offer viewers four weekly highlight shows via the Eurosport App, as well as on discovery+ in markets where Eurosport is available on Discovery’s global streaming service, and comprehensive daily news coverage and promotion on Eurosport.com.

“In The Ocean Race we see an event with enormous storytelling potential,” said Andrew Georgiou, President, Eurosport and Discovery Global Sports Rights & Sports Marketing Services. “As we share more content across discovery+ we see an appetite in our audience for content that overlaps what we traditionally think of as entertainment or sport. The broad range of stories around The Ocean Race, including a focus on ocean health, is perfect for this. The engaging footage of sport and racing, adventure and human drama, that the teams capture out on the high seas is unique and has the power to inspire people across the world. 

“By partnering with The Ocean Race, we have the opportunity to harness the full power and scale of the Discovery portfolio to bring The Ocean Race Europe to millions of viewers in its first year, further expanding the reach of the sport and engagement with new audiences.”

Over the past 48 years, The Ocean Race has developed into a content-rich event and now includes dedicated On Board Reporters on each boat, with a priority on storytelling and innovative, engaging content production.

“The Ocean Race is a very unique event in the world of sport, with a very broad range of content available, from pure sport, to adventure, technology and engineering, nature, weather, human drama and many more, with sustainability a core value that supports all of this,” said Richard Brisius, Race Chairman of The Ocean Race.

“Our goal is to deliver the very best sport and crossover content to existing and new fans. We share this very ambitious vision with Discovery and we are thrilled to begin a co-operation around The Ocean Race Europe and look forward to serving fans on Discovery’s platforms.”

Coverage of The Ocean Race Europe is the first step on a journey that will see wide-ranging and engaging content from The Ocean Race developed and distributed worldwide. 

How to follow The Ocean Race Europe:

Extensive coverage is planned across 54 markets in Europe including:

May 27, 28 – 23 minute magazine show 1 - linear

May 29 - One hour live race start from Lorient – linear, Pan-Euro

June 7 – 23 minute magazine show 2 - linear

June 14, 15 - 23 minute magazine show 3 - linear

June 22, 23 - 23 minute magazine show 4- linear

There will also be explainer and short stories on digital channels, as well as daily news coverage, photos, and videos across social platfoms.