By Jonathan Easton

Upcoming off-road electric race series Extreme E has secured distribution in China in a deal with media giant Tencent.

Tencent will stream all five of the championship’s X Prixs on its digital platform, QQ.com along with its associated apps Tencent Sports, Tencent News and Tencent Video. Tencent will also carry Extreme E’s race highlights and magazine programmes along with its behind-the-scenes documentaries.

Extreme E adds to a sizable rights portfolio for Tencent which includes the English Premier League, NBA and Formula One. The competition will start on April 3 in Saudi Arabia, with subsequent races to take place throughout the year in Senegal, Greenland, Brazil, and Patagonia.

Chief marketing officer at Extreme E, Ali Russell said, “Extreme E’s broadcast agreement with Tencent provides unparalleled reach for our ‘sport for purpose’ series in this vital region. Tencent’s superb array of user platforms will help us to bring our thrilling electric race format as well as our important environmental messages to over a billion people.”

General manager at Tencent, Ewell Zhao said: “Electric vehicles are an important development of the automotive industry. While Extreme E brings the charm of electric vehicles to the off-road racing, it conveys the core concept of environmental protection. In the future, Tencent Sports is going to share the excitement of Extreme E with more motor sports fans, and promote electric car racing in China.”