LONDON (REUTERS) - Formula One is to launch a live
post-race show on Twitter starting from next week's Spanish Grand
Prix in Barcelona and with retired 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg
involved, the motor racing series said.
Global followers of the official @F1 account will be able to watch interviews
with drivers, team bosses and other key players at the Circuit de
Catalunya, Formula One said in a statement on Monday.
The show, to be presented by British commentator Will
Buxton, will also air after nine further races and feature
panellists including Rosberg, who was Mercedes team mate to
reigning champion Lewis Hamilton.
Liberty Media-owned Formula One, which is seeking to
build the sport's digital profile, said the partnership with
Twitter would also extend beyond the social network's exclusive
license for the live F1 show.
"For all Grands Prix going forward, post-race
highlights will be distributed via Twitter video clips, providing
fans with a vast array of on-track highlights, and advertisers an
opportunity to reach a dedicated F1 fanbase at scale," it said.
Formula One's @F1 feed currently has 3.63 million followers
on Twitter.
"It is good to see the new direction of F1 across
digital, as a key channel to engage with fans and future fans of
the sport," commented Rosberg.
"I was delighted to join this programme when F1 asked
me to participate. I love F1 and I believe that we can grow the
sport through digital engagement." Frank Arthofer, Formula One's
Director of Digital and New Business, said Twitter had approached
the sport's commercial rights holders with an interest in
co-producing original live content.
"Given how well their platform caters to driving
conversation around global live events, the strategic fit was
perfect," he said.
Walt Disney and Twitter announced earlier that they
will create live sports, news and entertainment programming
specifically for Twitter's social media platform.
ST