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The FIA World Endurance Championship’s live streaming app will be geo-blocked for U.S. and English-speaking Canadian viewers, as part of its new television and streaming package with Velocity and Motor Trend, it has been revealed.
Announced last week, the Discovery, Inc.-owned network has signed a long-term broadcast agreement with the WEC that will see all races broadcast live on Velocity, including flag-to-flag coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Additionally, all races and qualifying sessions will be streamed on the Motor Trend app, which costs $4.99/month or $49.99/year for a subscription.
Previously under its agreement with FOX Sports, North American users were able to purchase a race-by-race or season-long subscription plan to the WEC’s OTT service, which had cost approximately $6.00 per six-hour race or $42.00 for the full season.
The WEC confirmed the licensing rights change on Tuesday morning via Twitter.
“It is true that the #WEC App/website live streaming service will be geo-blocked for the U.S. and Canada (except Quebec) as the deal with Velocity is exclusive in that market, including all OTT coverage which includes our App/website,” the statement read.
“The broadcasting world is changing fast and furiously, and on a worldwide basis.
“The potential reach that Velocity and Motor Trend can offer is huge and we are confident that they will do an excellent job on our behalf.”
The Velocity/Motor Trend broadcasts will be produced by the Discovery-owned Eurosport network and will feature Eurosport commentary.
Introduced in 2014, the WEC app had served as one of the primary viewing methods for the U.S. audience, particularly those without access to FS2.
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