MotoGP's free-to-air UK TV gesture should be its template everywhere
MotoGP's 2025 TV coverage in the UK will take a significant step forward with the news that not only has TNT Sports extended its deal with series promoter Dorna to broadcast it in the UK and Ireland, but also that it will finally take the logical step of offering both the 22 Saturday sprint races and two Sunday main events completely free.
Placing them on its free channel Quest is a strong statement that should go a long way towards reversing what seemed a terminal decline in viewership in recent years, as long as TNT makes sure to use its increasing presence in the UK market to introduce its wider audience to what is often the most exciting part of a MotoGP race weekend.
In theory the sprint is the perfect piece of bitesize dramatic content to help hook new fans. It remains to be seen exactly what format the new broadcast will take - but MotoGP and TNT must maximise this opportunity to finally reverse the series' decline in what was once one of its biggest markets.
"MotoGP is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting sporting properties across the globe,” said Trojan Paillot from TNT’s parent company Warner Bros Discovery, “and we are incredibly proud to continue our partnership with MotoGP.
“The championship goes from strength to strength, engaging sports fans up and down the country as some of the finest superstars of motorsports go wheel-to-wheel at circuits all over the world.
"To be able to take MotoGP to our free-to-air channel Quest will complement our live coverage on TNT Sports, helping to broaden its popularity beyond its traditional motorsports fanbase."
MotoGP’s market share has fallen dramatically since the move from free coverage on BBC to TNT’s predecessor BT Sport in 2013, and that has been something Dorna has been keen to address - not just in the UK, but in other key markets like Spain and Italy that also moved away from free coverage around the same time.
One potential solution proposed by The Race back when sprint races were first announced was to find a way to broadcast them for free, something that other countries have done previously but that TNT was limited from replicating thanks to pre-existing agreements.
Now that's been solved in the new deal, not just for the sprints but for two full free rounds including the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. And it needs to be the standard format for all MotoGP's broadcast deals.
Freeview entertainment channel Quest is no stranger to motorcycle racing, either, acting as something of an overflow in recent years for Eurosport’s coverage of the British Superbike championship (with Eurosport also part of the Warner Bros Discovery brand).
And although not yet confirmed, it would come as no surprise if the free to view Monday night race highlights currently broadcast on ITV4 also move to Quest as part of the deal, something also likely to help grow the sport in the UK.
ITV, which have shown a number of live races for free in the UK over the past seasons, has been reluctant to advertise those free races, something likely to change if both the UK’s free and subscription coverage is all under one roof.
It also helps WBD in its plan to move towards becoming something of a two-wheeled motorsports mecca following the merger of the BT Sport and Eurosport brands, with MotoGP joining World and British Superbikes, feeder series JuniorGP, the Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship and Speedway Grand Prix in one broadcast location.
