Disney is no stranger to ventures in the sports industry; however, a recent acquisition seems to be stepping the company into the world of racing. Now, everyone is wondering if this will be Formula E’s biggest break yet.
On Tuesday morning, Disney, alongside ESPN, announced a major multi-year global streaming partnership to host the motorsport Formula E on Disney+ and ESPN, opening the sport to a massive global audience starting December 18th 2026. Unlike other motorsports, Formula E sets itself apart by being fully electric and specializing in vehicle technology innovation, often credited with being the world’s first net-zero carbon sport from the beginning
This is likely the largest investment within Formula E’s history, which has previously been known to underperform in viewership, particularly among its racing competitors like Formula One and even NASCAR. This deal will include coverage for every Formula E race weekend, in addition to specific preview and review shows, highlights, replays, analysis, exclusive behind-the-scenes programming and more.
Motorsports is one of the many events within the sports industry that is seeing rapid growth. Overall, the global motorsports market is expected to expand to around $12.73 billion by 2034.
Formula 1’s success is a testament to this, thanks to how it has gravitated towards online fan content and thus catered to younger people and its streaming partnership with Netflix. Disney undoubtedly saw the projections on this industry and decided to jump in for a try. While nothing is for certain, Disney seems to be pulling out all the stops to make this venture as successful as it can be. Time will tell.
