SailGP has announced a new multi-season partnership with ZDF, Germany’s largest sports broadcaster, which will significantly expand the league’s reach in the country. The partnership will provide exclusive insights into the world of high-speed sail racing across the next three seasons, with SailGP’s upcoming 2025 Season starting in Dubai next weekend, November 23-24.
As part of the broadcast partnership, ZDF will broadcast all SailGP events and create bespoke highlights to be shared across its various sports formats. This will provide the Germany’s passionate fanbase with the opportunity to get behind the Germany SailGP Team - which boasts four-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel among its ownership group. The agreement will also include live linear coverage of SailGP’s first-ever event in Germany taking place in Sassnitz, Rugen, on August 16-17, 2025.
Ahead of the new season, ZDF will also broadcast a special documentary on SailGP and the Germany team on November 17 at 17:10 on ZDF’s main channel. The documentary will go behind the scenes and shine a spotlight on the intensive training and preparations of the Germany SailGP Team – led by two-time Olympic medalist Erik Heil. Featuring interviews with Heil and a special appearance by Vettel, the series follows they team as they compete against the best in the sport, racing in SailGP’s identical, supercharged F50 catamarans at speeds approaching 100 km/h (60 mph).
One of the world’s fastest-growing sports and entertainment properties, SailGP’s global reach and digital appeal has grown year-on-year since the league’s inception in 2019. In Season 4, SailGP’s dedicated broadcast audience increased by 48 percent to a record 193 million households across 212 international territories. The popularity of the sport is being felt in Germany, with awareness of the league increasing by 184 per cent in 2024.
SailGP Global Head of Broadcast and Media Tom Gracey said: “We're hugely excited to be partnering with Germany's largest sports broadcaster ZDF, in what is a transformative opportunity to bring SailGP and the Germany SailGP Team to more fans than ever across their channels and online platforms. ZDF is renowned for its in-depth and professional production of live sport events and we look forward to a long-standing and collaborative partnership over the coming seasons.”
