Paramount+ has become an official partner of Formula 1, as it pushes deeper into sports content.
The promotional partnership for the 2023/24 season will see Paramount+ series, movies and characters feature at Formula 1 events inside Fan Zone areas.
The agreement also includes Paramount+ signage trackside, along with digital sponsorships and promo opportunities. These started at the Melbourne Grand Prix over the weekend, and will be followed by activity in Miami, Montréal, Austria, Silverstone, Monza, Suzuka, Austin, Mexico City, São Paulo and Las Vegas.
Sport has been a central pillar of Paramount+ since its outset, with then-CBS Entertainment Group CEO George Cheeks proclaiming the streamer “will be the leader in live sports” more than two years ago. NFL football, the UEFA Champions League and PGA Tour golf can all be streamed through the platform. At the time, the move was taken as a direct challenge to Peacock, which had also set out its stalls a key sports streaming destination.
“Paramount+ continues to seek new, innovative ways to reach our global audiences, and I am confident this partnership with Formula 1 will continue to support our growth globally,” said Marco Nobili, Executive Vice President and International General Manager of Paramount+ today.
“Becoming an official partner of Formula 1 means bringing the Paramount+ brand and all our characters to life for hundreds of millions of fans worldwide. Through this global deal the worlds of motorsport and entertainment will come together, resulting in powerful storytelling opportunities on and off the grid.”
The partnership follows a short-term deal between Paramount+ and Formula 1 in 2022, which saw the streamer gain strategic exposure at Formula 1 races such as Silverstone in the UK and Monza in Italy.
The deal comes weeks after Nobili told an audience at Series Mania that he wished the international roll out of Paramount+ had been faster. “If I could have accelerated our rollout then I would have,” he responded when when questioned on how he would have done things differently over the past two years.
“But you have to balance these things out,” he added. “Sometimes staggering a launch proves to be the right recipe. If you show audiences the window you can get straight out the gate but could compromise on show quality.”
