Twitter Live Streams Formula E In Japan

The partnership will kick-off with a live stream of the Mexico City E-Prix this weekend via the official Formula E X channel, supported by near-live clips of key moments pulled from throughout the E-Prix.

Jinichiro Takata, senior partnership manager at X Japan, said, “We’re thrilled to collaborate with an innovative partner in Formula E to bring our fans in Japan live races from this exciting series alongside the real-time X conversation.”

Ali Russell, media & business development director at Formula E, added, “This partnership with X is a first for the series and an area we’re looking to expand in the future. The fans in Japan follow Formula E closely, especially with names like Takuma Sato and Kamui Kobayashi behind the wheel in the past – along with the inclusion of Nissan next season. Japan is an important market for the series and now fans can’t miss a moment of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship.”

This news follows the significant announcement by X APAC last September that it had secured 35 partnerships with sports and non-sports content owners. Globally, in May 2017 it also announced at a global level that it was partnering with 17 other content partners including the NFL and PGA Tour; its first clear signal of a radical business pivot needed to refresh its flagging raison d’etre in the social landscape.

Back to Japan; Formula E enjoys a strong cult following among local audiences. Furthermore, FE’s head honcho Alejandro Agag has openly stated his wishes for Japan: a race and more Japanese e-car manufacturers competing. If both were to happen, the platform could grow into a very strong brand platform in the next few years. One could see it sneaking in under the radars of local platforms as everyone – brands included – get distracted by the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Tokyo Olympics juggernauts as they thunder into town over the next 2 years.

According to the ASN Index, Formula E has secured 60+ deals in the region since Q215 even though the races in Putrajaya and Beijing in 2016 showed some frailty as high profile brands pulled out. Neither were helped by the cold climate towards motorsports in both countries. Currently, the three biggest sponsorship deals in the platform are from Indian conglomerate Mahindra at a team level – their own team – and telecommunications giant Hong Kong Telecom (~US$4m) and insurance firm FWD Group (~US$2.4m) for the Hong Kong Race, both owned by Richard Li.