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Attracting eyeballs to the 24 Hours of Le Mans has never been a challenge, such is the historic event’s standing in the world of motorsport. But generating the same level of interest in other races has proven to be a perennial challenge for the World Endurance Championship (WEC). The last publicly released figures for the iconic endurance race in 2023 claimed a global audience of 113 million viewers. Since then, there has been little in the way of information beyond the record-breaking attendance figures published each year. It is one of the most famous motor races in the world, but it’s hard to know whether this results in viewers sticking around for the rest of the WEC schedule. Making WEC content easily discoverable is therefore imperative to retain the attention of casual viewers that dip in and out of the sport. And with races lasting anywhere between six and 24 hours, even avid followers need flexible viewing options. Enter FIAWEC+, the series’ new direct-to-consumer (D2C) streaming platform which launched in March 2026 and is available globally. The service replaced FIA WEC TV, which was operated for the past three seasons by French startup Sportall. The end of WEC’s contract with Sportall, which was acquired by Sportway in 2025, presented an opportunity to restructure its digital proposition around two main pillars. “First, it’s to create the strongest platform in terms of content production and content aggregation from all the championships of our company, because we are promoting WEC but also ELMS [European Le Mans Series] and Michelin Le Mans Cup,” Marius Louvet, communications director of WEC, tells BlackBook Motorsport. “The second was to have the best user experience we could have on an OTT platform for endurance, so we created a platform with a strong streaming tool but also a strong live timing tool that helps the fans, without ads, to have a lot of information, a lot of data.” ‘The app will never replace TV’ Despite the investment in its new streaming platform, WEC views the platform as complementary to its relationships with traditional broadcasters – rather than as a replacement. Some of its most recent deals have started to reflect the realities of modern viewing behaviours, with both linear and streaming platforms being incorporated into its broadcast partnerships to ensure it is reach the widest possible audiences. For example, in February, WEC extended its longstanding partnership in Europe with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) until at least 2030, with coverage spread across linear channels like Eurosport and TNT Sports and the HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming platforms. TNT Sports also acquired the rights to broadcast the series in the US via its TruTV cable channel and HBO Max. It could be argued that WEC risks cannibalising its audience through its broad distribution across both its owned and third-party channels, but Louvet believes the series is catering to different audiences depending on the platform. “The app is not made to make the most of the audience we have through our broadcasters, but more to provide a tool that is not existing anywhere else,” he explains. “You have 36 onboards live, you have a version without commentary, you have all the timings, you have a specific AI in the live timing that can help you understand the race, you have [information about] the tyres, you will soon have the energy tank [graphic overlays]. “So, the app will never replace TV because, in terms of figures, it is very small compared to the dozens of millions watching us through TV.” Currently, the app will only be available in French and English due to the subscriber base predominantly hailing from the UK and the US. However, Louvet says that Spanish may be added in the future following a successful trial run for ELMS in Barcelona. FIAWEC+ gives subscribers access to additional features and insights that they wouldn’t otherwise get through one of the series’ broadcast partners (Image credit: Getty Images) ‘It’s about reinvesting and developing visibility’ Previously, some of WEC’s broadcast contracts contained exclusivity clauses which prevented a major streaming rollout on this scale. But the series has now convinced broadcasters that its in-house platform is not in competition with their coverage. FIAWEC+ is behind a paywall and viewed as additive to the overall broadcast mix. The most avid fans can buy an annual subscription for US$59.99. Alternatively, one-race passes can be purchased for US$11.99, except for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which costs US$24.99 for full race week coverage. The app now sits alongside media relationships in other markets with major broadcast partners like BeIN Sports, Bandeirantes and SuperSport, which shows the series in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, Louvet stresses that the platform will not be used as leverage in future broadcast negotiations, pointing out that the reach provided by its media partners delivers significant value to WEC’s manufacturers and sponsors. The main benefit of the app is that all revenue generated by the platform will go back into improving the production. “The money that is coming from [subscriptions to] the app is reinvested into the production to make a better app, but also better cameras, live transmission, action, additional content,” adds Gwenn Le Badezet, WEC’s head of development. “Reinvesting in the quality of the product is a very important thing for our development. “Yes, we need some pay-TV broadcasters, but we are also looking at every opportunity to take our races free-to-air. “So it’s not just about revenue, it’s really about reinvesting the revenue and developing the visibility and the exposure of our races.” FIAWEC+ Originals is a collection of docuseries providing exclusive behind-the-scenes content from the championship, such as Genesis preparing for its debut next year ‘We don’t know who is watching us on YouTube’ One point of contention for fans is that ELMS and the Le Mans Cup are no longer available to watch on YouTube. Both series are free to watch on the FIAWEC+ app, but this will be an adjustment for viewers who were used to watching on the Google-owned video platform. The WEC YouTube channel has over one million subscribers and pulls in strong viewership numbers for full race replays, which are uploaded three weeks after the race has aired. However, a major benefit of moving those races to its own service is that the series will be able to learn more about who is watching the racing. “On YouTube, people are giving their data, their email to Google, and then Google is using this data to make money and to show you some type of advertisement on our side,” says Louvet. “When we go on YouTube, we don’t know who is watching us and we are not able to talk with them. With our app, we never sell any data to push advertising like Google is doing, but on the other hand we will know more and more [about] our consumers.” Louvet says access to its own audience data will allow WEC to run more targeted offers for users depending on their behaviours and preferences, such as discounts on tickets and merchandise. As the platform grows, it will become an increasingly useful tool for audience analysis and engagement, while it should also enable the series to tailor its proposition to current and potential partners depending on their target audiences. For now, it still needs to establish itself as the new home of endurance racing. The annual membership makes it a year-round destination, so WEC will need to ensure it is providing enough content outside of the racing schedule to ensure repeat visits. This could see the introduction of an ‘F1 Fantasy’ style product to improve engagement, for example. However, in its early development – Louvet describes the current iteration of the platform as ‘version zero’ – the focus is on building the audience. “I think [the platform] will be a success if first we have a strong subscription renewal rate,” Louvet says. “Second, it will be to generate enough revenue to be able to keep improving the broadcast and to bring more functionality.”