Extreme E - Gaining Momentum

Since Extreme E made its debut in April, you could be forgiven if you thought there would be no news from the all-electric off-road series. With such a spread-out calendar and many drivers racing elsewhere, the idea of the championship slowing down isn't far-fetched. Yet, it couldn't be further than the truth. Extreme E has continued making milestones and news over the past eight weeks. Here's your rundown ahead of Senegal's Ocean X Prix.

Extreme-E-ly Popular

The viewing figures for the new sport clearly show that racing fans are hungry for something different, and Extreme E has delivered it. The series had almost 19 million pairs of eyeballs glued to the Desert X Prix debut event. The worldwide viewing figures released showed an audience size of 18.7 million who tuned into the broadcast.

Even more encouraging for Extreme E's marketing department is the virality of clips on social media. The research company YouGov Sport has calculated a staggering one billion impressions across social channels from round one. With the spectacular location and dramatic crashes across that first weekend in Saudi Arabia, it's no wonder people became captivated.

More than that, though, is the broad appeal of Extreme E's gender-equal teams. Viewers should be able to connect with any of the drivers competing. Plus, the sport's purpose is one that everyone can identify with, as climate change affects every single one of us. With over 5,000 articles being written online around the opening weekend shows that the media knows that interest is high in Extreme E.

The Digital Dimension

Expect to see further online success at the Ocean X Prix, too, as the video-sharing social media newcomer, TikTok, will be gaining exclusive content. Behind-the-scenes footage is going to be available on the service throughout the weekend. Some of the 60,000 TikTok followers that Extreme E made over the Desert X Prix will be able to watch the race events live, too. Many major EMEA markets, including France, Sweden, UAE, Hungary, and Saudi Arabia will find live footage across TikTok for the Senegalese event.

Additionally, Extreme E adds Twitch.tv to its digital portfolio for the next X Prix. The HighVoltage Twitch channel allows fans to see weekly contests and behind-the-scenes content from the races. The younger audience on both Tiktok and Twitch certainly gives insight into the focus demographic for Extreme E. With Millennials and Gen Z being particularly environmentally conscious, the move represents a clever strategy from the sport's organizers.