SailGP has agreed a three-year renewal on its partnership with Oracle and secured a free-to-air broadcast deal in the UK with ITV.
Computer technology company Oracle has been a global partner to SailGP since in inaugural season three years ago, and will now be expanding the partnership with the sailing league’s use of Oracle Cloud technology.
As per the new agreement, SailGP will use Oracle Customer Experience technology to power its new fan engagement platform ‘The Dock’.
The Dock is a web3-intergrated, free fan loyalty program powered by Oracle Fusion Applications and built on NEAR protocol – the league’s blockchain partner.
Web3 is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web which incorporates concepts such as decentralisation, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics.
Through the extended partnership, Oracle will also become the title partner of the inaugural Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix at the Port of Los Angeles on 22nd and 23rd July, a new addition to SailGP’s 12-event global calendar for Season 4, which kicks off in Chicago on 16th June.
Rob Tarkoff, Executive Vice President and General Manager at Oracle, said, “Data is at the heart of SailGP – from the mid-race decisions made on the water to the league’s continued innovation around fan engagement. We’re excited to support their newest CX initiative, The Dock, as they redefine their approach to the fan experience.”
Warren Jones, Chief Technology Officer at SailGP, added, “Oracle’s cloud technology is at the heart of everything we do at SailGP, and this partnership extension reflects the power and results of our collaboration. We have no doubt Oracle will take our fan and athlete experience to even greater heights in the seasons to come and The Dock is a great example of this.”
SailGP has also announced a broadcast deal with UK free-to-air broadcaster ITV.
The deal will see exclusive live coverage of nine event weekends shown on ITVX in the first standalone live sports commission for ITV’s streaming service, which was launched in late 2022.
Further coverage and highlights of the global sail-racing league will be available across the ITV digital and linear network, including ITV1 and ITV4.
Tom Gracey, Global Head of Broadcast and Media of SailGP, said, “We’re thrilled to be working with the team at ITV to bring SailGP to more UK fans than ever across their linear and digital suite of channels, with Sir Ben Ainslie, Hannah Mills and the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team taking on the world’s best. ITV are renowned at bringing the biggest sporting moments to audiences across the country and we’re excited to be part of their premium sports output for Season 4.
“We’re looking forward to continuing to re-imagine the sport of sailing and building on our significant growth trajectory through an integrated partnership with ITV, although rumours of Sir Ben entering the Jungle are entirely premature!”
Niall Slone, Director of Sport at ITV, added, “We hope viewers will enjoy being able to watch, live and free to air, one of the most exciting and glamorous events in sailing. With live coverage across 18 days throughout the season, coming from fantastic locations across the world, available on ITVX as well as highlights on ITV4 and ITV1, there is an opportunity for our audiences to engage with all the action and we’re delighted to be partnering with SailGP to bring viewers each event, starting this Friday in Chicago.”
