Revving up the partnership
At Formula E’s most recent live event, the Hankook Portland E-Prix in Portland, Oregon, there was little evidence of Roku’s presence beyond myriad cameras and an overhead helicopter. Formula E and Roku are still exploring features, including squeezeback graphics and personalized driver, camera and radio feeds, but the companies haven’t given them the green flag yet.
Yet in Formula E’s Emotion Club hospitality space on the Portland International Raceway’s infield, both Formula E and Roku officials say Roku’s visibility on the race circuit and the impact of its data and technology are changing at a rapid pace—and leaving its mark on Roku’s approach to sports.
“One of the interesting things about this whole era, and working with Formula E in particular, is how fast they seem to be absorbing data both in terms of the coverage of the sport and the performance of the athletes in the vehicles and then applying that,” said David Eilenberg, head of content at Roku Media. “It’s not on a seasonal basis, on a weekly basis … in interfacing with other sports, you start to look for the same attitude and see who is making the most of what they’re learning.”
Running test laps
Joe Franzetta heads up sports at Roku Media and was responsible for the launch of Roku Sports and the Formula E deal. He also brought The Rich Eisen Show onto The Roku Channel and worked with the NFL, UFC and WWE to create sports programming for Roku Originals.
When a fan visits Roku to watch sports, Franzetta wants “to create a comprehensive sports experience for that viewer.” With Formula E, that means building a complete ecosystem around each race. Fans have access to qualifying sessions, the Unplugged docuseries and the Recharge live show that Roku produces after each event to offer context for U.S. audiences.
