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WRC captivates audiences worldwide across the first half of 2026
The opening six months of 2026 reinforced the FIA World Rally Championship’s reach, resonating with audiences globally.
The WRC attracted a cumulative global television audience of 504 million between January and mid-June 2026, whilst the championship also recorded growth in live audiences and on official championship digital platforms compared with the same period in 2025.
The cumulative audience for live broadcasts was up 29 per cent year on year, while live coverage accounted for a 26 per cent larger share of the overall television audience. More than 21,000 broadcasts delivered WRC coverage across 137 tracked territories, with total viewing hours reaching 51.7 million, the highest across the past three mid-season reporting periods.
Our focus is on making WRC available on the platforms fans use most
Audience growth was particularly strong in emerging markets, with cumulative television audiences increasing by 75 per cent in Africa, 73 per cent in North America and 56 per cent across Asia.
The championship also continued to build momentum across its digital channels. WRC generated 1.21 billion social media impressions and 675 million video views, both up 19 per cent year on year, with 30.77 million engagements across WRC's owned platforms, driven by tailormade platform-by-platform content.
From our broadcast partners and Rally.TV to the Rally.TV FAST channel, which we've expanded to include Pluto TV and Zattoo
YouTube video views increased by 87 per cent year on year, while Facebook impressions rose by 40 per cent. WRC.com also welcomed more than five million active users, generating 55 million interactions and 15 million page views.
For Philipp Maenner, WRC Promoter's Senior Director of Media Rights and OTT Platforms, the results reflect the way fans are increasingly choosing to follow the championship across multiple platforms. "The way fans follow rallying is changing, and more of them want to watch it live. Our focus is on making WRC available on the platforms fans use most, from our broadcast partners and Rally.TV to the Rally.TV FAST channel, which we've expanded to include Pluto TV and Zattoo. That gives us more ways to reach both existing fans and new audiences.”
