Disney+ Lands Formula E Global Streaming Rights, Starting 2026/27 Season

Disney+ will become the global streaming home of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship under a multi-year agreement announced jointly by Formula E, Disney+, and ESPN on August 11, 2026. The deal covers more than 140 territories worldwide and begins with the 2026/27 season, which opens December 18 in Saudi Arabia.

Formula E, for those less familiar, is an all-electric racing series sanctioned by the FIA (the same governing body that oversees Formula 1). The series has existed since 2014 and races exclusively with battery-powered cars on temporary street circuits in major cities. Roku had served as the primary streaming home for Formula E events and produced a documentary series about the league; that partnership is now coming to a close as the Disney+ agreement takes its place (Engadget).

The 2026/27 season comprises 21 rounds across 13 racing events, with tour stops including Miami, Monaco, and Mexico City. In the United States, races will stream on both Disney+ and ESPN+ rather than on Disney+ alone. Subscribers will have access to comprehensive coverage of every event, including preview and review programming, according to Disney's official press release titled "Disney+ Revs Up as the Global Streaming Home of Formula E" (Disney+ Newsroom).

The arrangement preserves Formula E's ability to maintain local broadcast television partnerships in certain markets, rather than consolidating all distribution under the Disney+ umbrella. The Formula E official site and Disney+ newsroom both confirmed the multi-year scope of the agreement (Formula E).

The broader context here is a reshuffling of motorsport streaming rights that has been underway for the past year. Formula 1 ended its collaboration with Disney's ESPN and paired with Apple for official US broadcasting rights. Disney's acquisition of Formula E global streaming rights effectively backfills that gap in its motorsport portfolio, swapping one FIA-sanctioned series for another. Whether the two properties are comparable in audience size or commercial value is a separate question; the verified facts do not address viewership figures.

For Disney+, the deal adds live sports programming to a platform that has been steadily expanding beyond its original scripted and library content model. The 140-territory scope is consistent with Disney+'s existing global footprint, and the dual-platform approach in the US market (Disney+ and ESPN+) mirrors the tiered distribution strategy Disney has applied to other live properties. The retention of local broadcast TV pacts in select markets suggests Formula E negotiated to protect existing regional distribution relationships rather than going all-in on a single global streaming partner.

For Formula E, the move to Disney+ represents a step up in platform reach. Roku, while a meaningful streaming presence in the US, lacks Disney+'s international distribution and brand recognition. The new arrangement places Formula E on a service available in well over 100 countries, with dedicated preview and review programming that could broaden the league's audience beyond its existing base. The season structure itself, 21 rounds across 13 events spanning cities on multiple continents, gives Disney+ a recurring live-content cadence from December onward.

One aspect worth flagging is the timing. The 2026/27 season begins December 18 in Saudi Arabia, meaning Disney+ has roughly four months to build audience awareness and integrate production workflows before the first race streams. The logistics of onboarding a live motorsport series, from broadcast operations to app-level features like live timing and race controls, are non-trivial, and the compressed timeline leaves little margin for iteration before the season opener.

What remains unaddressed in the announcement is financial detail. No figures for the multi-year deal have been disclosed in any of the sources. Whether the agreement includes production responsibilities, technology integrations, or conditional terms tied to viewership thresholds is not specified. The deal structure, as described, covers streaming rights and associated programming coverage.

For viewers, the practical impact is straightforward. Formula E races move from Roku to Disney+ (and ESPN+ in the US) starting December 2026, with full event coverage including pre- and post-race shows. Local broadcast options in certain markets will persist alongside the streaming offering. The electric racing series enters its thirteenth season on a platform with substantially broader reach than its previous streaming home.