Mercedes extends option and commits to entry for 2019/20 season

STUTTGART, GERMANY (July 24, 2017) - Mercedes-Benz has today announced plans to enter the FIA Formula E Championship for the 2019/20 season - extending the original option agreement to join the electric street racing series in season five.

The Stuttgart-based car manufacturer initially reserved an entry prior to the season-opener in Hong Kong last year, but Mercedes has chosen to extend the option for a further year and commit to race in Formula E for season six - joining the growing list of brands shifting focus to electric.

Alejandro Agag, Founder & CEO of Formula E, said: “Today is a great day as we welcome Mercedes to the Formula E family - adding to the increasing number of manufacturers joining the electric revolution. This shows how much the world is changing, not only in motorsport, but the whole automotive industry. We’re witnessing a transformation that will first change our cities, and then our roads. Formula E is the championship that embodies that change, and together with all our teams and manufacturers we’ll keep pushing for technologies, to have better and more affordable electric cars.”
“I’m very happy to see yet another manufacturer committing to the FIA Formula E Championship,” added FIA President Jean Todt. “Mercedes-Benz has been competing in motorsport since the very beginning, and in joining this newest chapter of racing history - Formula E - it shows that the vision and concept of the championship is aligned with how manufacturers want to develop electric vehicle technologies, and bring these innovations to audiences around the world.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, said: “In motorsport, like in every other area, we want to be the benchmark in the premium segment and also explore innovative new projects. With Formula 1 and Formula E, we have achieved exactly this balance. Formula E is like an exciting start-up venture - it offers a brand new format, combining racing with a strong event character, in order to promote current and future technologies. Electrification is happening in the road car world and Formula E offers manufacturers an interesting platform to bring this technology to a new audience – and to do so with a completely new kind of racing, different to any other series. I’m pleased that we were able to extend our entry option for one year to the 2019/20 season. This gives us time to properly understand the series and to prepare for our entry in the right way.”

“Mercedes-Benz will market future battery-powered electric vehicles using the EQ label,” explained Dr Jens Thiemer, Vice President Marketing Mercedes-Benz. “Formula E is a significant step in order to demonstrate the performance of our intelligent battery-powered electric vehicles, as well as giving an emotional spin to our EQ technology brand through motorsport and marketing.”

Global kickboxing leader taps respected international media rights agency for distribution in the Americas

DENVER – GLORY today announced that it has hired global sports media agency MP & Silva to represent the kickboxing brand leader in distributing North and SouthAmerican media rights.

GLORY currently produces hundreds of hours of compelling live and syndicated television content, such as regularly numbered GLORY fight cards, GLORY SuperFight Series fight cards, “GLORY Rewind” and “Best of GLORY” shows utilizing archived fight footage, and “Inside GLORY” shoulder programming. Including its massive – and growing – digital streaming audience, GLORY is broadcast in over 175 countries globally.

GLORY programming is currently carried by ESPN networks in the U.S. and the Fight Network in Canada, reaching over 100 million households in North America. Brazil’s
Esporte Interativo and Combate (operated by Globosat) account for over 100 million additional households (including subscriptions) in South America. UFC Fight
Pass, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s subscription-based streaming service, also broadcasts GLORY content – GLORY SuperFight Series events – internationally,
including in the Americas.
“As we continue to grow as a mainstream sports property, our presence and footprint in the Americas is a major area of focus,” said Jon J. Franklin, CEO, GLORY.
“Our event calendar already includes visits to major U.S markets like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles and we are planning expansion into Canada and South
America in the near future. “The goal is to marry our can’t-miss live events with expansive broadcast coverage in these territories and we believe MP & Silva is best suited to make that happen. We’re excited to get started and look forward to working with their team right away.” MP & Silva has handled media rights distribution for the top U.S. sports leagues including NFL, NBA, MLB (the World Baseball Classic), and MLS. Through its agreement with GLORY, the powerhouse agency will look to expand on the strong foundation GLORY has built in the Americas with great media partners.
Frank Uddo, MP & Silva’s President, North America, said: “We look forward to working with GLORY, helping maximize the commercial potential and broadcast
reach. This is an exciting organization, with the best fighters from across the globe and a proven track record in the Americas. We were drawn to GLORY’s ambitious goals and have seen firsthand the success they have achieved internationally when working in partnership with their media partners.”