Season analysis: Formula E's 2023 broadcasts in Germany don't match figures from previous season

The free-TV broadcaster ProSieben has shown all 16 races live on German TV in the 2023 Formula E season and achieved solid numbers at the London E-Prix a week ago. On average, however, the broadcasts fell short of last year's 2022 average in all key measurement categories.

The 2022 season had already failed to match the strong figures of the higher-reach Sat.1 sister channel the year before. This season, the ProSiebenSat.1 group suffered another small decline. The viewer average fell from 280,000 to 249,000 per race, with peak viewer figures dropping minimally from 361,000 to 352,000. In terms of total viewers per E-Prix, the average fell from 729,000 to 709,000.

In this respect, the Hankook London E-Prix did better than average for ProSieben: the Munich-based station achieved one million contacts on Saturday, when Jake Dennis won the Formula E title. Still 960,000 viewers tuned in for Sunday's yawningly boring season finale.

Remarkable: Due to the delayed start because of the British rainy weather, ProSieben achieved this value with extended interview stretches alone - without any racing action! Also the viewer average and viewer peak were above the season average.

Season	Average	Peak	Total Viewers	Market Share	Market Share TG*
2021 (Sat.1)	454 k	566 k	1,084 k	3.3%	5.8%
2022 (ProSieben)	280 k	361 k	729 k	2.5%	5.5%
2023 (ProSieben)	249 k	352 k	709 k	2.2%	5.0%

* Target Group: all people between the ages of 14 and 49

Market shares slightly below 2022 levels

In terms of market shares, however, the two race broadcasts were below the 2023 average. 1.9 percent of total German TV viewers tuned in on Saturday, while on Sunday the figure was 1.7 percent. In terms of the advertising-relevant target group, the figures were 5.3 and 4.0 percent respectively. At least Saturday was thus above the season average of 5.0 percent.

Over the course of the season, no clear trend can be documented. Highlights were undoubtedly the Gen3 season opener in Mexico City, the Saturday races in Rome and London toward the end of the year, and the Berlin E-Prix in the middle of the season - at least in terms of total viewers. The best market share was achieved by the broadcast of the Saturday race in Jakarta in the German morning (3.5 percent), while the Portland E-Prix attracted a big part of the target group in the German evening (8.0 percent).

The quality of the coverage by ProSieben and the ran racing format was, in our perception, at a high level - as it had been in the previous two years. We are unable to answer why Formula E nevertheless suffered slight losses on German television compared to the previous season.