Move over, F1—there’s a new motor sport with a plan to grow its US audience

As Formula 1 becomes more popular in the US, another motor sport is trying to pick up steam: sailing.

Co-founded in 2018 by billionaire and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, SailGP is an international sailing league that’s trying to put a fresh spin on an old sport. The league’s high-tech boats can reach 60 mph, and with nearly a dozen teams representing countries around the world, it’s working to build a fanbase while trying to shed some of the stereotypes historically associated with sailing.

“We are still very much in that introductory phase in bringing in new audiences and introducing the sport to new fans in the US,” Ben Johnson, SVP of strategy and commercial development at SailGP, told Marketing Brew. “We are focused on taking a sport that has existed for hundreds of years and really reinventing it from scratch.”

It’s not all cloudy skies, though. Interest in the league is growing, as indicated by its broadcast and digital engagement, and SailGP has secured sponsorships with brands like Rolex, T-Mobile, and Red Bull.

Sailing through fog

Sailing competitions have traditionally taken place so far offshore that they can be hard to see, according to Johnson. But SailGP’s races happen about 20 yards away from land, meaning that spectators can see them and get a sense of the speed of the boats, he said.

The league currently consists of 10 teams representing 10 countries, including the US, Australia, and Germany, the newest addition. That’s up from six in its first season.

Still, the sport faces challenges. For one, there’s the yacht-club vibe sometimes still associated with sailing, and to grow an audience, Johnson said the league has to reflect the diversity of US sports fans.

To start, SailGP has established programs like SailGP Inspire, which partners with local sailing clubs and other organizations to help make the sport more accessible to young people, and  Women’s Pathway, a program geared toward getting more women involved with the sport.

Plus, awareness of the sport in the US is minimal, according to Johnson. Just a third of this season’s 12 events take place in the US, which can make it difficult for the league to “stay relevant” stateside while the majority of the races happen in other countries, he said, especially considering the fact that it is competing with other, more established sports for peoples’ limited attention.

“If you’re both introducing the sport and trying to keep your existing fans engaged, it means you have to be really thoughtful of what that user experience is on our platforms,” Johnson said. The league is airing and creating content on multiple platforms to help raise awareness, he said, like linear TV, the SailGP app, YouTube, and social media.

Throw a lifeline thread

SailGP races are “very short-format,” Johnson said, with three 15-minute heats per day over two days. Bet you can guess what popular video app that’s compatible with.

The league is seeing its fastest growth on TikTok, according to Johnson, where it has more than 300,000 followers and 5 million likes. SailGP also joined Threads and “saw just tremendous engagement and growth on that platform,” he said.

Across social platforms, SailGP has seen a 240% increase in video views from season 3 to season 4, and a 136% increase in impressions, according to stats the league shared with Marketing Brew, though it didn’t share exact numbers. Its overall social following grew by about 44% in that time to 1.6 million.

In addition to social, Johnson said the league views linear TV as its “entry point to mass awareness” in the US. CBS broadcasts the races, and they’re getting more popular: During its third season, SailGP saw a broadcast audience of more than 117 million viewers worldwide, more than tripling its roughly 39 million viewers from season 2, which was a 131% increase from season 1, according to the league.

Changing tides

Increasing the number of events is part of the plan to build awareness, Johnson said, and it’s already grown from five to 12 per season. The number of US events alone doubled this season, he said.

Brand partners—especially consumer-focused ones like T-Mobile and Red Bull—have also helped build SailGP’s reputation, Johnson said. Its other sponsors include Oracle, Rolex, investment company Mubadala, and blockchain company Near.

Sponsorship structures differ based on the partner, he said, from traditional options like title sponsorships of races to tech integrations with brands like T-Mobile and Oracle.

There are other potential tailwinds for the league’s growth, according to Johnson. Twelve events per season makes for a low barrier to entry for fans compared to many other sports, he said, and they tend to take place at popular travel destinations like Saint-Tropez or Sydney. Sailing is also a fairly “communal experience,” with downtime at events, like horse racing, he said, which can be helpful in developing fandom.

“Novel affinity for the sport is absolutely something we’re interested in,” Johnson said. “Then, as part of that effort to hold their attention, we just need to be better in content, in the experience on site. We need to outwork other traditional sports properties.”