A key feature of Extreme E, GridPlay, will return for the Championship’s third season, continuing its successful engagement initiative that puts fans at the centre of the action.
The announcement sees Telescope remain as the series’ Official Audience Engagement Technology Partner for the 2023 campaign.
GridPlay delivers unique voting solutions across the Extreme E channels as it aims to bring fans closer to the racing, by inviting them to vote for their favourite team. Importantly, their vote can have a tangible impact on the race weekend, as the team with the most votes gets to hand-pick its spot on the starting line for the Grand Finals taking place across the racing weekend.
This season, once Qualifying is complete and the 10-car grid is split between two Finals, fan-voting will have the opportunity to determine the grid positions for the Grand Final. The five teams that do not make the Grand Final will be required to ‘gift’ their votes to their preferred opponent. The Redemption Race grid will remain to be decided by the Intermediate Classification results.
As a result of the revised sporting format, GridPlay voting will reopen after the Saturday Grand Final allowing fans to have another chance to influence their favourite team’s starting position ahead of Round 2 on the Sunday.
Fans can vote up to twice a day per method for their favoured driver to gain grid advantage. The votes received by both drivers in each team are added together to show the total team score.
Ali Russell, Chief Marketing Officer at Extreme E, said: “Extreme E has always prioritised both fan engagement and innovation, and our collaboration with Telescope is no different. The GridPlay initiative creates a brilliant opportunity to generate interest in our series among young audiences, giving them the power to directly impact the race-action, and will have double the impact this season as a result of the increased racing at each event.
“As part of our sustainability endeavours, we are a digital first proposition and don’t have spectators on event. Therefore, it is even more important to engage fans through both our website and digital channels, creating the chance to interact with the championship from all over the world.”
Telescope has worked with Extreme E since its inception, developing the concept across the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Michael Porter, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Development at Telescope, said: “Telescope has been honoured to collaborate with the forward-thinking Extreme E team from the very beginning to find innovative ways to build and expand the fanbase.
“We know from our twenty plus years engaging audiences that there is truly no better way to bring out the passion in fans then by allowing them to impact the outcome. Extreme E has taken this to the next level by empowering fans to directly influence races with GridPlay voting.”
You can vote for GRIDPLAY online at gridplay.extreme-e.com, where voting will open in the build up to the opening round of Extreme E Season 3 in NEOM, Saudi Arabia, on 11-12 March.
BACK TO BLOG & NEWS