SailGP signs Rolex as first title partner of global sailing competition

The self-described Formula 1 of sailing has signed Rolex arsenic the archetypal rubric spouse of its elite sailboat racing competition.

SailGP, which kicks disconnected the 2025 play successful Dubai connected Saturday, volition present beryllium known arsenic the "Rolex SailGP Championship."

"Leading into our 5th season, SailGP is celebrating a play of singular growth," said league CEO Russell Coutts. "This volition accelerate our adjacent signifier of maturation and found our presumption arsenic the premier planetary title successful the athletics of sailing."

The Swiss luxury watchmaker archetypal partnered with the athletics during its inaugural title successful 2019. The rubric concern volition tally for the adjacent decade, done 2034. Rolex volition besides proceed arsenic the authoritative timepiece of SailGP.

SailGP is simply a planetary title featuring a twelve nationalist teams from the U.S., Italy, Germany and others battling successful identical high-tech, high-speed 50-foot foiling catamarans.

Boats contention astatine speeds approaching 60 miles per hr and vie for a $7 cardinal expansive prize.

SailGP was established utilizing a centrally owned concern exemplary with the extremity of transitioning to a backstage ownership exemplary wrong its archetypal 5 years. In the upcoming season, 10 of 12 teams volition beryllium privately owned, and aboriginal teams volition beryllium independently owned and financed, the league told CNBC.

Some Wall Street titans person backed the athletics successful the past year, including league co-founder and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and Avenue Capital Group Chairman Marc Lasry.

In 2023, an capitalist group led by Lasry's Avenue Sports Fund acquired the U.S. squad for $35 million.

As involvement has grown, galore of the teams person attracted large sponsors, too, including brands specified arsenic Red Bull, Emirates, Mubadala, Rockwool and Deutsche Bank.

"What you've seen successful the past 3 years is that sailing is dwarfing the different leagues," Lasry told CNBC's "Squawk Box" successful May.

Last play SailGP drew its largest American TV assemblage during the Spain Sail Grand Prix, astatine 1.78 cardinal viewers connected CBS.

Broadcasts scope 212 territories worldwide, and viewership accrued 48% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth to astir 200 cardinal viewers connected mean during its 4th season's 13 contention events, the league reports.

SailGP successful its 5th play volition person caller broadcast agreements successful Germany, Italy, Brazil and Spain to turn its linear audience.

"As a practice athletics successful galore markets, sailing's demographic historically has been affluent participants and spectators," said Coutts. "We're engaging a caller procreation of racing fans that has already been demonstrated by our integer contented and societal engagement figures, successful summation to our fanbase successful markets wherever we person caller teams specified as Italy and Brazil."