There have been many people internationally that have pined for coverage of the most internationally recognized touring car championship for a long time, as free-to-air coverage of live motorsports is fast on the decline in many of the top championships around the world.
However, the DTM has decided to take a different approach to providing the fans with coverage of every qualifying and race event from the 2013 season onwards, which breathes new life into the series. The DTM has steadily increased its audience over the last few years, and with this new venture, it should help to provide an avenue for the fans, as it now enters its 30th year.
YouTube, as a broadcast platform, sees the equivalent of 3 days of video footage uploaded every minute, with over 4 billion total views achieved at some point last year. Now the DTM, as of May 1st this year, made its entrance into the YouTube arena, setting up two channels, one in German and one in English, catering for the international viewers around the world. This also raises the online appearance that the DTM has already, which includes the official website at www.dtm.com, as well as www.dtm.tv and the official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DTM.
This means that all who subscribe to the channels, which you can find at http://www.youtube.com/dtm for German speakers and http://www.youtube.com/dtmint for English speakers, it will help those wanting to find their DTM fix to be satisfied with coverage of the entire season, as well as being able to watch any races or qualifying sessions they’ve missed and exclusive content from behind the scenes.
ITR e.V and DTM rights holder chairman, Hans-Werner Aufrecht, explained about how this would be an important step for the series itself by opening the divide: “With this channel we extend our online-video range by an exciting facet, granting the DTM enthusiasts true additional value. And it goes without saying that we plan to also reach completely new spectator groups, with our additional content provided via YouTube.”
This new era of international coverage for the DTM has helped to attract new viewers, with just over 20,000 views for the “RE-LIVE” video for the race at Hockenheim just over a week ago, with many thousands of British fans also looking to make the trek to see their trio of British heros in the form of Gary Paffett, Andy Priaulx and Jamie Green, compete along with 19 other hungry drivers, as they look to make an impact at Brands Hatch.
So if you’re not able to make it to the Kent countryside this coming weekend, there is still one place you can watch the race live, and keep apprised of all the action… It’s early days, but it bodes well for the future of the DTM here in the UK and internationally.
