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09 February 2026

Daily Newsletter

09 February 2026

Sky Italia bolsters motorcycling portfolio with WorldSBK renewal

The pay-TV heavyweight will broadcast WorldSBK, WorldSSB, WorldSPB, and WorldWCR action through 2027.

Alex Donaldson February 06 2026

Sky Italia, that country’s pay-TV heavyweight, has renewed its broadcast partnership with the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) on multi-year terms.

The broadcaster, which has held exclusive rights to World SBK since 2019, will cover the 2026 and 2027 editions of the annual series.

Through the deal, Sky Italia will also continue to showcase its associated categories: the Supersport World Championship (World SSP), and the Sportbike World Championship (WorldSPB).

This renewal will also cover the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, WorldWCR, which runs for six races alongside WorldSBK.

Races will be showcased on the Sky Sport MotoGP channel, as well as on the Now streaming service.

Additionally, WorldSBK category races will also be broadcast free-to-air on Sky’s TV8 channel.

Speaking on the deal, WorldSBK executive director Gregorio Lavilla has said: “The roots of WorldSBK can be found in Italy and Sky Italia has been a strong and reliable partner for many years. This renewal ensures consistent, high-quality coverage of our Championship and makes WorldSBK accessible to a wide audience, both on pay TV and free-to-air.”

Of the 22 riders entered for the 2026 campaign,10 are Italian, as well as nine of the 14 teams.

In 2025, both the Teams' Championship winner (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Manufacturers' Championship Winner (Ducati) were Italy-based, while Italian rider Nicolo Bulega finished second overall in the Riders’ Championship, winning five races in all.

This renewal bolsters Sky Italia’s substantial motorcycle racing portfolio, which - crucially - includes the top-tier MotoGP series through 2027.

Sky Italia extended that partnership in December 2025 through the 2027 season, and will showcase all action from the top-tier MotoGP, secondary Moto2, and tertiary Moto3 classifications live on Sky Sports MotoGP, with select events on TV8.

Sky Italia executive vice president for news, sport, and entertainment Giuseppe de Bellis added: “After announcing the new deal for MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 World Championships, this new partnership is the ultimate statement about the importance of motorsport for Sky, which will guarantee an entertainment experience at the highest level."

The 2026 WorldSBK season will begin in Phillip Island, Australia, with that race weekend running between February 20 and 22.

Its annual Italy round, held at the Cremona Circuit in Lombardy, will take place across September 26 and 27.

Throughout the season, the category will once again be title sponsored by France-based oil and lubricants producer Motul, which struck an agreement in December that will see its title sponsorship rights run through the end of the campaign, with associated sponsorship to continue through 2030.

The brand will continue to put its name to the series next year, but, following that, will return as a top sponsor for the 2027-30 cycle. Motul has acted as the series' title partner since 2016.

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