It’s go time! The grueling Dakar Rally starts this New Year’s Eve, December 31st, kicking off what organizers say will be one of the most challenging races the event has seen in years. The biggest obstacle anyone will face is the route itself with 14 punishing stages, loaded with even more dunes and potential pitfalls. In fact, this edition will feature the longest distance since 2014. Add to the menu the introduction of major rule changes designed to shake up the competition and you know Dakar 2023 is not to be missed.

To document the action, Dakar organizers say they have dedicated significant resources to bring the adventure to TV viewers recruiting:

• 4 TV helicopters
• 8 vehicles roaming the tracks and roads
• 23 production and broadcast trucks
• 22 cameramen
• 26 on-board cameras
• 150 people mobilized

Where to Watch

In the United States, NBC Sports has announced they will have daily coverage of the 2023 Dakar Rally from January 1 through January 15. Broadcasting starts every day at 6:30 p.m. ET on Peacock and will entail 30-minute programs. Highlights of every show (all 14 stages and the rest day), exclusive racer interviews, and features from the race will be available on Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms including NBC’s Motosports YouYube channel.

In addition, CNBC will present three hour-long encore presentations throughout the event (Sat., Jan. 7 at noon ET, Sun., Jan. 8 at 11 a.m. ET, and Sun., Jan. 15 at noon ET) that will be streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

Daily coverage schedule on Peacock and CNBC:

Outside our shores, the long-standing French broadcaster of the Dakar, France Télévisions Group, says their channels will dedicate four daily shows to the 45th edition of the Dakar from December 31, 2022 to January 15, 2023. The Dakar international daily show lasts 52 minutes and spans all the categories for both professional and amateur competitors. In France, this show will be broadcast every day at 9 pm from January 1-7 on Eurosport 1 (repeat on E2 at 10:30 pm) and at 9 pm from January 8-15 on Eurosport 2 (repeat on E1 at 11:30 pm).

All the live broadcasts and replays of the shows dedicated to the rally will be available on the france.tv website and the francetvsport app.

Most of the other long-standing broadcasters of the Dakar adapt the daily show to put the spotlight on their locals which include: RTL 7 (Netherlands), TVE and TV3 Catalunya (Spain), LNK (Lithuania), SSC (Saudi Arabia), BeIN Sport (Middle East), ESPN (Latin America), SBS (Australia), JSports (Japan) and, as mentioned above, the NBC Group (United States).

Starting this year, Fox Sports will cover the Dakar in Mexico, TV NOVA will replace Czech TV as the broadcaster of the race in the Czech Republic and the Swedish digital platform Aftonbladet will run daily features on the event. Moreover, Dakar organizers say Sky Sports Italia will be covering the Dakar with special correspondents on the ground and a robust news package. 

FloRacing and Red Bull TV

The popular sports broadcaster and streaming service, FloRacing, will be covering the 2023 Dakar Rally from December 31, 2022 to January 15, 2023. You can enjoy the race online by signing up to their streaming service or access the channel on your TV through Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast and Apple TV. If you are on the go, you can also opt to download the FloSports app on iOS or Android.

An option that puts the spotlight on Red Bull racers is Red Bull TV, which will provide daily highlights and offers an app to catch the action on different devices. 

Official Dakar Rally website

The official rally site Dakar.com and its mobile application are the main hub for all the information to follow the race in real time. These resources offer live monitoring of the race with real-time tracking and cartography, live commentary, provisional results by category and kilometer point, daily stage videos, rider spotlight videos, interviews and more. Many of the videos are also accessible through the official Dakar YouTube channel and are available in four languages: French, English, Spanish and Arabic.