As a prelude to the Indianapolis 500 on May 25, ESPN has announced a major expansion of European television distribution for the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, the premier open wheel racing circuit in the world.
ESPN, which is the exclusive worldwide television representative of the IRL IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500, has negotiated numerous syndication agreements for broadcast in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Hungary, Poland and Turkey.
New broadcast agreements with Five (UK), RTL (Belgium), RTP (Portugal), SVT (Sweden) and SKY TURK (Turkey) complement existing distribution deals with leading pay TV channels such as Tele+ (Italy), Premiere (Germany) and Sky Sports (UK). In addition, Eurosport, the most widely distributed channel in Europe serving more than 54 countries and 93 million households, will once again televise IRL IndyCar Series highlights.
Timo Lumme, ESPN International’s vice president of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East said: ‘IRL IndyCar is going from strength to strength in Europe. This is largely down to the enduring popularity of the Indy 500 coupled with an influx of exciting new drivers such as Britain’s Dario Franchitti, South Africa’s Tomas Schekter, and Sweden’s popular Kenny Brack. In all, we expect the broadcasts of the IRL IndyCar Series to reach more than 120 million homes throughout Europe.’
IndyCar Series is a motor-racing championship descended from the 92-year old sporting tradition and heritage of the legendary Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. The 2003 IRL IndyCar Series is a 16-race series running from March to October, with 15 races in the United States and one race in Japan. The Indy Racing League, based in Indianapolis, is the sanctioning body for the IRL IndyCar Series.
ESPN is a worldwide, multimedia sports entertainment company. In addition to seven US sports networks, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic and ESPNEWS, there are 25 sports networks across the globe, making ESPN the largest provider of sports programming in the world . Following the opening of ESPN’s London office in 2002, ESPN acts a European distributor and content provider of leading sports programming to networks across the Continent.
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