SPEED Channel President Jim Liberatore announced today that SPEED Channel has reached an unprecedented three-year agreement with the FIA Formula One World Championship, making SPEED the television home to the complete 16-race Grand Prix racing schedule in 2003, including September’s United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
‘Formula One events, fans and history are the bricks and mortar that form the foundation that this network was built upon,’ Liberatore said. ‘We have known for many years that F1 deserves to be presented to its fans in a comprehensive manner worthy of the title of the world’s most popular racing series. This coverage includes Formula One’s past, present and future. With the addition of ‘F1 Decade’, F3000 and continued coverage of every event including practice and qualifying, we are providing this passionate fan base the coverage it deserves. What’s more, they will no longer need to wait until hours before the season’s first green flag to know where to tune in!’
The deal, SPEED Channel’s fifth with a major racing sanctioning body in the last six months, begins with this weekend’s live qualifying and racing coverage from the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Since announcing the addition of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the end of September, SPEED Channel also has inked deals with USAC, ASA and the IHRA for programming in 2003 and beyond.
The F1 deal also includes broadcast rights for the Formula One season ten years removed from the current season, allowing SPEED’s F1 Decade to air races from the 1993 season this year.
SPEED Channel’s coverage from Australia begins with live Thursday evening qualifying at 10 p.m. ET. Race coverage begins Saturday evening at 9:30 p.m.
Former F1 mechanic Steve Matchett and play-by-play man Rick DeBruhl will join veteran analyst and former F1 driver David Hobbs in the broadcast booth. Peter Windsor will provide reporting from the paddock.
For more details contact:
Erik Arneson, Director of Public Relations, Speed Channel
(t) +1 704 731 2222
(f) +1 704 731 2135
(e) earneson@speedtv.com