(Note: No word on Canadian broadcasters here.... g.m.)
Champ Car World Series To Appear on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC in 2008
The Champ Car World Series will appear exclusively on the ESPN networks in 2008 with a 14-race schedule combining live and same-day telecasts. The international open-wheel racing series returned to ESPN in 2007 after an absence of six years.
The schedule includes four races on both ABC and ESPN and six on ESPN2. The season begins Sunday, Apr. 20, with same-day coverage of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The 2.5-hour telecast will include a season preview special.
"We're thrilled to have all of our races this season on the ESPN/ABC networks in the second year of our renewed relationship," said Champ Car President & CEO Steve Johnson. "We worked closely with ESPN to create a schedule that we believe serves both existing and future fans of Champ Car racing."
ESPN2 also will televise races for the Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, Champ Car's development series, on a tape-delay basis.
"With the close competition and the exciting mix of street and road courses, anything can happen in a Champ Car race," said John Wildhack, ESPN executive vice president, programming and acquisitions. "We look forward to bringing the entire season to our viewers across ESPN�s multimedia platforms."
The networks have a long history with Champ Car that began in 1981 when the first race ever aired live on ESPN was a Champ Car event from Milwaukee won by Mike Mosley. Series events appeared on the networks through the 2001 season. Many of the great moments in the history of the series were seen live on ESPN and ABC including Alex Zanardi's 1997 win in Cleveland where he introduced the world to victory doughnuts and Mario Andretti's final Champ Car win at Phoenix in 1993.
The 2008 Champ Car World Series television schedule (all times Eastern):
Apr. 20: Long Beach // ESPN2 @ 5 p.m.
Apr. 27: Houston // ESPN2@ 10 p.m.
May 18: Laguna Seca // ESPN @ 4 p.m.
June 1: Belgium // ABC @ 3 p.m.
June 8: Spain // ABC @ 4 p.m.
June 22: Cleveland // ABC @ 3:30 p.m.
June 29: Mont-Tremblant // ESPN @ 1 p.m.
July 6: Toronto // ESPN @ 2 p.m.
July 20: Edmonton // ESPN @ 3 p.m.
July 27: Portland // ESPN2 @ 10 p.m.
Aug. 10: Road America // ABC @ 5 p.m.
Sept. 14: Holland // ESPN2 @ 10 p.m.
Oct. 26: Australia // ESPN2 @ 11 p.m.
Nov. 9: Mexico City // ESPN2 @ 3 p.m.
Visit http://www.espnmediazone.com/ for ESPN's latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video and audio clips and more.
Contacts: Andy Hall at 407-566-2209; andy.hall@espn.com
George McNeilly at 407-566-2077; george.mcneilly@espn.com
UPDATE (12:15): Here's what they're saying about the TV package over on ChampCarFanatics... The die-hards are not happy about what has been released, to say the least. BTW, thanks (not!) to poster Edmontonracing for the unattributed cut/paste from here. Not cool.
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