IRL Announces TV Sked/ ESPN Pulls IRL TV Talent for NASCAR Broadcasts/ NASCAR Now to Procede WoO Broadcasts
IndyCar Series Announces 2007 TV Schedule
The Indy Racing League and ESPN announced their 2007 IndyCar Series TV schedule today. Fourteen tracks from 2006 will return with the addition of three new venues. Of the three new venues, two new road courses, Mid Ohio and Belle Isle. The schedule has twelve ovals and a total of five road and street courses. All seventeen events will be televised by ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The 2007 television schedule will include seven events on ABC, five on ESPN and five on ESPN2. The series will open the season under the lights of the oval at Homestead on ESPN2. The race is one of five prime-time races on the schedule along with Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Nashville Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway. ABC will broadcast the Indy 500, Milwaukee, Iowa, Watkins Glen, Mid Ohio, The Raceway at Belle Isle and Chicagoland. ESPN will show St. Petersburg, Motegi, Richmond, Nashville and Infineon. ESPN2 will broadcast Homestead, Kansas, Texas, Michigan and Kentucky. In addition, ABC and ESPN2 will broadcast Pole Day on May 12.
ESPN2 will showcase second-day qualifying on May 13 and time trials on May 19. ABC and ESPN2 will televise Bump Day action on May 20. Carb Day activities, the annual pit stop challenge and the Indy Pro Series Freedom 100 will be shown on ESPN2 on May 25. The seventeen race schedule has few holes over the twenty five week stretch from Homestead to Chicagoland which will host the season finale on September 9th. Three of the races Homestead, Texas and Kentucky will follow the NASCAR Busch Series on ESPN2 with the Busch Series during the day and the IndyCar Series at night. Richmond and Nashville will air at night on ESPN after the Busch Series race airs on ESPN2 during the day. Only four of the races, Kansas, Milwaukee, Iowa and Michigan could go head to head with the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
The complete 2007 IndyCar Series schedule follows:
Date Venue Television
March 24 Homestead-Miami Speedway, 1.5-mile oval (Night) ESPN2
April 1 Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile street course ESPN
April 21 (broadcast 22) Twin Ring Motegi, 1.5-mile oval ESPN
April 29 Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval ESPN2
May 27 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2.5-mile oval ABC
June 3 The Milwaukee Mile, 1-mile oval ABC
June 9 Texas Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile oval (Night) ESPN2
June 24 Iowa Speedway, .875-mile oval ABC
June 30 Richmond International Raceway, .75-mile oval (Night) ESPN
July 8 Watkins Glen International, 3.37-mile road course ABC
July 14 Nashville Superspeedway, 1.33-mile oval (Night) ESPN
July 22 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, 2.258-mile road course ABC
Aug. 5 Michigan International Speedway, 2-mile oval ESPN2
Aug. 11 Kentucky Speedway, 1.5-mile oval (Night) ESPN2
Aug. 26 Infineon Raceway, 2.4-mile road course ESPN
Sept. 2 The Raceway at Belle Isle, 2.096-mile street course ABC
Sept. 9 Chicagoland Speedway, 1.5-mile oval ABC
ESPN Pulls IRL TV Talent for NASCAR Broadcasts
When Rusty Wallace was tapped to call IRL races this season, you pretty much knew that the “I gotta tell ya,” “Hotrod” commentator would be calling NASCAR races for the ESPN Sports family in 2007. ABC/ESPN formally made the announcement this past week.
The best pit reporter in the business, Dr. Jerry Punch will leave pit road and return to the broadcast booth for all of ABC/ESPN’s Cup Chase broadcasts and all the Busch races on ESPN2. Joining Dr. Punch and Wallace will be Andy Petree. Dale Jarett will join the booth team for select Busch races. Allen Bestwick and Dave Burns will make the trip from NBC/ TNT to ABC/ESPN in the off season. Long time ESPN reporter Mike Massaro will also report from the pits.
IRL reporter Jamie Little will take her signature pony tail to the NASCAR side to round out the ABC/ ESPN pit crew. I will miss seeing Jamie in the IRL pits.
Brent Musberger will host the NASCAR Countdown show before most of the races on the ESPN Sports networks. The mobile pit studio that Musberger could look like the one that was used on select IRL telecasts this season as ESPN experimented with several new ways of delivering information to their viewers.
“NASCAR Now” to Proceed WoO on ESPN2
A little over a month ago we reported that ESPN was working on a NASCAR program that would air prior to the World of Outlaws on ESPN2. That program is “NASCAR Now.” “NASCAR Now” is set to air from 11am to 12pm eastern on Sundays on ESPN2. The program will be followed by a 30 minute NHRA highlight show.
The “World of Outlaws Summer of Money” will follow from 12:30pm to 1:30pm eastern from June 17th to August 5th.
TNT Floats Their Own Version of Side by Side
This week’s edition of the Sports Business Journal http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.main&articleId=52235 reports that TNT is floating the idea of doing away with traditional commercial breaks during some of their NASCAR races in 2007. The article written by Terry Lefton and John Ourand says that Turner Broadcasting presenting the idea
“of a framing device that would allow for messages — including full-motion video and audio — mostly along the bottom of the screen.”
The SBJ article terms the presentation to potential sponsors as “preliminary” and says the network will need 10 to 12 advertisers to make the program ad free. The IRL and ESPN Sports rolled out “side-by-side” at the season opener last March. NASCAR shot down the ESPN “side-by-side” idea for the networks Cup and Busch broadcasts for 2007. TNT will pick up the NASCAR schedule in June at Pocono and wrap up their coverage at Chicagoland in July.
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of ABC, ESPN, IMS Productions, IRL and Open Wheeler.
The Indy Racing League and ESPN announced their 2007 IndyCar Series TV schedule today. Fourteen tracks from 2006 will return with the addition of three new venues. Of the three new venues, two new road courses, Mid Ohio and Belle Isle. The schedule has twelve ovals and a total of five road and street courses. All seventeen events will be televised by ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The 2007 television schedule will include seven events on ABC, five on ESPN and five on ESPN2. The series will open the season under the lights of the oval at Homestead on ESPN2. The race is one of five prime-time races on the schedule along with Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Nashville Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway. ABC will broadcast the Indy 500, Milwaukee, Iowa, Watkins Glen, Mid Ohio, The Raceway at Belle Isle and Chicagoland. ESPN will show St. Petersburg, Motegi, Richmond, Nashville and Infineon. ESPN2 will broadcast Homestead, Kansas, Texas, Michigan and Kentucky. In addition, ABC and ESPN2 will broadcast Pole Day on May 12.
ESPN2 will showcase second-day qualifying on May 13 and time trials on May 19. ABC and ESPN2 will televise Bump Day action on May 20. Carb Day activities, the annual pit stop challenge and the Indy Pro Series Freedom 100 will be shown on ESPN2 on May 25. The seventeen race schedule has few holes over the twenty five week stretch from Homestead to Chicagoland which will host the season finale on September 9th. Three of the races Homestead, Texas and Kentucky will follow the NASCAR Busch Series on ESPN2 with the Busch Series during the day and the IndyCar Series at night. Richmond and Nashville will air at night on ESPN after the Busch Series race airs on ESPN2 during the day. Only four of the races, Kansas, Milwaukee, Iowa and Michigan could go head to head with the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
The complete 2007 IndyCar Series schedule follows:
Date Venue Television
March 24 Homestead-Miami Speedway, 1.5-mile oval (Night) ESPN2
April 1 Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile street course ESPN
April 21 (broadcast 22) Twin Ring Motegi, 1.5-mile oval ESPN
April 29 Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval ESPN2
May 27 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2.5-mile oval ABC
June 3 The Milwaukee Mile, 1-mile oval ABC
June 9 Texas Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile oval (Night) ESPN2
June 24 Iowa Speedway, .875-mile oval ABC
June 30 Richmond International Raceway, .75-mile oval (Night) ESPN
July 8 Watkins Glen International, 3.37-mile road course ABC
July 14 Nashville Superspeedway, 1.33-mile oval (Night) ESPN
July 22 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, 2.258-mile road course ABC
Aug. 5 Michigan International Speedway, 2-mile oval ESPN2
Aug. 11 Kentucky Speedway, 1.5-mile oval (Night) ESPN2
Aug. 26 Infineon Raceway, 2.4-mile road course ESPN
Sept. 2 The Raceway at Belle Isle, 2.096-mile street course ABC
Sept. 9 Chicagoland Speedway, 1.5-mile oval ABC
ESPN Pulls IRL TV Talent for NASCAR Broadcasts
When Rusty Wallace was tapped to call IRL races this season, you pretty much knew that the “I gotta tell ya,” “Hotrod” commentator would be calling NASCAR races for the ESPN Sports family in 2007. ABC/ESPN formally made the announcement this past week.
The best pit reporter in the business, Dr. Jerry Punch will leave pit road and return to the broadcast booth for all of ABC/ESPN’s Cup Chase broadcasts and all the Busch races on ESPN2. Joining Dr. Punch and Wallace will be Andy Petree. Dale Jarett will join the booth team for select Busch races. Allen Bestwick and Dave Burns will make the trip from NBC/ TNT to ABC/ESPN in the off season. Long time ESPN reporter Mike Massaro will also report from the pits.
IRL reporter Jamie Little will take her signature pony tail to the NASCAR side to round out the ABC/ ESPN pit crew. I will miss seeing Jamie in the IRL pits.
Brent Musberger will host the NASCAR Countdown show before most of the races on the ESPN Sports networks. The mobile pit studio that Musberger could look like the one that was used on select IRL telecasts this season as ESPN experimented with several new ways of delivering information to their viewers.
“NASCAR Now” to Proceed WoO on ESPN2
A little over a month ago we reported that ESPN was working on a NASCAR program that would air prior to the World of Outlaws on ESPN2. That program is “NASCAR Now.” “NASCAR Now” is set to air from 11am to 12pm eastern on Sundays on ESPN2. The program will be followed by a 30 minute NHRA highlight show.
The “World of Outlaws Summer of Money” will follow from 12:30pm to 1:30pm eastern from June 17th to August 5th.
TNT Floats Their Own Version of Side by Side
This week’s edition of the Sports Business Journal http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.main&articleId=52235 reports that TNT is floating the idea of doing away with traditional commercial breaks during some of their NASCAR races in 2007. The article written by Terry Lefton and John Ourand says that Turner Broadcasting presenting the idea
“of a framing device that would allow for messages — including full-motion video and audio — mostly along the bottom of the screen.”
The SBJ article terms the presentation to potential sponsors as “preliminary” and says the network will need 10 to 12 advertisers to make the program ad free. The IRL and ESPN Sports rolled out “side-by-side” at the season opener last March. NASCAR shot down the ESPN “side-by-side” idea for the networks Cup and Busch broadcasts for 2007. TNT will pick up the NASCAR schedule in June at Pocono and wrap up their coverage at Chicagoland in July.
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of ABC, ESPN, IMS Productions, IRL and Open Wheeler.
posted by Blake Johnson at 6:26 PM
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