FOX Sports Does MotoGP Deal
Cycle News Staff | March 25, 2013
FOX Sports has signed a multi-year deal with Dorna Sports for broadcast rights to the MotoGP World Championship, with races set to air on Speed and the newly announced multi-sport FOX Sports 1 in 2013.
MotoGP will be featured during the launch of FOX Sports in August with the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix scheduled for August 18 as one of the first live events on the new network.
“With an international event lineup that includes three U.S. stops, MotoGP brings an immediate world class motor sports presence to the FOX Sports 1 lineup,” said Bill Wanger, EVP Programming & Research for FOX Sports in a release. “Having the race from iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway fall on our FS1 launch weekend is a bonus, and one of which we plan to take full advantage.”
The MotoGP season begins on April 7 on Speed with the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar live at 3 p.m. ET, with Moto2 at 11 p.m. ET and Moto3 airing on April 9 at noon ET. Qualifying is available on Speed2, the authenticated broadband network.
For the U.S. rounds, Bob Varsha will host the shows with Ralph Sheheen and Jonathan Green splitting play-by-play duties; Scott Russell will provide analysis and Greg White will handle the pit reporting. The team of Gavin Emmett and Nick Harris will call international races, with Varsha, Sheheen, Greg Creamer and Dave Despain sharing the role of studio host.
