MotoGP Signs Multiyear Deal with Fox Sports

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa

MotoGP on Fox Sports 1 in 2013, 2014 & 2015

Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of MotoGP, has announced that it has singed a multi-year deal with Fox Sports to broadcast races on the newly announced multi-sport Fox Sports 1 from 2013 through 2015.

This is significant broadcast news for U.S. MotoGP fans. In the U.S., SPEED will cover all races live from the season opener April 7 at Qatar until the first U.S. round Aug. 18 – the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.

All races from and including Indy MotoGP through the concluding round at Valencia in November will be aired live in the US on Fox Sports 1.

Manel Arroyo (Managing Director of the Media Area at Dorna) says: “We’re very proud of this new agreement with Fox Sports and we are looking forward to being part of this huge project that is Fox Sports 1. Through this agreement, MotoGP will continue to be watched by our extensive American fan base, via the Speed channel until August and from then on, via the new Fox Sports 1 channel.

“Our 15 year partnership is arriving now to a very exciting MotoGP season with 3 GP’s on U.S. soil and the promise of some thrilling action on track.  We will deliver the very highest standard of TV coverage of the Championship, using the latest production technologies, which is what our fans in the U.S. and around the world and also our Global media partners like the Fox Sports Group, deserve.”

Bill Wanger (EVP Programming & Research for Fox Sports) says: “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. 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.”

This year, Dorna has also became the rights holder of World Superbike. With the change from infront Motor Sports to Dorna, World SBK’s broadcasting schedule also changed for 2013. BeIN Sport TV, owned by Time Warner Cable of New York and Al Jazeera, will stream the races live (Google “BeIN Sport TV Live Streaming for various services), and offer the rounds on BeIN Sport TV’s channel. To see if BeIN is available in your area, click here.

As for MotoGP, Dorna reports that the season opens April 7 on SPEED with the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar. Other U.S. highlights include the second event of the season, the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas inaugural series event at newly built Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on April 21, and a return to Laguna Seca for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on July 21. SPEED coverage from Austin includes qualifying on April 20 at 9 p.m. EST; race coverage, including pre-race activities begins at 2:30 p.m. EST on April 21. On-board camera access is available on SPEED.com for all U.S. rounds, with qualifying practice sessions on SPEED2.

The new deal, continuing a successful relationship that began on SPEED in 1997, when the series was known as the FIM World GP 500, also includes delayed coverage of Moto2 and Moto3, as well as expanded digital rights, Dorna says.

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