EUROSPORT HAS completed the grand slam of motorcycle rights in the UK having secured the exclusive LIVE rights to the fiercely competitive British Superbike Championship.
The move confirms Eurosport in the UK as the undisputed home for live motorcycle racing with the British Superbike Championship joining live racing from the MotoGP and World Superbike Championships being broadcast to over 10 million homes through the SKY and Virgin Media platforms.
The new acquisition, representing 48 hours of live and 66 hours of
highlights coverage of BSB is the start of a major new development for the British Eurosport 2 channel. This new investment in British Eurosport 2 will see it deliver more exciting, tailored programming and presentation for UK sports fans in the coming months.
Bike fans will be able to enjoy a regular 4-hour live race day show
featuring both BSB races, the British Supersport Championship and Yamaha R1 Cup support races all live from each BSB round with expert presentation and analysis.
Raceday highlights will also be shown in primetime that evening, and throughout the following week, including on Thursdays, a “British Superbikes Extra” show featuring the British 125GP, National Superstock and KTM Super Duke Championships.
The British Superbike Championship is among the most dynamic motorcycle racing championships in the world, bringing together not only the crème of British racers, but in its history also top riders from Australia, Japan, and Spain. The series features a full grid of 32 riders and six major motorcycle manufacturers.
The Eurosport Group has signed an agreement with MotorSport Vision that will also see the BSB series broadcast live and exclusive across Europe on Eurosport 2 and on the Eurosport feed in Asia and the Pacific, opening up the Championship to a potential overseas reach of 28 million households in 53 countries.
David Kerr, Director of British Eurosport said: “The acquisition of British Superbikes has got our ambitions for the new British Eurosport 2 off to a roaring start. We have a long relationship with bike fans and can now add this great championship to our already unbeatable line-up of bike racing. The arrival of the British Superbike Championship clearly positions British Eurosport as the home of live motorcycle racing on TV.”
The 2008 season features 12 rounds with two races per round. For each round, Eurosport 2 will transmit both races live and slightly delayed. In addition, Eurosport Asia-Pacific will cover LIVE the whole season across the region, reaching fans in 9 further countries, while there will be live streaming of all races on all Eurosport's websites. In the UK this will be eurosport.yahoo.com
Commenting on the new TV deal, Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive of
MotorSport Vision said: “As the new rights holder it is clear that television coverage is vital to the future development of BSB, so a great deal of effort has gone into understanding what matters and securing the optimal package. ITV1 was not going to continue carrying live BSB coverage from 2008 and we are in a new era in which the digital channels will be the home of virtually all sport.
"I believe it is important that we have a broadcast partner that is
recognised as the logical and natural home for bike racing, so fans know where to find BSB on television. With nearly 20 years of sport broadcasting and now covering both MotoGP and World Superbikes, Eurosport was the therefore the perfect choice and I was delighted to find that they were as excited as we were about completing the hat trick with BSB too. I am determined that BSB shall also become internationally famous as the best national superbike championship in the world and Eurosport’s global coverage will play a major role in achieving that."
