Showtime Sports Launches Inside NASCAR
Premium Network Teams With NASCAR Media Group To Produce Weekly, 38-Episode Series; Premieres Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010 At 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME�
NEW YORK (Dec. 2, 2009) - SHOWTIME Sports has signed a multi-year deal with NASCAR, America's No. 1 spectator sport, to produce and televise premium television's first weekly highlights and analysis show dedicated to auto racing. "Inside NASCAR" will premiere on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010 (10 p.m. ET/PT) on SHOWTIME� immediately following the season finale of Inside The NFL, and will consist of 38 one-hour episodes corresponding with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' 38-week season.
Produced in conjunction with the Emmy� Award winning NASCAR Media Group, Inside NASCAR will be taped at the new, state-of-the-art production facility at NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C. The host and analysts for Inside NASCAR are to be announced in the coming weeks.
"NASCAR is one of the most powerful sports brands in the country," said Ken Hershman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports, "and we are proud to team up with them on this compelling new series."
Inside NASCAR will feature narrated highlights and in-depth analysis from each week's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, exclusive audio and video of never-before-seen aspects of race week and in-depth feature stories plus forecasts on upcoming races and opinions on America's No. 1 form of motor sports.
Inside NASCAR is a natural extension of regularly scheduled SHOWTIME Sports programming, which includes the Emmy� Award winning Inside The NFL, live boxing and mixed martial arts events, and the critically acclaimed, behind-the-scenes documentary series Fight Camp 360� : Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic, among other titles.
"Given the level of access to drivers, tracks and teams afforded by NASCAR, we can offer something truly unique to both hard core and casual race fans," said Hershman. "We'll take viewers into new areas of the sport, into the hearts and minds of the world class drivers and teams, and give them inside access to stock car racing and NASCAR like never before."
"SHOWTIME really understands these back stage, inside access shows," said Jay Abraham, Chief Operation Officer, NASCAR Media Group. "Inside NASCAR will provide unique insights and sharp commentary appealing to all NASCAR fans. Partnering with a brand such as SHOWTIME for a high-end weekly NASCAR magazine news show in primetime is big news for our fans going into a brand new season."
ABOUT NASCAR MEDIA GROUP
NASCAR Media Group (NMG) is NASCAR's media, marketing and entertainment company that creates and produces programming related to the sport, manages its media partnerships, and forges relationships to integrate NASCAR into mainstream entertainment. Projects developed by NMG include award-winning television programs and theatrical releases, such as the acclaimed biopic "DALE"; Quest for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup; "NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience"; and "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." Earlier this year, in partnership with BET, NASCAR Media Group announced the development of a new program, "Changing Lanes," which will spotlight up and coming drivers and those supporting them behind the scenes, and this fall began producing Quest for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, an up close HD look at the drivers competing in NASCAR's playoffs, for VERSUS.
ABOUT SHOWTIME NETWORKS
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME�, THE MOVIE CHANNEL� and FLIX�, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2� , SHOWTIME� SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME�, SHOWTIME BEYOND�, SHOWTIME NEXT�, SHOWTIME WOMEN�, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE� and THE MOVIE CHANNEL� XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD�, THE MOVIE CHANNEL� HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND� and THE MOVIE CHANNEL� ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV�.
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