Satellite television channel dedicated to motorsports
Television channel
Speed
was an American
sports-oriented
cable
and
satellite
television network
that was owned by the
Fox Sports Media Group
division of
21st Century Fox
. The network was dedicated to
motorsports
programming, including
auto racing
, as well as automotive-focused programs.
Although the channel was based in the
United States
(its
headquarters
were located at
University Research Park
in
Charlotte
,
North Carolina
), Speed ceased being available to most American viewers as a standalone network with its own original programming on August 17, 2013, when it was replaced by the general-interest sports network
Fox Sports 1
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
An "international" version of the network, now known as
Fox Sports Racing
, concurrently launched in
Canada
, the
Caribbean
and the U.S. territory of
Puerto Rico
to replace the domestic feed, airing archived Speed programming and live
simulcasts
of motorsports events carried by Fox Sports 1 and
Fox Sports 2
in the United States that would be otherwise unavailable to international viewers.
[4]
When it originally launched in 1995 as
Speedvision
, the network carried a lineup featuring programs profiling the automobile and motorsports industries (including individual companies, vehicles and teams), how-to series, and coverage of various domestic and international racing series (such as the
Formula One World Championship
,
Rolex Sports Car Series
, and the
American Le Mans Series
). After it was acquired by
News Corporation
in 2001 and relaunched as
Speed Channel
, the network's programming became increasingly
NASCAR
-oriented; prior to its shutdown in the U.S., Speed's lineup consisted mostly of automotive-themed
reality shows
, NASCAR-related programs (including coverage of practice and qualifying sessions, and full coverage of the
Camping World Truck Series
and NASCAR-owned
Rolex Sports Car Series
), along with news programs focusing on motorsports. Most of Speed's live event programming was carried over to Fox Sports 1 (or sister network Fox Sports 2), and was simulcasted on the Speed network that remained available outside the U.S.
Due to contractual changes associated with the relaunch, Fox was expected to temporarily distribute a version of Speed (separate from the international version) to fulfill contracts with providers that had not yet signed deals to carry Fox Sports 1, airing a loop of the network's past reality programming.
[5]
Many of the programs once found on Speed can now be found in the United States on
CBS Sports Network
,
MAVTV
and
Velocity
(such as
Gearz
,
My Classic Car
,
Chop Cut Rebuild
, and
Dream Car Garage
as well as live coverage of racing events), others not such as
Speed Center
.
History
[
edit
]
As Speedvision
[
edit
]
The network originally launched as
Speedvision
on December 31, 1995. The network was one of two (the other being the
Outdoor Life Network
) formed out of a partnership of
Cox Cable
and
Times Mirror
which had combined their cable systems operations in 1994. In July 1995, Times Mirror decided to reassess its media holdings and reduced its stake in the two planned networks to 10%.
Comcast
and
Continental Cablevision
were brought on as new partners.
[6]
Speedvision was planned by former
ESPN
executive
Roger L. Werner
, E. Roger Williams and Robert Scanlon. The network offered a mix of automotive, boating, and aviation programming.
[7]
Speedvision's initial lineup featured various automotive programs, including various
documentary
-style series focusing on prolific vehicles, manufacturers, and racing teams (such as
Victory by Design
and
Legends of Motorsport
), series focusing on classic automobiles (such as
Dream Car Garage
, coverage of
Barrett-Jackson
's auctions, and
My Classic Car
, which moved to the network from
TNN
), an
AutoWeek
-branded television series, along with
MotorWeek
and
Autoline Detroit
? two programs respectively syndicated from
PBS
member stations
in
Maryland
and
Detroit
. Speedvision also carried coverage of various minor and professional auto racing series, including the
Sports Car Club of America
's
World Challenge series
(of which it also acquired
title sponsorship
of in 1999, becoming the
Speedvision World Challenge
).
Fox acquisition and NASCAR push
[
edit
]
In the summer of 2001, the
Fox Entertainment Group
(then a subsidiary of
News Corporation
) purchased a 30% ownership interest in Speedvision. In August of that year, Fox negotiated a deal to acquire the stakes held by Cox and
Comcast
, thus giving them majority control of the network. Since
Fox Sports
had recently acquired
broadcast rights
to the first half of the
NASCAR
Busch
and
Winston Cup Series
in a six-year deal, Fox planned to leverage Speedvision as an outlet for supplemental NASCAR programming.
[7]
To coincide with that year's running of the
Daytona 500
, Speedvision was relaunched as
Speed Channel
on February 11, 2002; the network's operations were also relocated from
Stamford
,
Connecticut
to
Charlotte
,
North Carolina
(where NASCAR and the majority of its teams are based).
In the following years, additional NASCAR-related programs were slowly brought on to the schedule, ranging from news programs (such as
Totally NASCAR
, rerun from
Fox Sports Net
, and
NASCAR Race Hub
), pre-race programs
Trackside
and
NASCAR RaceDay
, and the post-race
NASCAR Victory Lane
. Speed Channel also added a weekly call-in show in 2003,
WindTunnel with Dave Despain
, which featured interviews and discussions relating to news and events in auto racing.
Starting in 2003, Speed began to carry NASCAR's
Craftsman Truck Series
, after buying out the remainder of
ESPN2
's contract for the events. The channel also offered coverage of practices and qualifying races in NASCAR's main national series, the
Gatorade Duels
qualifying races, and the
Sprint All-Star Race
. In 2005, the channel's name was shortened to simply
Speed
.
In 2006, the conclusion of Daytona 500 qualifying coverage was moved to Speed due to NBC's coverage of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. The coverage still had NBC graphics and commentary. It would be the only time that the NBC/TNT broadcast combo (which aired the Daytona 500 in even-numbered years and the summer race in the odd-numbered months) would air its NASCAR coverage on SPEED.
[8]
Until late 2007, Speed also aired coverage of
International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation
events over the winter months ? including
bobsledding
,
luge
and
skeleton
. Its winter sports coverage also included an annual charity bobsledding event organized by NASCAR driver and bobsled builder
Geoff Bodine
, which featured participation by various NASCAR drivers.
Universal Sports
acquired the rights to FIBT events beginning in the 2007?08 season.
Speed continued to maintain coverage of other professional racing series, such as the
Rolex Sports Car Series
(including the
24 Hours of Daytona
), the
American Le Mans Series
(along with the
24 Hours of Le Mans
), the newly renamed
Speed World Challenge
until 2010, and the
Formula One World Championship
. By the mid 2000s, these came along with an increasing number of
reality
series (such as the
street racing
-inspired
Pinks
,
Unique Whips
,
Chop Cut Rebuild
, the
drag racing
game show
Pass Time
,
American Trucker
, and
Hard Parts: South Bronx
, along with reruns of the
MTV
series
Pimp My Ride
). By 2008, Speed was carried in over 73 million households.
[7]
In 2010, Fox launched Speed 2, a
TV Everywhere
video streaming service which featured coverage of additional racing series not broadcast by Speed, along with
video on demand
access to archived Speed programs. The service was shut down in 2014.
[9]
In 2011, Speed began carrying Australia's
V8 Supercars
series; it also aired live coverage of the
Gold Coast 600
(where major international drivers competed in teams alongside Australian drivers) and the
Bathurst 1000
featuring
Darrell Waltrip
,
Mike Joy
,
Leigh Diffey
, and Calvin Fish on-location. The move was met with praise from series organizers, who felt that the series could benefit from the additional exposure it would receive from American coverage?the series would also add a U.S. event at
Austin
's
Circuit of the Americas
for the 2013 season.
[10]
On October 12, 2012, Fox Sports announced that it would not renew its contract to air Formula One racing on Speed after the conclusion of the 2012 season. Two days later,
NBC Sports
announced that it had reached a new four-year deal to broadcast F1 races beginning in the 2013 season, with the majority of its coverage to be carried by
NBC Sports Network
.
[11]
[12]
Three days later, Fox Sports reached an agreement with NASCAR to extend the network's broadcasting contract through the 2022 season (maintaining its rights to the first half of the Sprint Cup season and the full Camping World Truck Series season), along with the addition of online streaming rights beginning in 2013.
[13]
International expansion
[
edit
]
Speed became available in
Canada
shortly after its U.S. launch. As Speedvision, Speed was approved by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) to be added to its list of foreign cable networks approved for carriage on Canadian cable and satellite providers in 1997.
[14]
As such, Speed was carried by most Canadian television service providers. Prior to August 2013, Canadian viewers saw a largely identical schedule as the U.S. channel, although some programming, particularly live Formula 1 events, were
blacked out
to protect
TSN
, which holds domestic broadcast rights to F1 events (under CRTC rules, foreign services must own Canadian broadcast rights to the content they air).
[15]
However, this point became moot when NBC Sports Network obtained rights to F1 events beginning with the 2013 season, as that network is not available in Canada.
The Latin American version of Speed was launched on November 5, 2005 with a Brazilian version following in July 2006, carrying live coverage of the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series,
Rolex Sports Car Series
, American Le Mans Series (including 24 Hours of Le Mans),
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
and the Camping World Truck Series. It also aired delayed coverage of the
World Series by Renault
and
NASCAR Mexico
. Other programming included highlights shows including
British Formula Three Championship
, the Argentine
TC 2000
and
Turismo Carretera
, and the Colombian T.C. 2000 and delayed highlights of Australia's V8 Supercars,
FIA GT
(airing on a few months delay),
AMA Supercross
and
Monster Jam
, as well as non-motorsport programs such as
Grand Prix on Track
,
Grand Prix Story
,
Unique Whips
,
Tuner Mania
and
Pinks
.
Speed launched in Australia on November 1, 2010 on
Foxtel
in both
standard
and
high definition
.
[16]
After months of negotiations and controversy, on March 25, 2011, Speed and Speed HD launched on subscription television provider
Austar
.
[17]
Among other racing events, the Australian network aired NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series, V8 Supercars and Superbike World Championship with the network also having its own version of
Speed News
. Unlike the U.S. version, it was owned by
Fox Sports Pty Limited
, a subsidiary of
News Corp Australia
? which no longer was directly connected to 21st Century Fox due to its inclusion in the
split
of News Corporation.
On February 5, 2012, the Latin American channel was replaced in
Brazil
by a domestic version of
Fox Sports
. Beginning in 2012, the network broadcast
Formula 1
free practices and live and delayed qualifying events and races, as well as live races from the GP2 Series and GP3 Series. On November 5, 2012, Speed Latin America was relaunched as
Fox Sports 3
, whose programming remains focused on motorsports, especially on weekends.
On November 2, 2014, the Australian verison of Speed closed and was replaced by
Fox Sports 5
.
[18]
[19]
Shutdown of Speed and relaunch as Fox Sports 1, 2 and Fox Sports Racing
[
edit
]
On March 5, 2013, Fox Sports announced that Speed would be shut down and replaced by a new mainstream sports channel known as
Fox Sports 1
; the network was to inherit Speed's NASCAR coverage (which would be expanded under a new television deal in 2015 to add coverage of selected
Sprint Cup Series
and
Nationwide Series
events), but joined by new or recently acquired sports rights, including
college basketball
and
football
,
Major League Soccer
,
UFC
, and new studio programming. Sister channel Fuel TV was also being re-launched as a companion,
Fox Sports 2
.
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
The last program to be broadcast by Speed in the United States was a replay of qualifying for that weekend's Sprint Cup event, the
Pure Michigan 400
, which was soon followed by a statement from Fox NASCAR play-by-play announcer
Mike Joy
marking the end of Speed's operations in the United States:
For 18 years, it's been our honor and privilege to present motorsports and automotive-related programming to you on the network that began as Speedvision, became Speed Channel, and is now known as Speed. From the visionaries who started this network, from maintenance to management, from the talent to the truck drivers, we've shared your passion for motorsports over lo these many years. We love that you care as much about your cars as family, God and country, and so do we. But now, it's time to switch off the ignition and turn in the keys. This is the end of Speed in America. We hope you'll follow us on our new journey to Fox Sports 1 because all your favorite live NASCAR programming and much more is coming along with us. So now, it's goodnight and farewell to America's motorsports authority, Speed.
?
Fox's
Mike Joy
, at the moment Speed was relaunched as Fox Sports 1
[24]
Although Fox marketed the transition to Fox Sports 1 as a re-launch of Speed, Fox was required to re-negotiate carriage deals with providers for Fox Sports 1 due to the change of its nature of service. There was uncertainty over whether Fox Sports 1 would have sufficient carriage at launch, as it had not yet reached deals with three of the four largest pay television providers in the United States (these being
DirecTV
,
Dish Network
and
Time Warner Cable
) with only a month before its launch. However, all three finally agreed to terms to carry Fox Sports 1 three days before the scheduled launch.
[25]
For any remaining television providers that did not reach a deal, Fox offered a "watered-down" version of Speed (which consisted of a loop of the network's reality programming and no live events) to fulfill existing carriage contracts until they reached a deal to carry Fox Sports 1. In international markets such as Canada, a Speed-branded service was maintained running an automated loop of Speed's previous non-event programming, and simulcasts of motorsports programming carried by Fox Sports 1 or
2
.
[4]
[5]
[26]
Despite the channel’s shutdown, the Speed brand would be briefly used on Fox Sports’ social media platforms for coverage of
AMA Supercross
, the
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
, the
ARCA Racing Series
,
IMSA
, and other non-NASCAR motorsports.
In Canada, as well as the
Caribbean
and
Puerto Rico
, Speed was not converted to Fox Sports 1 with the exact reasons for this not being confirmed, although in the case of Canada, it was not clear whether Fox would have had the ability to make such a change given that Speed's Canadian authorization was based on it being a motorsports-based network with that version of Speed still being available in these areas despite its U.S. shutdown. It would continue to carry various NASCAR and other motorsports events, as well as related studio programming, mostly simulcast with their U.S. broadcasts on Fox Sports 1 or Fox Sports 2, but did not otherwise originate any new programming of its own. During hours when the network was not simulcasting FS1 or FS2 coverage, it carried repeats of past events and Speed's previous reality and documentary programming without carrying commercial advertising: commercial breaks consist solely of promos for its programming, with no outside advertising aside from
public service announcements
and promotions inserted by local providers.
[4]
In early 2014, major Canadian service providers including
Rogers Cable
and
Bell Satellite TV
began to drop the service upon the expiration of their carriage contracts.
Cogeco
dropped the Speed Channel on July 15, 2014.
[27]
Shaw
later announced they would drop Speed on April 1, 2015 within their cable and satellite system (a.k.a. Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct).
[28]
Reports indicate that Fox had attempted to raise the channel's carriage fees significantly, despite the major reductions in original programming for international viewers,
[29]
and Rogers suggests Fox was unwilling to allow Speed to be moved to a more specialized package in light of the programming and cost changes.
[30]
On February 19, 2015, Fox announced that the international feed of Speed would be re-branded as
Fox Sports Racing
, and announced that Rogers had reached a deal to add the rebranded network back to its lineup.
[31]
Revival as a FAST channel
[
edit
]
On October 12, 2022, it was announced that Speed co-founder Robert Scanlon was collaborating with
Rick Hendrick
,
Bill Goldberg
and advertising industry sales executive Joe Abruzzese to revive the Speedvision brand as a linear channel on FAST (
f
ree
a
d-
s
upported
t
elevision) services.
[32]
The new channel was launched on November 17, 2022
[33]
and features original and archival automotive programming on its daily schedule.
Programming
[
edit
]
Speed on Fox
[
edit
]
Speed on Fox
was the name given for any motorsports events shown on
Fox
which would normally be broadcast by Speed Channel. The events included races from the
NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series
(using
NASCAR on Fox
branding and graphics when aired),
Formula One
, and
Rolex Sports Car Series
. The name was first used in February 2007. Formula One was broadcast on Fox for six years and the Camping World Truck Series for eight years.
Magazines
[
edit
]
Notable personalities
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Pedigree part of pitch for Fox Sports 1"
. SBD
. Retrieved
November 29,
2012
.
- ^
Fox Reveals Details of New National Sports Network
,
Variety
, March 5, 2013.
- ^
"Fox Sports Media Group Gives Rise To Fox Sports 1, A New National Multi-Sport Network (Press Release)"
(PDF)
.
Fox Sports
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on March 6, 2013
. Retrieved
March 5,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Two channels will carry Speed name"
.
Sports Business Journal
. Retrieved
August 16,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
"FS1 carriage talks sticky a month out"
.
Sports Business Journal
. Retrieved
July 15,
2013
.
- ^
"Continental, Comcast join Cox/TM team"
(PDF)
.
Broadcasting & Cable
. July 31, 1995. p. 30
. Retrieved
August 7,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
"The final days of Speed"
.
Sports Business Journal
. Retrieved
August 7,
2013
.
- ^
Archived at
Ghostarchive
and the
Wayback Machine
:
"2006 02 12 Daytona 500 Qualifying"
.
YouTube
.
- ^
"Time Warner Cable Revs Up Speed 2 Broadband Launch"
.
Multichannel News
. Retrieved
August 21,
2013
.
- ^
"Waltrip joins US TV coverage of Bathurst 1000"
. Crash.net. September 14, 2011
. Retrieved
October 12,
2012
.
- ^
"SPEED coverage of Formula One comes to an end in 2012"
. Motorsport.com
. Retrieved
October 13,
2012
.
- ^
"Formula 1 lands four-year deal with NBC"
. Racer
. Retrieved
October 16,
2012
.
- ^
"NASCAR rides hot rights market to increase with Fox"
.
Sports Business Journal
. Retrieved
October 17,
2012
.
- ^
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(July 22, 1997).
"Public Notice CRTC 1997-96"
. Retrieved
March 5,
2013
.
- ^
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(February 13, 2013).
"Revised list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution as of 13 February 2013"
. Retrieved
March 5,
2013
.
Authorization for the services on this list is subject to the following: Providers of these foreign services must have obtained and must remain in possession of all necessary rights for the distribution of their programming in Canada. [...]
- ^
"SPEED is on the air"
. David Knox
. Retrieved
November 2,
2010
.
- ^
"AUSTAR News: SPEED Channel , About Austar ? AUSTAR Television"
. Austar. Archived from
the original
on May 26, 2013
. Retrieved
March 24,
2011
.
- ^
Knox, David (September 3, 2014).
"FOX Sports adding two more channels"
. TV Tonight
. Retrieved
September 3,
2014
.
- ^
Mark@ (3 September 2014).
"BEST YEAR EVER IN 2015 DEMANDS SEVEN HIGH DEFINITION FOX SPORTS CHANNELS"
. KnowFirst. Archived from
the original
on 3 September 2014
. Retrieved
3 September
2014
.
- ^
Hiestand, Michael (March 5, 2013).
"Fox Sports launches direct challenge to ESPN dominance"
.
USA Today
. Retrieved
March 7,
2013
.
- ^
"Fox Sports announces Fox Sports 1"
. Retrieved
March 5,
2013
.
- ^
"Fox extends NASCAR TV contract and adds races to broadcast schedule starting in 2015"
.
sports.yahoo.com
.
- ^
Pishna, Ken (August 6, 2013).
"Fuel TV Re-Brands as Fox Sports 2, Launches Alongside Fox Sports 1; Will Still Feature UFC"
.
MMA Weekly
. Retrieved
August 11,
2013
.
- ^
"As Speed dies, Mike Joy provides lookback, then bridge to Fox Sports 1"
.
www.sportingnews.com
.
- ^
Flint, Joe (August 14, 2013).
"Fox Sports 1 will launch with DirecTV, Dish and Time Warner Cable"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
August 14,
2013
.
- ^
"Speed Channel TV listings (August 17, 2013 onwards)"
.
Zap2It
. Archived from
the original
on February 2, 2014
. Retrieved
August 7,
2013
.
- ^
"Speed Channel"
.
Cogeco
. Archived from
the original
on July 26, 2014
. Retrieved
July 18,
2014
.
- ^
"April 2015 - Removal of Speed channel"
. Shaw. Archived from
the original
on February 6, 2015
. Retrieved
February 12,
2015
.
- ^
McDonald, Norris (February 25, 2014).
"Fogarty, Gurney at large, Villeneuve at Indy and Speed Channel"
.
Wheels.ca
. Archived from
the original
on March 24, 2014
. Retrieved
March 24,
2014
.
- ^
"Speed Channel"
.
Rogers Communications
. Retrieved
March 24,
2014
.
- ^
"FOX Sports Racing to launch new era in motor sports Friday"
.
Fox Sports
. Retrieved
February 20,
2015
.
- ^
"SPEEDVISION set to return as streaming network"
.
Racer
. Retrieved
October 27,
2023
.
- ^
"Speedvision - Auto Enthusiasts Rejoice!"
. November 17, 2022
. Retrieved
October 27,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Newspapers
| |
---|
Television
|
|
---|
Channels
|
|
---|
Joint ventures
| |
---|
Defunct channels
| |
---|
Streaming
| |
---|
|
---|
Magazines
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|
Former
holdings
| |
---|
|
---|
Current properties
| |
---|
Channels
| |
---|
Streaming affiliation
| |
---|
Radio network
| |
---|
Online
| |
---|
Former programs
| |
---|
Defunct or sold
| |
---|
See also
| |
---|
|
---|
National
| |
---|
Regional
| |
---|
Syndication
| |
---|
Out-of-market
| |
---|
|
---|
Broadcast television partners
| |
---|
Secondary broadcast television partners
| |
---|
Cable television partners
|
|
---|
Secondary cable television partners
| |
---|
Radio partners
| |
---|
Current regular season
| |
---|
NASCAR playoffs
| |
---|
Non-points events
| |
---|
Previous
| |
---|
News television series
| |
---|
Prerace television series
| |
---|
Postrace television series
| |
---|
Race rebroadcasts
| |
---|
Broadcast technology
| |
---|
Reality television series
| |
---|
Anthology television series
| |
---|
TV history by decade
| |
---|
Sports television in Canada
|
---|
Broadcast
networks
| Full sports divisions
| |
---|
Occasional or U.S. simulcasts only
| |
---|
|
---|
Mainstream
specialty
| |
---|
Sports news / information
| |
---|
Niche specialty
(English)
| Sport-specific
| |
---|
Lifestyle and recreation
| |
---|
|
---|
Streaming services
| |
---|
Occasional broadcasts
| |
---|
Defunct
| |
---|
Foreign
| |
---|
|
---|
Broadcast
divisions
| |
---|
Sports channels
| |
---|
Live streaming channels
| |
---|
Defunct channels
| |
---|
|
---|
|
Entertainment
and drama
| |
---|
Lifestyle
| |
---|
Religious
| |
---|
Home Shopping
| |
---|
Movies
| |
---|
Sport
| |
---|
News
| |
---|
Documentary
| |
---|
Kids and family
| |
---|
Music
| |
---|
Specialty
| |
---|
Defunct
| |
---|