DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) has more international appeal than ever.

NASCAR begins the 2004 season with an expanded global reach that includes weekly television broadcasts in more than 150 countries and in 23 languages each week. This year, NASCAR’s international broadcast partners will air more than 4,000 hours of NASCAR-related programming outside the U.S. NASCAR is starting the new season strongly, having renewed 13 broadcast partnerships and having added 10 new TV partners. Those new partners will bring new and expanded coverage to Canada, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, Italy, UK, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and throughout the Middle East.

Worldwide fan demand, combined with the power of the NASCAR brand, has fueled an increased interest in NASCAR by broadcasters around the world. NASCAR now has 30 broadcast partners outside the U.S.

Those partners include: TSN, Sportsnet, Craig Media Group, Bell ExpressVu, SPEED Channel, Televisa, SporTV, TV Globo, Fox Sports Latin America, Fox Sports Middle East, Fox Sports Australia, Eurosport, Channel 5, ITV, NASN, AB Moteurs, Motors TV, Viasat, Sportmania, Showtime, NTV, G+, Indosair, Cineplex, SKY, SOLAR Sports, Dubai Sports Channel, SNTV, Reuters and TWI.

“By partnering with world class TV networks outside of the U.S., NASCAR is growing the worldwide fan base and reaching new fans around the globe,” said NASCAR Director, International Robbie Weiss. “Our international focus is expanding our reach and increasing overall opportunities for the industry. Expanding our worldwide TV distribution and developing partnerships in individual markets form the engine driving the growth.

“For teams, drivers, and sponsors with global interests and who do business outside the U.S., and the auto manufacturers in our sport, NASCAR’s growing international television distribution is providing significant increases in the exposure and value they receive.”

Collectively, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events are distributed to more than 150 territories around the world. More than 800,000 service personnel and their families can see NASCAR via the American Forces Network in 170 countries and on aircraft carriers at sea. The NASCAR race telecasts internationally mirror the domestic broadcast, showcasing a level of production each week that is unmatched in the world of sport. NASCAR works with all international telecast partners to customize their coverage and help make NASCAR more relevant in each territory.

A summary of NASCAR’s international partners and reach:

Broadcasting NASCAR in Canada are TSN, Sportsnet, SPEED Channel, Craig Media Group, BellExpressVu;

Televisa covers NASCAR in Mexico and SPEED Channel broadcasts NASCAR in Mexico and the Caribbean;

In Europe, ITV and CH 5 cover the sport in the UK, NASN broadcasts in the UK and Ireland, Sportmania in Spain, SKY in Italy, Viasat in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, AB Moteurs in France, Eurosport provides Pan European coverage, and Moteurs TV broadcasts throughout Europe and parts of Africa;

The Asian/Pacific Rim countries of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand experience NASCAR through NTV/G+, Fox Sports Australia, SKY, Solar Sports, Indosair and Cineplex, respectively;

Dubai Sports Channel, Showtime, and Fox Sports Middle East provide coverage in the Middle East;

The American Forces Network, SNTV and Reuters provide worldwide coverage and TWI provides in-flight broadcasts.

The author can be contacted nascar@autoracing1.com

Go to our forums to discuss this article