ALMS, Intersport partner for CBS Sports programs
Working alongside the American Le Mans Series, Intersport will use its creative and innovative approach to create two 90-minute ‘docu-drama / lifestyle / feature type’ television programs based on Series’ events at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August. Coupled with track action, interviews and other timely content from each race, Intersport will inject revealing, behind-the-scenes look at the American Le Mans Series as well as explaining the science, technology and a historical perspective of road racing.
“This is admittedly a very bold step for us to take, but I believe it also represents a tremendous opportunity for the American Le Mans Series and all our stakeholders," said Scott Atherton, President & CEO of the American Le Mans Series. “Intersport has established a reputation for creating innovative media content that gets results. It also has set the benchmark for creativity in generating a ‘buzz’ around its projects that makes people want to watch. We could not be more pleased to be working with them on these new television and social media initiatives."
Intersport is a name familiar to fans of the American Le Mans Series and sports car racing around the world. It produced the highly acclaimed “Truth in 24" documentary in 2008, an award-winning film that chronicled Audi Sport’s quest for a fifth consecutive victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Intersport also created a ‘Road to Daytona’ special for Fox in 2009. A seven-time Emmy Award winner, Intersport is the only producer delivering original sports content to all major broadcast networks as well as major cable outlets with recent projects including NCAA basketball and football, NFL, NASCAR, Kirk Herbstreit’s Varsity Football Series, USOC, professional golf and many others as one of the world’s leading sports and entertainment producers.
The production of online content and social media is a priority for both organizations, and Intersport is an industry leader in the area. Starting at the Winter Test, Intersport will be gathering footage for use across the Series’ video and social platforms before, during and after its two CBS shows in the summer.
“We are thrilled to help tell the unique story of the American Le Mans Series. As we go behind the scenes finding the best stories, we will showcase the talented teams, technological advances and personalities found in the series, while keeping an eye on introducing new fans to this exciting style of racing," said Scot Thor, Senior Vice President-Programming at Intersport.
Intersport’s competitive advantage is the combination of its full-scale production division and its renowned event marketing and corporate hospitality group. This unique blend of media and event marketing expertise allows Intersport clients to reach a mass audience through original TV and digital media, provide intimate consumer interaction through event marketing, and use corporate hospitality as the ultimate entertainment vehicle.
“Let’s face it, all aspects of television as we’ve known it are changing rapidly," Atherton said. “And we believe that taking a status-quo approach and expecting a better result isn’t going to work. We recognize the inherent risks of what we are doing with these CBS network broadcasts but, more importantly, we also believe there is an opportunity to deliver unprecedented entertainment to our fans and value to our teams and corporate partners."
The American Le Mans Series will open its 12th season with America’s greatest sports car race, the 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida from March 17-20. The green flag will fall at 10:35 a.m. on Saturday, March 20 with live coverage on SPEED.
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