Sky Sports will be the home of international speedway for the next five years.
SKY SPORTS will be the home of international speedway for the next five years.
Under a new deal for the 2008 to 2012 seasons Sky Sports will show exclusive live coverage of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix Series and the Speedway World Cup.
The award comes as the sport reveals a boom in interest, with a five-fold increase in international attendances since 2000 and a doubling of TV audiences over the past two seasons.
The new deal includes:
· LIVE GRAND PRIX - At least eleven Grand Prix events each season for the next five years. The events feature the best riders from around the world competing as individuals.
· LIVE WORLD CUP - At least four World Cup events each year for the next five years. Speedway's ultimate team prize, where riders from the leading speedway nations compete as teams at international level.
Under a separate contract Sky Sports also shows exclusive live coverage of the domestic Sky Sports Elite League, featuring 32 live meetings between March and October.
Commenting on the new deal for international speedway, Vic Wakeling, Managing Director of Sky Sports said: "The British Grand Prix in Cardiff has become a showcase for speedway, and an example of how interest has grown over the years. Crowds of close to 50,000 remind me of the boom years of speedway - and we think it will continue to grow at all levels, including the Elite League. We are delighted to be a part of it all."
Sky Sports has shown live speedway since 1995 covering; every Grand Prix for the last twelve seasons, every race from the Speedway World Cup since 2001 and the domestic Sky Sports Elite League since 1999. The German Grand Prix, from Gelsenkirchen on Saturday 13 October, will be the 100th live speedway Grand Prix shown on Sky Sports.
Attendances at the British Grand Prix have grown from 8,000 to 40,000 plus over the past seven years.
