I’ve been compiling TV listings since the ‘90s, so I’ve been keeping track of the changes in the availability of auto racing broadcasts in Canada for many years now. This year, there will be some notable changes.
For some time now Canadian race fans have relied on TSN/TSN2 and the American cable broadcaster SPEED for most of their on-air racing. Things have changed in both camps for 2013.
As for TSN/TSN2, the main change is that the IndyCar series will now be broadcast by Sportsnet, presumably Sportsnet 1. Sportsnet has promised that they will broadcast all of the IndyCar races live. Also, remember that a few of the IndyCar races, including the Indy 500, will be broadcast on ABC. I understand that Sportsnet will use its own broadcast team featuring Canadian former drivers Bill Adam and Paul Tracy for at least the Toronto race. Otherwise expect TSN to pick up the US-produced broadcast which will originate on either ABC or NBC Sports Network – the latter being a cable-only channel not available in Canada. Let’s hope these broadcasts are live.
Other than that, TSN/TSN2 will continue to broadcast all the races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide series, Formula 1, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and NHRA drag racing. In general Formula 1 (qualifying and races) and the two big NASCAR series will be shown live. A few of the Nationwide races will be shown on a same-day taped basis. The NCaTS races have been broadcast a week or more after the fact as are the NHRA drag races.
As for SPEED, changes are underway at that American cable channel. First note that the CRTC allows Canadian-based television service providers to include this channel in their lineups – in contrast to ESPN and NBCSN which are not allowed on Canadian TSP’s channel lineups.
SPEED has not made much in the way of announcements about its future but you don’t have to be very observant to notice that the on-screen logo has changed to ‘FOX Sports-SPEED’ and that the ‘talent’ are wearing shirts that say ‘FOX Sports’ not SPEED. I expect that before the end of the year, there will a formal switch in name from SPEED to ‘FOX Sports 1'.
It looks like the FOX powers-that-be have already started tinkering with the programming on SPEED. Most notable is the loss of the Formula 1 franchise – that has gone over to NBCSN – but, of course, we here in Canada won’t miss much because we were only getting the F1 practice broadcasts from SPEED for the last few years. I have learned that the AMA Superbike motorcycle series will be absent from SPEED after the Daytona Speed Weeks. Gone too is the World Superbike series; it’s now on a new Al Jezeera-owned American channel called ‘beIN Sport’. I’m guessing that SPEED will continue to provide the MotoGP (plus Moto2 and Moto3) broadcasts this year.
For this year at least, SPEED will continue to be the sole broadcaster of the NASCAR truck series and its practice and qualifying sessions. And it will broadcast many of the practice and qualifying sessions from the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series as well – at least those sessions not broadcast by ESPN in the US.
SPEED is lined up to broadcast the whole Grand-Am Rolex and Continental Tire series again – mostly live. As for the American Le Mans Series, SPEED (or ‘FOX Sports Media’ as it is called on the ALMS site) will broadcast the Sebring 12-hour race and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. The Long Beach, Road America and Baltimore races will be on ABC. The rest are on ESPN2 – but I expect that Sportsnet will broadcast at least these ESPN2 ALMS races here in Canada.
One thing that has me worried is whether or not the CRTC will extend the exemption to SPEED when it becomes FOX Sports 1. If the CRTC deems that the rebranding is a signal that the channel will no longer be a niche channel for auto racing fans only – but, rather, a general sports channel which would potentially compete with Canadian sports channels like TSN and Sportsnet – they might cancel the exemption. Then where would we be? I asked a spokesperson for SPEED about this possibility and the best he could offer was to say that they were aware of the potential problem.
What can you do? Make sure that you let the Canadian broadcasters like TSN and Sportsnet know that you appreciate the fact that they carry auto racing broadcasts. And be ready to lobby the CRTC, etc. if there’s any possibility that we might lose SPEED completely when it morphs into FOX Sports 1.
Photo: Ramesh Bayney
