Want to watch the Isle of Man TT from the comfort of your non-British TV, but haven’t been able to in the past? A new TV from the Isle of Man’s Department of Economic Development will do just that.
Inking a new TV contract with North One TV, the Isle of Man TT will be televised in the American, Australian, and of course British markets, making it easier than ever to watch the iconic road race.
After witnessing the World Superbike Championship relegated to the obscurity of the beIN Sports channel for live race coverage (it was good coverage though), American motorcycle race fans can rest easy, as Dorna has finally inked an American TV deal for MotoGP.
Signing a three-year deal with FOX Sports, the 2013 MotoGP Championship will again air on the SPEED Channel, which will then become the FOX Sports 1 channel later in August (the Indianapolis GP will air during the new channel’s premiere week).
The news is a relief for the fans who thought MotoGP would go without television coverage in the United States this year, though that was never really a possibility.
To its credit, it looks like FOX Sports will give more extensive coverage to MotoGP, with the US qualifying rounds and pre-race coverage being broadcasted on TV. Free Practice and on-board footage will be available as well, although they will be sequestered to SPEED.com and SPEED2.
With the World Superbike season-opener now less than two weeks away, bad news looms for motorcycle race fans in the United States, as the SPEED Channel (now a part of FOX Sports), does not have a television contract to air WSBK and MotoGP for their 2013 seasons.
An issue that has been hanging in limbo since the start of the year, Superbike Planet yesterday suggested that American motorcycle racing fans could be without the World Superbike Championship on their televisions sets this year (we have heard similar murmurings regarding AMA Pro Racing as well).
Now today, Roadracing World confirmed with SPEED that the network still does not have any contracts with Dorna for the TV rights to WSBK and MotoGP. What’s worse, SPEED’s Vice President of Media Relations Erik Arneson gave no indication that the TV channel was any closer to finishing a deal with Dorna than it was earlier this year.