Eurosport to show IRL

[The Beer Baron]

This year Eurosport will show an hours week delayed highlights of all IRL races.

It seems that CART's international TV contract is still being negociated and hopefully will be announced soon!

[Raven]

Week delayed highlights are a waste of time, no one will be able to get into it that way. Like NASCAR do the same thing, previously they had about 15 live full races on Eurosport in 98 & 99. I just hope CART doesn't go the same way. Although at least for us in the UK, Channel 5 should still show all CART races as live on Monday nights. Hopefully sky sports will still cover the IRL live, I wish they still they still did winston cup as well.

[R]

This was good news just as I'm about to head off for bed. Week delayed highlights is better than nothing, especially for me who have never seen anything of the IRL at all.

Now... how about that IRL forum...

[Speedworx]

I'd love to watch IRL on Eurosport. Having never seen a race, I'd like to see what it is like. Plus I'll be able to see Gil de Ferran and Penske

The CART coverage on Channel 5 isn't great, they put it on aroudn 1 in the morning!

[Raven]

So tape it, then if it's a good race you've got it forever.

[The Beer Baron]

Raven,

What's bad about eurosport & NASCAR is that Eurosport if it wishes can show all the races live!
This year we have to wait 2 weeks to see delayed coverage of the Daytona 500!

It'll be good to get the highlights of the IRL.

Though if they showed the Indy 500 live that would be something!

[Laagri]

Are we talking about "British Eurosport" or "Eurosport International" here? They don't always show the same stuff. In 2000, British Eurosport had CART live but Eurosport International only had hour long highlights on the Wednesday or Thursday after each race.

[R]

That's a very good point. I honestly didn't think of that. I could never understand why Eurosport should be split up like that anyway, what's the point of that? I'm going to do some investigation to try to find out whether it will be "British" or "International" Eurosport that will show the IRL races.

[The Beer Baron]

I'm pretty sure that British Eurosport will show the IRL, the only snag is that British Eurosport sometimes shows some live french football on Sunday nights, it happened last year when a delayed NASCAR race was shown on Mondays.

The reason why they split it, is that British Eurosport can show stuff in the UK only, where sometimes Eurosport international mightn't be able to due to restrictions in another country, France Australia rugby match comes to mind, also BE can show that french football where Eurosport Int'l can't!

I can't see why British Eurosport won't show the IRL, its not as if SKY is depending on it for money!

[Laagri]

Hmmm, but R and I get Eurosport International, not the British version...

[R]

Well, that's one thing, Eurosport International not being able to show French football and rugby due to restrictions, but I can't see why on earth that should have affected CART two years ago! CART isn't French... or European, so it shouldn't affect any "domestic" issues in any European country.

Anyway...

I don't know about British Eurosport, but I've done a search, and Eurosport International will definitely show IRL from Miami on Sunday 10th March, 9-10 pm CET. However, that's also the date of the CART season opener in Monterrey, and we know absolutely nothing about whether or not Eurosport will bring us that this year. To be continued...

[The Beer Baron]

R,

CARt is quite popular in the UK, with CART races always being amonst the top-ten watched programs on it in the week they are shown.
British Eurosport can schedule their programs differently that Eurosport International, because another broadcaster could hold the TV rights in another country limits what Eurosport International can show, but that restriction mighn't apply to the UK, where British Eurosport can show it.

Eurosport's schedules are the greatest work of fiction since war & peace! If a deal is done with CART, you bet CARt will be live & the IRL & NASCAR will be given other slots!

If anyone knew the scheduling Eurosport proposed for the Michigan 500 , it changed weekly, until finally it was all to be shown live!

[R]

As far as I know, no other channel showed CART races live in 2000, at least not in Scandinavia. I'm not sure what was the situation in central or southern Europe, though, so maybe another broadcaster held the rights there, and that was the reason why Eurosport International couldn't show the races live.

Live broadcasts will always be given priority over pre-recorded, so if a deal is struck with CART (let's hope!), the IRL and/or NASCAR will be moved either to an earlier or a later slot, maybe the next Monday. No big deal, since it's already shown a week late anyway.

[The Beer Baron]

French based AB Moteurs showed live CART in 2000, but it required moving your satellite dish around.
I have cable so I didn't get to see it
CART won't sell us short this year!

[KC]

This thread moved to its new home.

[touring fan]

Does this mean that Sky will still show live IRL or not?:confused:

[Speedworx]

Have we heard any more on this subject?

[The Beer Baron]

I'm not sure if SKY will still show the IRL or not, but it definetly will be on Eurosport!

[Speedworx]

Good. I can't get Sky Sports, but I can get British Eurosport.

[The Beer Baron]

Hakkiman do you have Sky Digital?

I need to know if I can get eurosport on it without having to subscribe to sky sports!

[touring fan]

I've got sky digital. I think you can get British Eurosport without subscription.(though it's worth getting the sky sports channels cos they do quite a bit of motorsport and their IRL coverage is/was very good). Definately better than what Eurosport are likely to show.

[Speedworx]

I do have Sky Digital and Eurosport/British Eurosport is channel 419. Eurosport News is channel 420. As Eurosport is part of the basic package (something 40/50 channels) you don't need to subscribe to the Sky Sports package to get it.

Right now, we can't afford the extra money to have the Sky Sports channels. Maybe once I have a job, we will do.

[Raven]

Sky sports have covered the IRL since it began, so I hope it will continue! All races & all live... yeah I'm sure Sky will keep it.

[The Beer Baron]

Thanks guys, Sky on their website have their options and put B.Eurosport in with Sky Sports world pack,

great it can be got with the basic package, i might consider getting it installed

[rustyfan]

Too bad Sky Sports aren't easily available through-out Europe (at least not in Sweden), and often display a really sh*tty side towards other channels trying to show stuff Sky happens to have the rights to.

Example: Last year a channel in Sweden - Viasat Sport - showed 1½-2 hour tape delayed broadcasts of IRL races (pretty much the full coverage, excluding commercials). Usually it was 1, sometimes 2, weeks after the race has been run, and that's just fine by me. BUT, for some reason Viasat Sport couldn't show the Indy 500, nor could they show the race at Richmond. Why? Well, my guess is that Sky Sports, for some reason, blocked Viasat Sport from showing anything from those races. Money, of course, could be a factor, and I could understand the Indy 500 not being shown because of that. But the race at Richmond, obviously, shouldn't be as expensive, nor does it carry the same prestige.

What enforces my belief that Sky Sports are the culprits is the NASCAR broadcasts on Eurosport in '98. Not a single restrictor-plate race was shown in '98 - do you think it was a mere coincidence that Sky Sports just HAPPENED to have the live-rights for those exact races? I think not.

I'm sure Sky Sports is all peachy - IF you live in the UK. But for the rest of Europe, they continue to show - over and over - nothing but signs of being a ruthless and greedy TV-network that deserves no better than being blown to smithereens.
</rant-over>

Can you tell I'm not too fond of Sky Sports?