US cable television motorsports channel Speed acquired live rights for the World Touring Car Championship motor-racing event in Sonoma, the US, on September 23.
Speed agreed the one-race deal with the Eurosport Events division of pan-European broadcaster Eurosport. Eurosport Events holds the media distribution and production rights for the series, which is governed by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, motor racing’s world governing body.
Live coverage on September 23 will be followed by a full repeat broadcast the following day.
The Speed 2 channel and Speed’s website already show 26-minute highlight programmes of all of the championship’s races.
“Sonoma will offer a great theatre for the WTCC’s first [live] appearance in the US,” Speed’s vice-president of media relations, Erik Arneson, said.
The Sonoma race will be shown via 87 broadcasters across 176 countries in Europe and Asia-Pacific, the championship said.