Eurosport to show IRL

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!

Week delayed highlights are a waste of time, no one will be able to get into it that way. :banghead: 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.

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... :rotate:

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!

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

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!

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.

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.

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!

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

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...

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!

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.

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!

This thread moved to its new home.

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

Have we heard any more on this subject?

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

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

Hakkiman do you have Sky Digital?

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

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.

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.

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.

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 :)

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? :p

The good news for me is that i am going to save alot of money now that I don't have to send video taped IRL races to my European friends. Once some of you over there get a really good look at the IRL's balls to the walls, wheel to wheel bare knuckle action, you are going to like it alot. :rotate:

Kinda cheap friends if they had you paying for it. In '99 & '00 I got all the Winston Cup, Busch & Craftsman Truck races (along with all IROC races, some assorted ARCA and a few ASA) taped for me and sent over, but I made sure I paid for it.

I'm content with getting just Speedweeks recorded for me this year (and for all I know, I'm probably going to see the Daytona 500 before Eurosport shows it, despite being sent across the big pond) :)

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by rustyfan

"Kinda cheap friends if they had you paying for it."

That's not the case at all. If I were to send you a check for $10, the banks will charge you $12 to cash it and convert it to British pounds. Most people insisted that they pay me, but at that point is just wasn't worth it. Besides, even the most vehement of IRL critics will watch it if you send it to them for free. That's all it takes to set the hook. They all love it now and the new TV package is good news for them too. They will see more wheel to wheel action in three IRL laps than a whole season of F-1.


For me, it was worth it just to introduce a few friends to the IRL. Besides, one guy I sent a video is coming to the states and he is going to buy me a lap dance on 16th street. We will probably wind up partying with Tomas and Gruner. We will also probably wind up watching the 500 together from our jail cells. Bottoms up!

If Eurosports NASCAR coverage is anything to go by then I'm not too hopeful about their IRL coverage. It will probably end up as recorded highlights, badly edited (go for an ad break and skip 100 laps without being told) with a voice over done by some-one who doesn't seem to have a clue and is obviously reading from a script. Oh, add to that the fact that it will be shown at least 1 week after the actual event and bounced round the schedule depending on what else they've got on. And that's if we're lucky. Sky sports may be available to less people but they had very good coverage, live, american feed with the same commentators and advert breaks to coincide with some of the host broadcasters, a studio with a presenter and a british racing driver to talk things through and explain things.

Eurosport's NASCAR coverage last year took the commentry staright from the American coverage.

They have to cut some laps out, cos races last 3 hours or more.

Also, unless you use european tapes, how can we watch races taped in America? We use a different system.

[i]Originally posted by hakkiman

Also, unless you use european tapes, how can we watch races taped in America? We use a different system. [/B]

All vcr's sold in california can record and play both. several of my european friends also have dual-format machines.

NASCAR coverage stated OK - it was the Monday after the race and had proper commentary ie. Eurosport's own.

Then it went downhill!

Most of us here in europe can play the US (NTSC) tapes but not record in NTSC format.

The mid-ranged vcrs should be capable of NTSC playback!

In Sweden even the most budget-oriented VCR's can play NTSC these days (the majority anyway).

As for the tapes (this is a reply to Dr. Austin): I never sent cheques - I always sent good 'ol cash :)

I enjoyed Eurosport's coverage after they took the American commentry.

If Eurosport are showing it on a week delay basis..then it sounds like Sky Sports will keep showing it live just like they have for the last few years....i cant see Sky stopping showing the IRL races live just as its starting to get a bigger audience !..Sky have put the ground work in on this series when it wasnt that popular ,,,so they should keep it now thats its getting bigger.

As long as Eurosport shows it, I don't care if Sky keeps showing LIE coverage.

its LIVE coverage that i want see......not recorded stuff 1 week later..

A friend has told me that Eurosport will be showing LIVE IRL races and no CART.

mmmm....the thing is , i want to see both !....maybe sky will show cart ?

Eurosport has announced it will show 1 hour highlights on the Friday after each CART race. www.autosport.com has the full report.

lets just hope that we get live IRL then, as things are not looking to good at the moment

I think they will show LIVE IRL races, as there isn't much else they can show on a Sunday evening.

There are lots of other things Eurosport could, and probably will, show on Sunday evenings - strongman competitions, beachball games, hour 18 of the live Tennis coverage, etc - all would take priority over the IRL. "Live" coverage to Eurosport often means an hour of tennis and ten minutes of trailers before joining the race at lap 162. Besides, several IRL rounds are held on Saturday nights, at a time when Eurosport is showing non-stop adverts for exercise machines.

Does anyone have a definitive answer to whether Sky Sports will be continuing their excellent IRL coverage, which last year was worth the £30 a month sub on its own (it had to be after the loss of their NASCAR coverage)?

Eurosport's NASCAR programming showed they can't grasp the idea that an oval race, to be worth watching, needs to be viewed in its entirity to see the tactics unfold - and preferably before learning the results from elsewhere. I imagine their crudely edited "highlights" packages are aimed at those who know little about the series concerned, but like to watch the wrecks.

What Eurosport needs is a Eurosport2.

I wouldn't it would cost eurosport much more to have a eurosport2 , they could show better highlights of all sports during the evenings,

Not to mention they could actually show some live racing.

Given Eurosport's size (in terms of people that can get it), I honestly can't believe they haven't launched a second Eurosport years ago. Insanity, pure insanity.

They are in every country , but I have noticed a big drop in standards, with less experienced commentators being used , not just for motorsport.

Also eurosport are heavily involved with the FIA , with their Super racing weekends , if weurosport want one 4-wheeled series to flourish its ETCC or FIA GT championship

Well, I must give them credit for being involved with FIA on that, since the ETCC looks to be extremely interesting this year :)

Have to give credit to them there, the touring car scene was going downhill fast, then they created this! & it has grown ever since!

The whole Super racing Weekend idea is great. Long may it live.

SKy SPorts UK will show the IRL live again this year!

Is that official?

Seems so. Eurosport have highlightsm like they had during 2000.

If they only show highlights (Eurosport that is), it'll be a downgrade for me :(

Last year I got tape delayed coverage, but it was the entire races with original US-commentary (on the Swedish sports-channel Viasat Sport). I'm guessing they won't show IRL again this year if Eurosport indeed will show highlights as well..

I'm looking forward to this year racing.

Yeah, if testing is any indication, even Formula 1 might be interesting this year! ;) :rotate:

Yep. Kimi beating everyone.

Ha! In your dreams ;)

Viasat Sport may still show it, Tony George negotiates the TV rights with each countries broadcaster directly, so you never know.

If you got a motorised dish I can probably point you in the direction for the live feed.

Actually I hope they do show it, because then the feed will be unencrypted, if they are sending a feed to just one provider, they usually scramble it, but last year all the irl races were unencrypted.

Eurosport are rumoured to have lost Ben Edwards so out of the window goes the good IRL coverage.

It is essentail that they keep the Americans commentating as the brits don't have a clue.

British Eurosport is yet to show it's plans for either CART or IRL only Eurosport International, the article still says that coverage it is unknown what coverage domestic networks will show.

Where has Ben gone? F1 digital? Please let it be true (or is this just wishful thinking?)

Doesn't make much difference to me since I'm stuck with the Swedish commentators :(

Ben must have left recently then, because he did half the Dakar. Anyway, he didn't do many CART races in 2001 as he was doing Channel 4's F3/GT coverage with Martin Haven.