ESPN Mexico City coverage to be first live event telecast in Spanish

For the first time in its history, ESPN will present a Spanish-language telecast of a major sporting event with this Sunday’s flag-to-flag coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series race in Mexico City.

While ESPN2, home of the NASCAR Busch Series, will cover the race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in English, ESPN will provide a rare simulcast of ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s domestic Spanish-language network. Those telecasts highlight an ESPN Full Circle presentation, in which various ESPN outlets carry the event live using different coverage approaches, in addition to extensive content surrounding the race across additional ESPN outlets such as TV, radio and Internet.

"The NASCAR Busch Series race in Mexico City is a special event," said John Wildhack, ESPN senior vice president, programming and acquisitions. “It presents a unique and history-making opportunity for a Spanish-language telecast on a major cable network as well as a traditional English-speaking telecast. Interest in this event is high and we're pleased to be able to provide multiple viewing options for NASCAR fans."

Coverage from Mexico City will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET with the pre-race NASCAR Countdown on ESPN2 as well as Cuenta Regresiva a NASCAR on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. The race telecasts begin at 2 p.m.

ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007, with six select events to be televised by ESPN on ABC. ESPN is covering the series with the same standards of production that it will use later this season for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, including the full use of High Definition cameras, Sportvision pointers and technology and state-of-the-art graphics.

"We are committed to the NASCAR Busch Series," said Wildhack. “ESPN's Full Circle approach will showcase the excitement and competitiveness of the Busch Series across a variety of multimedia platforms." More at ESPN racing media