Expanded European TV coverage for Rolex Series
Those in the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have grown accustomed to watching unprecedented television coverage of Rolex Series races on Viasat Sport and Viasat Motor in Scandinavia and TV2 Sport and TV2 Sport HD in the Baltics since the beginning of this year. The new multi-year deal continues through the end of the 2011 season and will reach 1.3 million households within the aforementioned regions, with 12 live races and 12 highlight shows.
In addition to each country's official language, broadcasts will also be aired in English and Russian, totaling eight languages. Worldwide, Grand-Am Rolex Series racing reaches over 200 million households in 187 countries and territories on 20 broadcast partners.
"Rolex Series races have been syndicated globally for several years and it is good to see so many countries wanting full-length races in addition to the highlight packages," said Kevin Hindson, Grand-Am Vice President of Marketing and Communications. "With the number of countries and territories that have access to our races, the international reach has become a very significant distribution channel for our races. It is gratifying to see the growth also in actual tune in of fans as we have seen substantial ratings growth worldwide throughout this season."
One of Grand-Am's most prominent drivers, Nic Jönsson, is Swedish. A native of Bankeryd, Jönsson has competed fulltime in the Rolex Series since 2005 and has two Rolex Series victories this season, most recently in the Crown Royal 200 at Watkins Glen International with Brazilian co-driver Ricardo Zonta.
Denmark's Jan Magnussen has several victories in the Rolex Series, while fellow Danish driver Allan Simonsen made his series debut in the Rolex 24 At Daytona earlier this season and is in contention to compete in a Daytona Prototype in next year's Rolex 24 through his efforts in this season's Rolex 24 Driver Challenge presented by Sunoco. Estonian Tonis Kasemets became the first driver from his country to compete in the Rolex Series in 2006, and has made three series starts with two different teams.
The next event for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 is the two-hour Montreal 200 on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (SPEED, Live, 2 p.m., Aug. 29).