SPEED Sets Ratings Record with All-Star coverage

SPEED scored its highest rating in network history, earning a Nielsen Media Research mark of 3.53 (2,480,000 Households) for its inaugural coverage of the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge on Saturday. The event, in its first of eight seasons on SPEED, peaked at 4.37 (3,064,000 Households) and held a 4-plus rating for final 90 minutes of the telecast.

The Nielsen rating marks a seven-percent increase over last year’s All-Star broadcast on FX, which earned a 3.30 Nielsen rating.

“Everyone at SPEED, everyone at Sprint Nextel, everyone at JHE Production Group, everyone at NASCAR, everyone at Lowe’s Motor Speedway put maximum effort into getting off to a strong start with the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge on SPEED," said SPEED President Hunter Nickell. “We’re all incredibly proud of the inaugural effort and we had a blast doing it, but the real message is ‘we’re just getting started.’ We’ve learned a lot in year one and we already are talking about how to make it even cooler in year two … we’re on our way."

With the effort, SPEED was the No. 1 basic cable network on television from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET Saturday night among total households and the Men 18-49 audience. Behind the strength of the popular NASCAR RaceDay and a record-setting post-race performance by NASCAR Victory Lane, SPEED delivered its highest-rated total day in network history.

“What you saw for the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge on SPEED was the successful culmination of a yearlong effort by some terrific partners," said Dean Kessel, director of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series marketing for Sprint Nextel. “The programming SPEED dedicated to the event since Speedweeks was spectacular and helped bring fans closer to the all-star action. We look forward to making it even better in years to come."

Prior to the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, the highest-rated program ever on SPEED was the 2005 season-opening NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race from Daytona with a 2.1.

"The ratings support what was a tremendous effort on the part of our crew, production and announce team," said Frank Wilson, SPEED VP of Production and Executive Producer of all network NASCAR content. “So many people at SPEED, NASCAR Images and Fox Sports worked incredibly hard to make this a memorable All-Star week for all of our fans at home and on-site at Lowe's Motor Speedway."