SPEED Has Record Year in 2006

SPEED opened 2006 celebrating its 10th Anniversary, and wrapped it up with a fourth consecutive year of viewership growth and the highest Prime and Total Day ratings in network history.

“What a great way to roll into 2007 … it’s an awesome motivator for our entire team to see the results of their hard work in a milestone year for the network," said Hunter Nickell, SPEED Executive VP & General Manager. “In 2006, we celebrated our anniversary, signed landmark deals with NASCAR and Formula One and had our hit lifestyle show PINKS referred to as ‘the hottest car show on TV.’ All of this, and a lot more, went into a very successful year, but one we will continue to improve on in 2007 and beyond."

According to Nielsen Media Research, Total Viewership (P2+) was up 10 percent in Prime 2006 vs. 2005, with SPEED averaging 247,000 viewers. Total Day numbers were up 14 percent (128,000 viewers). Both increases were driven by dramatic increases in ratings among younger demographics, with Men 18-34 up 45 percent and Men 18-49 up 17 percent in Prime.

“We’ve had a lot of success scheduling our Tuesdays and Wednesday nights with automotive lifestyle programming that appeals to a younger audience," said Paul Duong, SPEED VP of Scheduling & Research. “Led by ratings growth in our NASCAR pre-race show NASCAR RaceDay and Formula One racing on the weekend and in automotive lifestyle leaders PINKS, Unique Whips and Superbikes! throughout the week, SPEED is on target to continue its growth in 2007."

In December, SPEED added 468,000 households and now reaches 69,530,000 homes in the U.S., according to Nielsen Media Research. SPEED added 5,324,000 U.S. households in the last year.