ALMS St. Pete race live on ABC Saturday

Franchitti's Acura clashes with a Penske Porsche in last year's race

The American Le Mans Series launches one of its most extensive telecast ventures ever this weekend in conjunction with the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg presented by XM Satellite Radio. In the U.S., ABC will broadcast the race live Saturday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. In Europe, in addition to live coverage on MotorsTV, new telecast partners in Germany's DSF, Europe's trans-terrestrial Eurosport2 and Sport Italia will provide special produced highlight coverage for the first time.

The additions of DSF, Eurosport2 and Sport Italia to the international lineup gives the American Le Mans Series one of the most extensive international television packages in sports with more than 600 million homes worldwide capable of viewing American Le Mans Series races.

"This just further signifies the growth and popularity of the American Le Mans Series on a global scale," said Scott Atherton, Series President and CEO. "It is an excellent tribute not only to our world-class style of racing, but to our auto manufacturers, teams, drivers and corporate partners who are all helping make this series one of the most exciting and widely watched motorsports series in the world."

DSF is a major German terrestrial network with country household penetration of 95 percent. Total household estimates reach 33.1 million including cable, satellite and "aerial" distribution. The 32-minute DSF highlight program is produced by Greenlight Television in cooperation with the American Le Mans Series. It will be telecast on Saturday, the week after the Series' actual race, from 7:30-8:00 p.m. Central European Time.

Eurosport2, meanwhile, reaches 28 million pan-European satellite households in 43 countries including England, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Russia, and offers coverage in 11 different languages. The American Le Mans Series program airs 10 days after the actual race between 6:00 p.m. and midnight depending on other Eurosport2 programming. It, too, along with Sport Italia's highlight program is produced by Greenlight Television, a longtime American Le Mans Series partner.

Headlining the telecast for ABC will be veteran broadcasters Greg Creamer and Bill Adam in the booth with pit reporters Jon Beekhuis and Kelli Stavast. This weekend's round is the first of two races to air on ABC in its first-year relationship with the American Le Mans Series. The network also will air the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach on April 20.

In addition, radio coverage from St. Petersburg can be heard live on American Le Mans Radio via americanlemans.com and by XM Satellite Radio on Channel 144 from 5 to 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 6.

The Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg presented by XM Satellite Radio is Round 2 of the 2008 American Le Mans Series schedule. A year ago in the inaugural event, Audi Sport North America finished 1-2 with eventual Series champions Allan McNish and Dindo Capello prevailing over the 1.8-mile street circuit along St. Petersburg's waterfront.