Speed is the name of the game as ESPN STAR Sports (True Visions, Ch.39, 65) , revs up for the Formula One Grand Prix 2008 season, bringing viewers across Asia the thrills and spills of all 18 races, starting with the ING Australian Grand Prix in March and culminating with the Brazil Grand Prix in November. ESPN STAR Sports’ comprehensive Formula One LIVE coverage includes the telecast of the Saturday Qualifying and the Sunday Race, which will be shown across all 17 networks on STAR Sports.
Complementing the live coverage are ESPN STAR Sports’ pre- and post-race presentations, Race Day and Chequered Flag respectively, and extended offerings on its online platform, www.espnstar.com, and its original in-house programme, Engine Block.
Hosted by presenters Steve Dawson and Paula Malai Ali, Race Day and Chequered Flag provide live reports, race analysis and an insight into the people behind the high-speed action. Both programmes will also feature racing experts like Julian Bailey, former F1 driver for the Tyrell and Lotus teams, Alex Yoong, A1 Team Malaysia driver, Matthew Marsh, Asian motor sports personality and Hong Kong’s first Le Mans representative, and Damien Smith, editor of respected British publication, Motor Sport Magazine.
Viewers can also keep track of all the latest race results as it happens by logging on to www.espnstar.com for up-to-the-minute results for every race. In addition, Steve Slater, colourful half colourful half of the popular F1 commentary duo on STAR Sports, will be providing a behind-the-scenes preview and review of all 18 races in his online column. This year, ESPN STAR Sports has also developed exclusive F1-related games for racing fans across the region such as the Petronas Podium Performer, a pick-the-winner competition, and ING Speedster, where fans will get a chance to pit their racing skills against each other on all 18 race tracks in a race against the clock.
Adding to this extensive line-up is Engine Block, a weekly motorsports magazine show that features news, interviews and highlights from the world of motorsports. Hosted by Sanjeev Palar and Drinie Aguilar, Engine Block will see the hosts engaging in motorsports activities of all sorts, such as going for a spin in the Asia Pacific Rally champion's car and sitting shotgun during a professional car stunt show. Engine Block will also feature highlights from international motor shows, interviews with popular motorsports personalities and much more.
*All schedules listed correspond with Singapore and Hong Kong. For local times and detailed schedule information log onto www.espnstar.com
About ESPN STAR Sports
ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.
ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN Asia, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Singapore, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.
On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews.