FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 26th, 2014

FORMULA ONE MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS MORE THAN 15 HOURS OF MOTORSPORTS COVERAGE THIS WEEK ON NBCSN

Live Presentation of Malaysian Grand Prix Begins at 3:30 a.m. ET on Sunday on NBCSN; Encore Presentation Airs at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Live Coverage Starts with Practice Friday at 2 a.m. ET on NBCSN, Followed by Qualifying Saturday at 4 a.m. ET

Average Viewership of Australian Grand Prix Up 100% vs. 2013, Total Reach of Australian Grand Prix Telecasts Exceeds 850,000 Viewers

STAMFORD, Conn. – March 26, 2014 – NBC Sports Group continues its Formula One coverage this weekend with the Malaysian Grand Prix, highlighted by live race coverage Sunday at 3:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN. Qualifying, practice, and the Malaysian Grand Prix will stream live via NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets.

Coverage of the Malaysian Grand Prix begins Friday morning at 2 a.m. ET on NBCSN with live practice, followed by live qualifying on Saturday at 4 a.m. ET. NBCSN’s live race presentation begins at 3:30 a.m. ET, followed by F1 Extra at 6 a.m. ET. NBCSN will air an encore presentation of the Malaysian Grand Prix at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.

Last week, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) took the checkered flag at Albert Park to win the Australian Grand Prix, the fourth grand prix win of his career. Rosberg’s victory snapped Sebastian Vettel’s (Red Bull) nine-race winning streak, as his fellow countryman was forced to retire after just five laps due to engine issues.

Lead F1 announcer Leigh Diffey will call the Malaysian Grand Prix, and will be joined by veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs, and analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett. F1 insider Will Buxton will serve as the team’s on-site reporter from the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia.

In addition to live comprehensive coverage of the Malaysian Grand Prix, NBCSN will present a new episode of F1 Countdown on Friday at 5 p.m. ET. Diffey, Hobbs, Matchett, and Buxton will break down last week’s race and provide in-depth analysis on this week’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

Prior to this week’s F1 coverage, Diffey will host NASCAR AMERICA, NBCSN’s daily weekday stock car racing show, this Thursday at 5 p.m. ET, alongside former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty. An encore presentation of the Mecum Auction from Kissimmee airs at midnight on Thursday night, leading into live coverage of F1 practice from the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia.

Following is this week’s motorsports coverage schedule on NBCSN:

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Thu., March 27 NASCAR AMERICA 5 p.m. NBCSN
Pebble Beach Auto Show 9:30 p.m. NBCSN
L.A. Auto Show 10:30 p.m. NBCSN
Mobil 1 The Grid 11:30 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., March 28 Mecum Auctions: Kissimmee (Encore) 12 a.m. NBCSN
Malaysian Grand Prix – Practice 2 a.m. NBCSN
Road To Ferrari 4 p.m. NBCSN
F1 Countdown 5 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., March 29 Malaysian Grand Prix – Qualifying 4 a.m. NBCSN
Sun, March 30 Malaysian Grand Prix 3:30 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Extra 6 a.m. NBCSN
Malaysian Grand Prix (Encore) 2:30 p.m. NBCSN
F1 Extra (Encore) 5:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sebastian Vettel: On Road and On Track 6 p.m. NBCSN

 

VIEWERSHIP OF AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX UP 100% VS. 2013, TOTAL REACH OF AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX TELECASTS EXCEEDS 850,000 VIEWERS

NBCSN’s presentation of the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, March 16 (1:30-3:50 a.m. ET) averaged 248,000 viewers, up 100% from last year’s Australian Grand Prix on NBCSN (124,000). Across NBCSN’s four Australian Grand Prix telecasts (two practices, qualifying and the grand prix), NBCSN reached a total audience of 852,000 viewers, up 64% from the same coverage last year.

NBCSN also saw triple-digit percentage gains across qualifying and practice sessions. Live qualifying on Saturday, March 15 (2:00-3:30 a.m. ET) averaged 95,000 viewers, up 116% from last year, while the two practice sessions on Thursday (9:30-11:05 p.m. ET) and Friday (1:30-3:04 a.m. ET) combined to average 143,000 viewers, up 472% from the comparable coverage last year.


FORMULA ONE™ ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA:
NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will provide live comprehensive streaming coverage of the Malaysian Grand Prix via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Coverage will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on Formula One and all other motorsports racing from around the world. The site also serves as the destination for all news, analysis and video from NBC and NBCSN productions of IndyCar and F1, including contributions from on-air commentators.

MotorSportsTalk’s content is provided by top racing journalists and expert analysts, including:

  • Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) creator of the F1 site RichlandF1.com;
  • Tony DiZinno (@TonyDiZinno), who has written for RACER Magazine and has covered IndyCar and NASCAR since 2006;
  • Writer Christopher Estrada (@estradawriting) who has written for the Boston Globe, FoxSports.com, created the Indy Racing Revolution blog and is a contributor to IndyCar’s IndyCar Nation blog.
  • Veteran NASCAR reporter Jerry Bonkowski (@JerryBonkowski) brings more than 30 years of experience. He has contributed to USA Today, Yahoo! Sports and other websites over the course of his career.

To explore the site, please visit MotorSportsTalk.com.nbcsports.com or www.NBCSports.com.

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