FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015

NBC SPORTS GROUP CONTINUES FORMULA ONE COVERAGE WITH JAPANESE GRAND PRIX THIS SUNDAY ON NBCSN

Japanese Grand Prix Airs Live Early Sunday Morning at 12:30 a.m. ET (Saturday at 9:30 p.m. PT) on NBCSN

F1 Singapore Grand Prix on NBCSN Is Most-Watched Singapore GP On Record; Fifth 2015 Race on NBCSN To Eclipse 500,000 Viewers

1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe Featured on New Episode of Mobsteel Tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NBCSN Presents NASCAR Sprint Cup Playoff Racing From New Hampshire’s Magic Mile and XFINITY Series Racing From Kentucky

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 23, 2015 – Coming off the most-watched Singapore Grand Prix on record, NBC Sports Group continues its coverage of the 2015 Formula One season with a live presentation of the Japanese Grand Prix this Sunday morning at 12:30 a.m. ET/Saturday at 9:30 p.m. PT on NBCSN.

This week’s motorsports action on NBCSN also includes the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from New Hampshire and NASCAR XFINITY Series from Kentucky, as well as an all-new episode of Mobsteel tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN, featuring a classic 1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe.

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will stream this weekend’s Formula One and NASCAR coverage.

FORMULA ONE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 12:30 A.M. ET/SATURDAY AT 9:30 P.M. PT ON NBCSN

NBCSN’s F1 coverage heads to Japan this weekend for the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday morning at 12:30 a.m. ET. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel looks to ride the momentum of his Singapore Grand Prix win last weekend, which was his fourth career victory on the streets of Singapore. Vettel (203 points) now sits just 49 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who was unable to finish the Singapore GP due to a loss of power late in the race.

Pre-race coverage will discuss if Vettel can continue a late charge against Mercedes for the World Championship. It will also include how Manor, Jules Bianchi’s former team, will handle its return to the track for the first time since Bianchi’s tragic crash last year.

Coverage begins Thursday night on NBC Sports Live Extra at 9 p.m. ET with Practice 1, followed by Practice 2 on Friday morning at 1 a.m. ET (Thursday, 10 p.m. PT) on NBCSN. Live Extra airs exclusive coverage of Practice 3 on Friday night at 11 p.m. ET, and NBCSN will present qualifying on Saturday morning at 2 a.m. ET (Friday, 11 p.m. PT). NBCSN’s live coverage of the Japanese Grand Prix begins Sunday at 12:30 a.m. ET (Saturday; 9:30 p.m. PT), followed by F1 Extra post-race coverage at 3 a.m. ET (Midnight PT).

Lead F1 commentator Leigh Diffey will call this weekend’s action, 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 Japan.


F1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX ON NBCSN IS MOST-WATCHED SINGAPORE GP ON RECORD

Last Sunday’s presentation of the Singapore Grand Prix (7:30-10:15 a.m. ET) on NBCSN averaged 510,000 viewers to become the most-watched Singapore Grand Prix on record. Viewership was up 26% vs. 2014 (406,000), and the race produced a 0.33 HH rating.

The Singapore GP marked the fifth race in 2015 on NBCSN to eclipse 500,000 viewers. Only one race during the 2013 and 2014 seasons surpassed 500,000 viewers (2014 Bahrain GP; 594,000). Through nine races, the 2015 Formula One season on NBCSN has averaged 450,000 viewers, up 15% vs. 2014 (390,000).

 

1966 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL COUPE FEATURED ON NEW EPISODE OF MOBSTEEL TONIGHT AT 10 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN presents an all-new episode of Mobsteel tonight at 10 p.m. ET, as Mobsteel founder Adam Genei and his team work together to restore a classic 1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe. Mobsteel is an automotive reality series which follows a Detroit-based custom car shop that transforms vintage cars into modern-day street machines.

Click here to see a sneak peek of tonight’s episode.

Click here to see photos of this week’s featured 1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe.

Previous vehicles featured on Mobsteel include a 1953 Packard, 1968 Cadillac, International Harvester Loadstar, and 1972 Ford F-100 Ranger restored for former NFL Pro Bowler Albert Haynesworth. NBCSN will present the season finale of Mobsteel next Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10 p.m. ET.

                                                                                                     

NBCSN PRESENTS NASCAR SPRINT CUP PLAYOFF RACING FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE’S MAGIC MILE AND XFINITY SERIES RACING FROM KENTUCKY

NBCSN continues its coverage of the 2015 NASCAR season with Sprint Cup Playoff racing from New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, and XFINITY Series racing on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. ET. A more detailed press release surrounding this weekend’s NASCAR coverage on NBCSN will be distributed later today.

Following is NBC Sports Group’s motorsports coverage this week:

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Wed., September 23 NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN
Mobsteel 10 p.m. NBCSN
Thur., September 24 NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR Whelen Series – South Boston 7 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions: Dallas (Encore) 8 p.m. NBCSN
F1 Japanese Grand Prix – Practice 1 9 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
/DRIVE on NBC Sports – Japan 10 p.m. NBCSN
Indy Lights – Laguna Seca 10:30 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., September 25 F1 Japanese Grand Prix – Practice 2 1 a.m. NBCSN
Sprint Cup Series Practice – New Hampshire 12 p.m. NBCSN
XFINITY Series First Practice – Kentucky 3:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sprint Cup Series Qualifying – New Hampshire 4:30 p.m. NBCSN
XFINITY Series Final Practice – Kentucky 6 p.m. NBCSN
F1 Japanese Grand Prix – Practice 3 11 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
Sat., September 26 F1 Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying 2 a.m. NBCSN
Sprint Cup Series Second Practice – New Hampshire 9 a.m. CNBC
Sprint Cup Series Final Practice – New Hampshire 11:30 a.m. CNBC
XFINITY Series Qualifying – Kentucky 4:30 p.m. NBCSN
XFINITY Countdown to Green Pre-Race Show 7:30 p.m. NBCSN
XFINITY Series Race – Kentucky 8 p.m. NBCSN
Sun., September 27 F1 Japanese Grand Prix 12:30 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Extra 3 a.m. NBCSN
NASCAR America Sunday 1 p.m. NBCSN
Sprint Cup Countdown to Green Pre-Race Show 1:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sprint Cup Series Race – New Hampshire 2 p.m. NBCSN
Sprint Cup Series Post Race Show 5:30 p.m. NBCSN
Victory Lap 6 p.m. NBCSN

 


MOTORSPORTS ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA: NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will stream this week’s motorsports coverage via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Windows Store, Roku Channel Store and Apple TV.


MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on Formula One, the Verizon IndyCar Series, and other open-wheel and off-road 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 is creator and editor at Richland F1, which begins its second season this year. Smith works alongside Tony DiZinno in providing F1 content on MotorSportsTalk He’s on Twitter at @LukeSmithF1, primarily handling the F1 scene from Europe in great detail.
  • Tony DiZinno has most recently served as web editor for RACER Magazine and provides open wheel coverage on MotorSportsTalk. DiZinno has more than seven years of experience in the industry. Follow him on Twitter at @TonyDiZinno.

 

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

SOCIAL: NBC Sports Group will continue to provide comprehensive motorsports social coverage across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. On Twitter, fans can follow @MotorsportsTalk for all-encompassing content across NBC Sports Group’s motorsports properties, and follow @F1onNBCSports for the latest F1 news.

 

– NBC SPORTS GROUP –