IMSA.com has released the broadcast schedule for the historic 52nd Rolex 24 at Daytona, and for the first time in several years, the start of the race will be shown on broadcast TV.
The 52nd Rolex 24 at Daytona is the first race of the new Tudor United SportsCar Series 2014 season, and also the first race of the four-race Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup sub-series. This event has attracted 68 of the best sports car endurance-racing teams from across the continent and around the world, and this event deserves first-rate exposure.
International Motor Sports Association (which operates TUSCC,) in partnership with Fox Networks, is providing that exposure. The 2014 Rolex 24 will be available in North America and around the world on TV, cable, Internet, and radio, giving the maximum number of fans a chance to follow this epic event.
New Coverage Options for a New Era
The 52nd running of the Tudor United Sports Car Championship Rolex 24 at Daytona marks the start of the latest attempt to run a successful sports car series in North America. Created by combining the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Series, TUSCC brings together the best cars, teams, and management from across the continent in an honest attempt to offer fans teams, and sponsors what they want in a sports car racing series.
One things fans and sponsors definitely want is good television coverage, TUSCC, with NASCAR backing is well-positioned to offer that. The coverage provided for the 2014 Rolex 24 shows what TUSCC can do.
The race coverage starts on FOX-TV, a huge improvement from the specialty cable channels which had covered the race in the past. Reaching every American household which has a TV, FOX will broadcast the first two hours of the race, from 2–4 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 25. This gives all America a chance to see this iconic endurance event kick off, and could spur viewers to follow the rest of the event as it moves to other channels.
The next five hours of the race will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2, a cable channel which unfortunately has less reach than FOX-TV or Fox Sports 1. FS2 is available for a few dollars through most cable providers; it is not impossible that some viewers might order it just for this race (and might keep it thereafter.)
From FS2 the race moves to the Internet which is the norm for most major endurance races. The benefit here is that the race will be streamed unrestricted on IMSA.com—anyone anywhere in the world will be able to follow the action on IMSA.com from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m.
The final seven hours of the race—generally the decisive hours—will be broadcast on the Fox Sports 1 cable network (the old SPEED channel) which is also widely available across the nation. By devoting seven full hours to the race FS1 increases the chance that both sports car fans and channel surfers will tune in to follow the action to its climax at 2:10 p.m. Sunday.
The race will also be streamed via the FOX Sports GO mobile app for iOS devices.
Available Around the World
The Rolex 24 is an international event, attracting drivers and teams from around the worlds. To honor this the race will be broadcast internationally in 144 countries and territories including Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Australia.
Radio coverage of the race will be offered on the Motor Racing Network, and also streamed on MRN.com and IMSA.com, and on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90) and Sirius channel 117.
Live Timing and Scoring can be found at IMSA.com and though the new IMSA mobile app, available at that website.
For those who can‘t stay up for the entire 24 hours, IMSA.com will post a full Rolex 24 on-demand replay 24 hours after the FOX Sports telecast.
“There is no better way to introduce the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship than to televise the first moments of the new series’ existence to a national audience through FOX Network television,” said David Pettit, International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) vice president of marketing.
“The Rolex 24 At Daytona will serve as the official launch of our five-year partnership with FOX Sports, and will provide fans with unprecedented access. This year’s Rolex 24 is perhaps the most anticipated North American sports car race in history, and FOX Sports will anchor our live coverage options.”
The 2104 Rolex 24 at Daytona takes the green flag at 2:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 25 and the checkered flag 24 hours later on Sunday, Jan. 26.
The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge also launches its 2014 campaign at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, Jan. 24 with the race starting at 1:45 p.m. Fox Sports 2 will have same-day television coverage of the season opener at 6 p.m. ET.
Tickets for the 2014 TUSCC Rolex 24 at Daytona (including the CTSCC race) are available through the Daytona International Speedway website.
