Speed (TV network)
Speed is an American FAST platform and a former sports-oriented cable and satellite television network owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as automotive-focused programs.
Although the channel was based in the United States, Speed ceased being available to most American viewers as a standalone network with its own original programming on August 17, 2013, when it was replaced by the general-interest sports network Fox Sports 1. An "international" version of the network, now known as Fox Sports Racing, concurrently launched in Canada, the Caribbean and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico to replace the domestic feed, airing archived Speed programming and live simulcasts of motorsports events carried by Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 in the United States that would be otherwise unavailable to international viewers.
When it originally launched in 1995 as Speedvision, the network carried a lineup featuring programs profiling the automobile and motorsports industries, how-to series, and coverage of various domestic and international racing series. After it was acquired by News Corporation in 2001 and relaunched as Speed Channel, the network's programming became increasingly NASCAR-oriented; prior to its shutdown in the U.S., Speed's lineup consisted mostly of automotive-themed reality shows, NASCAR-related programs, along with news programs focusing on motorsports. Most of Speed's live event programming was carried over to Fox Sports 1, and was simulcasted on the Speed network that remained available outside the U.S.
Due to contractual changes associated with the relaunch, Fox was expected to temporarily distribute a version of Speed to fulfill contracts with providers that had not yet signed deals to carry Fox Sports 1, airing a loop of the network's past reality programming. Many of the programs once found on Speed can now be found in the United States on CBS Sports Network, MAVTV and Velocity, others not such as Speed Center.
Nine years after the closure of Speed, the channel was revived in November 2022 under its original Speedvision name as a FAST supported channel while the post-2001 Speed was also relaunched that same year by Boss One Media, LLC as a YouTube channel.
History
As Speedvision
The network originally launched as Speedvision on December 31, 1995. The network was one of two formed out of a partnership of Cox Cable and Times Mirror which had combined their cable systems operations in 1994. In July 1995, Times Mirror decided to reassess its media holdings and reduced its stake in the two planned networks to 10%. Comcast and Continental Cablevision were brought on as new partners.Speedvision was planned by former ESPN executive Roger L. Werner, E. Roger Williams and Robert Scanlon. The network offered a mix of automotive, boating, and aviation programming.
Speedvision's initial lineup featured various automotive programs, including various documentary-style series focusing on prolific vehicles, manufacturers, and racing teams, series focusing on classic automobiles, an AutoWeek-branded television series, along with MotorWeek and Autoline Detroit – two programs respectively syndicated from PBS member stations in Maryland and Detroit. Speedvision also carried coverage of various minor and professional auto racing series, including the Sports Car Club of America's World Challenge series.
Fox acquisition and NASCAR push
In 1998, the Fox Entertainment Group purchased a 30% ownership interest in Speedvision. In May 2001, Fox negotiated a deal to acquire the stakes held by Cox and Comcast, thus giving them majority control of the network. Since Fox Sports had recently acquired broadcast rights to the first half of the NASCAR Busch and Winston Cup Series in a six-year deal, Fox planned to leverage Speedvision as an outlet for supplemental NASCAR programming. To coincide with that year's running of the Daytona 500, Speedvision was relaunched as Speed Channel on February 11, 2002; the network's operations were also relocated from Stamford, Connecticut to Charlotte, North Carolina.In the following years, additional NASCAR-related programs were slowly brought on to the schedule, ranging from news programs, pre-race programs Trackside and NASCAR RaceDay, and the post-race NASCAR Victory Lane. Speed Channel also added a weekly call-in show in 2003, WindTunnel with Dave Despain, which featured interviews and discussions relating to news and events in auto racing.
File:US Navy 070504-N-5345W-055 NASCAR Busch Series driver Shane Huffman, driver of the U.S. Navy ^88 Chevy Monte Carlo, answers questions from Speed Channel's Dick Berggren after qualifying a career-high 3rd for the Circuit City 25.jpg|thumb|175px|right|NASCAR Busch Series driver Shane Huffman answers questions from Speed Channel's Dick Berggren.
Starting in 2003, Speed began to carry NASCAR's Truck Series, after buying out the remainder of ESPN2's contract for the events. The channel also offered coverage of practices and qualifying races in NASCAR's main national series, the Gatorade Duels qualifying races, and the Sprint All-Star Race. In 2005, the channel's name was shortened to simply Speed.
In 2006, the conclusion of Daytona 500 qualifying coverage was moved to Speed due to NBC's coverage of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. The coverage still had NBC graphics and commentary. It would be the only time that the NBC/TNT broadcast combo would air its NASCAR coverage on SPEED.
Until late 2007, Speed also aired coverage of International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation events over the winter months – including bobsledding, luge and skeleton. Its winter sports coverage also included an annual charity bobsledding event organized by NASCAR driver and bobsled builder Geoff Bodine, which featured participation by various NASCAR drivers. Universal Sports acquired the rights to FIBT events beginning in the 2007–08 season.
Speed continued to maintain coverage of other professional racing series, such as the Rolex Sports Car Series, the American Le Mans Series, the newly renamed Speed World Challenge until 2010, and the Formula One World Championship. By the mid 2000s, these came along with an increasing number of reality series. By 2008, Speed was carried in over 73 million households.
In 2010, Fox launched Speed 2, a TV Everywhere video streaming service which featured coverage of additional racing series not broadcast by Speed, along with video on demand access to archived Speed programs. The service was shut down in 2014.
In 2011, Speed began carrying Australia's V8 Supercars series; it also aired live coverage of the Gold Coast 600 and the Bathurst 1000 featuring Darrell Waltrip, Mike Joy, Leigh Diffey, and Calvin Fish on-location. The move was met with praise from series organizers, who felt that the series could benefit from the additional exposure it would receive from American coverage—the series would also add a U.S. event at Austin's Circuit of the Americas for the 2013 season.
On October 12, 2012, Fox Sports announced that it would not renew its contract to air Formula One racing on Speed after the conclusion of the 2012 season. Two days later, NBC Sports announced that it had reached a new four-year deal to broadcast F1 races beginning in the 2013 season, with the majority of its coverage to be carried by NBC Sports Network. Three days later, Fox Sports reached an agreement with NASCAR to extend the network's broadcasting contract through the 2022 season, along with the addition of online streaming rights beginning in 2013.
International expansion
Speed became available in Canada shortly after its U.S. launch. As Speedvision, Speed was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to be added to its list of foreign cable networks approved for carriage on Canadian cable and satellite providers in 1997. As such, Speed was carried by most Canadian television service providers. Prior to August 2013, Canadian viewers saw a largely identical schedule as the U.S. channel, although some programming, particularly live Formula 1 events, were blacked out to protect TSN, which holds domestic broadcast rights to F1 events. However, this point became moot when NBC Sports Network obtained rights to F1 events beginning with the 2013 season, as that network is not available in Canada.The Latin American version of Speed was launched on November 5, 2005 with a Brazilian version following in July 2006, carrying live coverage of the NASCAR Cup, Nationwide Series, and Truck Series, Rolex Sports Car Series, American Le Mans Series, and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. It also aired delayed coverage of the World Series by Renault and NASCAR Mexico. Other programming included highlights shows including British Formula Three Championship, the Argentine TC 2000 and Turismo Carretera, and the Colombian T.C. 2000 and delayed highlights of Australia's V8 Supercars, FIA GT, AMA Supercross and Monster Jam, as well as non-motorsport programs such as Grand Prix on Track, Grand Prix Story, Unique Whips, Tuner Mania and Pinks.
Speed launched in Australia on November 1, 2010 on Foxtel in both standard and high definition. After months of negotiations and controversy, on March 25, 2011, Speed and Speed HD launched on subscription television provider Austar. Among other racing events, the Australian network aired NASCAR Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series, V8 Supercars and Superbike World Championship with the network also having its own version of Speed News. Unlike the U.S. version, it was owned by Fox Sports Pty Limited, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia – which no longer was directly connected to 21st Century Fox due to its inclusion in the split of News Corporation.
On February 5, 2012, the Latin American channel was replaced in Brazil by a domestic version of Fox Sports. Beginning in 2012, the network broadcast Formula 1 free practices and live and delayed qualifying events and races, as well as live races from the GP2 Series and GP3 Series. On November 5, 2012, Speed Latin America was relaunched as Fox Sports 3, whose programming remained focused on motorsports the following years.
On November 2, 2014, the Australian version of Speed closed and was replaced by Fox Sports 5.