Speedvision will sport a new name and look beginning in February.
The 24-hour network, acquired by Fox Cable Networks Group in July, will be
relaunched as Speed Channel Feb. 4, president Jim Liberatore announced
Tuesday.
The network will also showcase new programming, a new logo and a new on-air
look at that time.
Liberatore also announced that the popular Inside Winston Cup show,
shelved earlier this year, would return to the network's weekly programming
lineup.
The show -- providing highlights and results from the week's National
Association for Stock Car Auto Racing action from the perspective of the drivers
themselves -- will draw from Fox Sports' national television partnership with
NASCAR.
Sister networks Fox and FX carry Winston Cup and Busch National Series races
and ancillary programming. Other NASCAR-themed programs are in development.
'This is just the first step in an evolutionary process to deliver a more
focused and quality product so that viewers will continue to distinguish Speed
Channel as the top motor-sports destination,' Liberatore said in a prepared
statement.
'This is much more than a new name and a fresh coat of paint,' he added. 'We
have every expectation that with our enhanced Fox Sports influence, Speed
Channel programming and production will continue to be the benchmark for
motor-sports television.'
Currently available in some 45 million homes, Speed Channel also airs racing
action from Championship Auto Racing Teams, Formula 1 Racing, Classic Cars,
LeMans, the American LeMans Series and World Rally circuits, as well as
automotive programming from around the globe.
Liberatore -- who had been general manager of Florida-based regional sports
service Sunshine Network since 1995 -- was named president this past summer.
Earlier this year, Fox Cable Networks Group, which already held an interest
in Speedvision, secured the remaining stakes that Comcast Corp. and Cox
Communications Inc. had held in the network.
