- Canada's #1 English and French specialty networks maintain complete
Canadian exclusivity of the entire FIA Formula One World Championship™-
- TSN and RDS remain home to the FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DU CANADA, the
biggest motorsport event on Canadian soil -
To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/1q19dGW
MONTRÉAL, June 10, 2014 /CNW/ - Bell Media's TSN and RDS and the Formula
One group announced today that they have reached a new multi-year
partnership, which allows Canada's #1 English and French specialty
networks to retain exclusive media rights to all Grand Prix races,
across all platforms, through to 2019. This includes exclusive coverage
of the FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DU CANADA - the most-watched motorsport
event on Canadian soil.
This is the second major rights deal announced by TSN and RDS today, as
the Bell Media networks also confirmed a new, expanded partnership with
the United States Golf Association for Canadian coverage of the U.S.
OPEN.
The announcement comes on the heels of this past weekend's widely
successful FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2014 - where it was confirmed
the popular race will remain at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in
Montréal for the next decade.
With the new Formula 1® deal beginning next season, TSN and RDS will continue to broadcast all
races, as well as qualifying and practice sessions and encore
presentations.
"We are very pleased to have renewed our long-standing partnership with
RDS and TSN and I look forward to continuing to work with them to bring
Formula 1® racing to fans across Canada," said Bernie Ecclestone, CEO, the Formula
One group.
"Formula 1® has an incredibly wide, loyal and passionate Canadian fan base, and we
are thrilled to extend the wonderfully successful partnership we have
had with the Formula 1® team for more than 20 years. This extension speaks volumes about the
meaningful relationships we build with our partners and the world-class
spotlight we shine on Formula 1®," said Gerry Frappier, President of RDS. "This agreement also
underscores our status as Canada's leading sports networks and bolsters
our commitment to bring Canadians the most prestigious events in
sports."
TSN and RDS have been delivering Formula 1® coverage in Canada since 1992 and 1994, respectively.
About TSN
TSN is Canada's Sports Leader and #1 specialty network. With a broad
portfolio of multimedia sports assets, TSN delivers world-class content
across industry-leading platforms including TSN2, TSN.ca, TSN GO, and TSN Radio. Official broadcaster of the Grey Cup, IIHF World Junior Championship
and FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, TSN's slate of live sports
coverage includes NHL, CFL, NFL, NBA, MLS, Season of Champions Curling,
UEFA Euro 2016, MLB, Barclays Premier League, Golf's Majors, NASCAR
Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Canadian Tire Series, F1®,, Grand Slam Tennis, NCAA March Madness, and Skate Canada events. TSN
is a division of Bell Media, which is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE:
BCE), Canada's largest communications company.
About RDS
RDS is Canada's French-language sports broadcasting leader and Quebec's
#1 specialty network. In addition to its world-class content delivered
across multiple platforms, including the RDS, RDS2 and RDS Info
channels, RDS.ca website, RDS Mobile, RDS Télé mobile and the RDS GO
app, RDS offers the broadest portfolio of French-language sports
programming in the world. Official broadcaster of the Montreal
Canadiens, CFL and Grey Cup, NFL and Super Bowl, MLS and MLS Cup, MLB
and World Series, FIFA World Cup soccer from 2015 to 2022 and Euro 2016
and exclusive French-language broadcaster of the Montreal Alouettes, F1®, and the Tour de France, RDS's various channels present almost 4,000
hours of live programming each year, including Montreal Impact soccer,
the IIHF World Junior Championship, NASCAR, PGA Tour golf including all
four majors, ATP tennis including all four Grand Slam tournaments,
Barclays Premier League soccer, NCAA March Madness basketball, Seasons
of Champions Curling and the Skate Canada International. RDS is a
division of Bell Media, which is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE),
Canada's largest communications company.
About Formula 1®
Formula 1®, which began in 1950, is the world's most prestigious motor racing
competition and is the world's most popular annual sporting series. In
2013 it was watched by over 450 million unique television viewers from
185 territories. The 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship™ runs from
March to November and spans 19 races in 19 countries across five
continents. Formula One World Championship Limited is part of the
Formula One group, founded by CEO Bernie Ecclestone, and holds the
exclusive commercial rights to the FIA Formula One World Championship™.
For more information on Formula 1® visit www.formula1.com.
F1, FORMULA 1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX and
related marks are trade marks of Formula One Licensing BV, a Formula
One group company. All rights reserved.
SOURCE TSN
