Eurosport Renew Live Intercontinental Le Mans Deal in HD

A major three-year agreement has been reached by the Eurosport Group with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), to broadcast the newly created Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, featuring the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours, for the next three seasons (2011, 2012 and 2013).

Eurosport will broadcast every minute of the mythical 24-Hour race LIVE across channels Eurosport, Eurosport 2 and Eurosport Asia-Pacific, while round-the-clock LIVE streaming of the race will also be available in Europe on the Eurosport Player web TV service and mobile application.

For the second consecutive year, Eurosport’s unbeatable coverage starts before the race with “Le Mans 24 Minutes” show each evening at 19:30 CET from Monday 6 June to Saturday 11 June 2011, in which top consultants will bring fans in-depth interviews, analysis and all the latest news direct from Eurosport’s on-site teams.

Eurosport’s extensive coverage also features LIVE broadcast of the free sessions on Wednesday 15 June and the qualifying sessions on Thursday 16 June.

The new series, created with the intention of promoting the spirit of the Le Mans 24 Hours in a unique international competition, features seven rounds and the 2011 calendar includes: 12 Hours of Sebring (United-States, 19 March), 1000km of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium, 7 May), Le Mans 24 Hours (11-12 June), 6 Hours of Imola (Italy, 3 July), 6 Hours of Silverstone (Great-Britain, 11 September), 10 Hours of Petit Le Mans (USA, 1st October) and 6 Hours of Zhuhai (China, 12 November).

Eurosport has LIVE rights to broadcast all rounds on Eurosport, Eurosport 2 and Eurosport Asia-Pacific as well as on Eurosport Player web TV service and mobile application, all of which will also be available in high definition on Eurosport HD and Eurosport 2 HD.

Laurent-Eric Le Lay, Chairman and CEO, Eurosport Group stated: “Le Mans 24 Hours is the most famous car racing event in history and one of the highlights of our programming. This extension of our long-standing relationship with ACO guarantees viewers will not miss a minute of the race wherever they are, with round-the-clock LIVE coverage on air, online and on mobile. We are delighted to showcase the new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, which promises to be an exciting series.”

Jean-Claude Plassart, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest added: “The renewal of our partnership with Eurosport is the guarantee of exhaustive top quality TV coverage benefiting all motor sports fans around the world, especially those passionate about endurance racing. Building on the groundwork we have done together with Eurosport for Le Mans 24 Hours, the top endurance event, our renewed partnership also includes our new series the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. We are convinced that Eurosport will deliver exceptional promotion and coverage of both the renowned Le Mans 24 hours as well as this promising new series.”