AUSTAR launches SPEED and SPEED HD

AUSTAR has announced that from Friday, March 25, regional Australians will be able to watch some of the biggest events in world motorsports on its newest channels, SPEED and SPEED HD.

From Friday, SPEED and SPEED HD will be added to AUSTAR's Sports option at no extra charge and AUSTAR's Group Director, Corporate Development, Deanne Weir says this will provide even more value for money for sports customers.

"We are thrilled to be able to offer our very dedicated motorsports fans the channel they've been waiting for. SPEED expands dramatically on the previous motorsports segments that were shown on the FOX SPORTS channels by showcasing them on a channel devoted entirely to the genre. While our negotiations with Premier Media Group (PMG) for the channel took longer than we had hoped, neither PMG nor AUSTAR ever gave up on our joint goal of providing regional Australians with access to this channel", she continued.

Key upcoming events on SPEED include:

• Saturday 26 March: GT1 World Championship 2011 – UAE Qualifying Race
• Sunday 27 March GT1 World Championship 2011 – UAE Championship Race
  NASCAR Nationwide Series 2011 – Stater Bros. 300
  World Superbike Championship 2011 – Round 2, Donington Park
• Monday 28 March: IndyCar 2011 – Grand Prix of St Petersburg
  NASCAR Sprint Cup 2011 – Auto Club 400
• Tuesday 29 March: British Elite Speedway League 2011 – Birmingham v Poole
• Wednesday 30 March: SPEED News Australia – launch

Ms Weir continued: “AUSTAR has, without question, the best sports offering available on television for Regional Australia. Our commitment to providing sports fans with the highest quality broadcasts will continue with key events shown live, uninterrupted and in high definition on SPEED. Customers who love motorsports will be highly rewarded with the great content on this channel."