Nine years after disappearing from the cable channel lineup, Speedvision is gearing up to crank up its engines again.
Cable Channel – Serving Car Enthusiasts and Racing Fans from 1995 launch until Fox shuts down in 1995 — is being revived as a free ad-supported streaming network (the acronym is appropriately a FAST platform), and Got some high-profile support.
New Speedvision backers include Robert Scanlon, co-founder of the original cable channel and most recently in charge of Discovery Inc.’s Velocity and Motor Trend businesses; Joe Abbruzzese, formerly of Discovery’s advertising president of sales; wrestling superstar Bill Goldberg; and auto and racing mogul Rick Hendrick.
Scanlon will serve as company president, while Abbruzzese will advise on advertising sales and sponsorships. Goldberg is expected to appear as a talent on some of the network’s shows.
According to Scanlon, Velocity’s phenomenal success at Discovery inspired a new venture to launch as a free streaming network.
“We’re focused on FAST because it’s ad-supported,” Scanlon told The Hollywood Reporter . “At Velocity, we have a $58 million dollar revenue line, it’s just advertising, Velocity has no subscription fee line , so we looked at the huge, closest similar platform for this.”
“I think $100,000 in advertising dollars is a passion,” adds Abbruzzese, noting that niche channels ( It was launched in only about million homes) and quickly became the car’s toast trade show SEMA. “It’s not that hard to find ads, once you link advertisers to the show and integrate products in the show, I think advertisers find viewers and viewers find viewers.”
He added that they completely Expect the network’s audience to be 58+, but note that it is also the most wealthy age group in the country.
The new Speedvision will debut later this fall, and Scanlon says it will have some 600 hours The content of (about 500 permission and 58Commissioned) featuring some of the biggest names in the field, including Goldberg, Wayne Carini, Mark Worman, Stacey David, Craig Jackson and Ray Evernham.
He added that the network hopes to add hundreds of hours of content to 2023 and more in subsequent years multiple content.
The show in the works is Classic Car Talk (WT) which will see Carini (Classic Car Hunter) with Jay Partner Ward, creative director of the Pixar Cars franchise, on a video podcast; AmeriCARna , will visit Evernham and explain history and important cars; as well as David’s Gearz and Worman’s Graveyard Carz and other series.
At launch, Speedvision will be available on FAST platforms including Redbox, Plex, TCL Channels, Hisense Vidaa Smart TVs, Sports. tv and LocalNow, although Scanlon noted they are “in conversations with everyone” to expand their global availability.
The goal is to serve car enthusiasts who are so drawn to Velocity, but the video platform is more modern than cable.
“I think there’s a large segment of the audience that doesn’t use their imaginations enough,” Goldberg said. “Their cab seems to have been taken away from them over the last few years, and our job is to bring it back.”
In fact, as major automakers shift investment toward electric Automotive, the automotive industry itself is going through a major transformation. Like manual transmissions, the internal combustion engine is in danger of slowly disappearing.
“For the ICE engine, there needs to be a proper historical show before these things go away,” Goldberg said. “It’s our responsibility to do it well.”
“We’re definitely, definitely focused on the internal combustion engine, but we’re not going to reject anyone’s passion in this area,” Scanlon added. “In terms of people’s interest, we’re everyone’s, and there is now a clear interest in EVs in the hobbyist segment.”
This may also be reflected in advertisers and sponsors. While major automakers continue to maintain ad spending levels at pre-pandemic levels (chip shortages mean every car they make is selling quickly), Velocity finds it’s an automotive product for car enthusiasts, such as tire makers, engine oil makers, and auto parts stores, who are willing to pay big bucks to reach a relatively niche audience.
“Aaron Judge’s home run is when you get clients on the show and promote it,” Abbruzzese adds, noting that some sponsors go out of their way to advertise their participation in some Velocity programming.
Speedvision was originally launched at 1995 and was released at 140. The channel was renamed Speed in 2002 and added live NASCAR coverage to the existing lineup of racing and racing programming.
In 2023 Fox renamed Speed to Fox Sports 1 and its sister channel Fuel TV to Fox Sports 2, effective channel was closed. Speed’s NASCAR coverage and some of its NASCAR studio programming continue on Fox Sports 1.
But Scanlon and his investment team believe the Speedvision name still carries brand equity.
Goldberg, who clearly belongs to the core of the network (he points out that he is building a 140 , square foot garage for his car collection), said He “smiled from his ear — when he was asked about being involved in the Speedvision reboot.
“Because I remember what the network brought me and how I felt watching these shows,” he said. “The heritage, the history, the knowledge of how they did it back then makes me want it even more today. It will satisfy those who have been craving it for a while, and I think those alone are enough to drive the web, not to mention everyone else who wants to join.
“[Speedvision] is the gold standard for car enthusiasts, and it was the first brand to target these audiences,” Scanlon added. As for they leave a gap in the middle for these core audiences. Some are chasing YouTube viewers, some are just chasing race cars, C-Class and D-Class racing series. Once again they left the void. It’s there and we’re claiming it. ”
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