The Auto Channel Teams with CART to Present Bud 500 Live from Japan
23 March 1998
For Immediate Release THE AUTO CHANNEL TEAMS WITH CART TO PRESENT BUD 500 LIVE FROM JAPAN Internet Broadcast of Champ Cars Race is World's Only Live Coverage LOUISVILLE, KY & SACRAMENTO, CA; March 20, 1998 -- If you're one of the 60 million race fans around the world that follow CART's FedEx Championship Series, and you want to be a part of the action as it happens live next Friday when CART travels to Japan, then you'd better be on the Internet. Because the MCI sponsored Internet broadcast is the only place you'll find live flag-to-flag coverage of the event. Working in conjunction with Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc., The Auto Channel will present exclusive live audio coverage of the Budweiser 500, direct from Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan. Internet users will be able to access The Auto Channel's broadcast through their website at "http://www.theautochannel.com", the official CART website at "http://www.cart.com", and the MCI Racing website at "http://www.mciracing.com". The race will feature all of CART's big name drivers, from A to Z: Michael Andretti; Christian Fittipaldi; Scott Pruett; Bobby Rahal; Al Unser, Jr; Jimmy Vasser; Alex Zanardi; and many more. Live coverage will begin at 7:45pm Pacific Standard Time, on Friday, March 27th. The local date in Japan will be March 28th. CART Radio Network's Jim Murphy, will be the lead announcer on the Internet broadcast. Murphy has worked with The Auto Channel several times over the last couple of years, most notably as co-host of TACH's history making live TV ON THE NET coverage of the 1997 Indianapolis 500. "I'm really excited about doing this race", Murphy said. "This is the kind of thing where the Internet really excels. Bringing people what they want, when they want it." Bob Gordon, The Auto Channel's President and CEO, shared Murphy's enthusiasm. "The Internet and current technology is absolutely amazing. Jim and his team will be in the broadcast booth in Japan, feeding their commentary over the MCI phone network to our Production Center in Northern California. From there we'll digitize and transmit the encoded audio signal to our servers on both coasts, and then send out streams to motor sports fans in every country. All in just a matter of seconds." Since it's online introduction in January 1996, The Auto Channel has been the internet's premiere source for automotive information. Although this event will be TACH's first broadcast of a CART race, The Auto Channel was the first to provide live Internet broadcasts of NASCAR Winston Cup races, IRL Indycar events, AMA motorcycle races, the 24 Hours of LeMans, 12 Hours of Sebring, IROC, NASCAR Truck races, and the NASCAR Slim Jim Series. The Auto Channel also broadcasts weekly motor sports TV and radio shows on the net, and is the only internet entity in the world to do so. In addition, TACH provides extensive coverage of motor sports activity around the world. Internet users who wish to listen to the Budweiser 500 will need the RealAudio player, which is available free and can be downloaded from the Real Networks website at "http://www.real.com/products/player". Installation is completed quickly and easily into both Netscape and Explorer browsers. Company Contact: Marc Rauch (502) 584-4100 (916) 852-1956 email: mjrauch@theautochannel.com