DEW ACTION SPORTS TOUR AND FOX’S FUEL TV FORM 3-YEAR PARTNERSHIP
Filed under: MX News
The Dew Action Sports Tour has just hooked it up with FUEL TV, the network that brought you the sucessful 54321 with Rick Thorne. Interesting stuff as Dew is owned by NBC Sports and FUEL TV is owned by FOX Network! …
DAST 6/17/2005
DEW ACTION SPORTS TOUR AND FOX’S FUEL TV ANNOUNCE A THREE-YEAR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
FUEL TV to Produce Dew Action Sports Tour Special Editions of “FUEL TV’s 54321 Weekly Update” Telecasts
FUEL TV, the first and only network dedicated to the world of action sports, and the Dew Action Sports Tour, the first professional, multi-sport tour of action sports, have announced a three-year strategic partnership that includes multiple programming and cross-promotional aspects involving FUEL. For the 2005 season, as part of this agreement, FUEL TV will produce a “post-game” show from each of the five Dew Action Sports Tour events that will be telecast within special editions of “FUEL TV’s 54321 Weekly Update.”
David Sternberg, Executive Vice President, Emerging Networks, Fox Cable Networks; CJ Olivares, FUEL TV Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager; and Wade Martin, General Manager, Dew Action Sports Tour, made the joint announcement.
The Dew Action Sports Tour features the world’s top professional action sports athletes competing in skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross. This year’s inaugural Tour kicked off last weekend in Louisville, KY, with the Panasonic Open (June 9-12) and continues in Denver with the Right Guard Open (July 7-10), Portland with the Vans Invitational (August 18-21) and San Jose with the Toyota Challenge (Sept. 8-11), and concludes in Orlando with the PlayStation Pro (Oct. 13-16).
As part of the strategic marketing and programming partnership, FUEL TV has committed to significant news coverage of the Dew Action Sports Tour, particularly within “FUEL TV’s 54321 Weekly Update” which airs on FUEL TV and FSN. FUEL TV also has secured domestic telecast rights to increase its Dew Action Sports Tour shoulder programming in subsequent years of the partnership and to spotlight Tour highlights in future FUEL TV programming.
“FUEL TV is action sports and this decision to complementarily align FUEL with the Dew Action Sports Tour underscores the strong and very positive response that the pro tour of action sports has received from the athletes, industry and media, ” said Wade Martin, General Manager, Dew Action Sports Tour.
”As the only TV network dedicated exclusively to action sports, we are excited about our association with the Dew Action Sports Tour,” said FUEL TV’s Sternberg. “We are confident that the Tour will become a key cornerstone of the action sports calendar, and we look forward to covering its success on our network while also raising public awareness of FUEL TV.”
In its short history, FUEL TV has quickly become a driving force in youth culture by spotlighting these action sports. FUEL TV covers both competitive and free-riding action in the arenas of skateboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle motocross, snowboarding and wakeboarding.
Owned by NBC Universal and Clear Channel Entertainment - Motor Sports, the Dew Action Sports Tour already offers the largest television commitment to action sports that includes 21 hours of live, weekend afternoon television coverage on NBC and ten hours of late-night coverage on USA Network. The Tour also boats the biggest competitive prize purse ($2.5 Million) in these growing sports, in addition to a $1 Million Bonus Pool based on a cumulative points system. At season’s end, the Dew Cup will be awarded to champions in the six combined disciplines of skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross.
The Dew Action Sports Tour will consist of multi-sport events and entertainment festivals covering more than one million square feet in both indoor and outdoor venues. Key lifestyle elements at each Tour event will include live cutting-edge music, video gaming and interactive courses.