NASCAR on Fox
Encyclopedia
NASCAR on Fox is the Emmy-winning branding used for Fox Sports
's broadcasts of NASCAR
races airing on the Fox
network since 2001. The production has been in high-definition
since 2005.
/FX
and NBC
/TBS (later TNT
) beginning in 2001. Fox/FX would cover the first half of the season while NBC/TNT would air the second half of the season.
From 2001–2006, Fox alternated coverage of the first and most famous race of the season, the Daytona 500
, with Fox getting the odd years and NBC the even ones. For balance, the opposite network would air Daytona's July race, the Pepsi 400. This particular television contract was signed for eight years for Fox/FX and six years for NBC/TNT and was valued at $2.4 billion. In addition to coverage on the Fox Broadcasting Company
, the Fox
-owned Speed Channel
carried the entire Craftsman Truck Series schedule, a contract they bought out from ESPN
in October 2002.
During the first half of the season FX was the primary home to the Busch Series
, airing all but the most prestigious races which then were shown on Fox instead. FX was also home to most NASCAR Sprint Cup night races, The All-Star Race
, and the spring race at Dover
. Should a Fox-scheduled race be rained out to Monday, FX would simulcast the race with some Fox affiliates. Fox Sports Net
covered the 2001 Gatorade Twin 125's at Daytona International Speedway
, the only time it covered a race.
and Speed Channel
. Also included in the new contract are Disney
-owned ABC
, ESPN
and ESPN2
, along with TNT
. The contract came into effect in 2007. The rights were split up as such:
For all of their broadcasts, Fox uses a portable studio called the "Hollywood Hotel" for the pre-race coverage. The exception was from 2001 to 2007 at Daytona, where they would use the infield media center situated next to Gatorade Victory Lane. As of last year, the Hollywood Hotel and the "Ford Cut-Away Car" areas are also incorporated into Speed Channel's Happy Hour coverage with Steve Byrnes joining Jeff Hammond (Myers' contract is exclusively to Fox).
If the race is delayed to a Monday, the "Hollywood Hotel" has not been used. This was because Myers was also a talk-show host for Fox Sports Radio
and he had to return to Los Angeles
to begin the following week's shows. However, if a Saturday night race is rained out to Sunday then the studio will stay. If the Hotel is no longer available, Jeff Hammond can be shifted to fill in a pit reporter's position or analyst's role if necessary. Hammond also did this in 2002 for the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway
for Steve Byrnes
when Byrnes was unable to make it due to his wife going into labor.
During the 2004 Dodge/Save Mart 350 the studio was not used and Myers and Hammond were located on the hillside on outdoor chairs. No explanation was given for this.
Future use of the Hotel on Monday is now conceivably possible, as Myers left Fox Sports Radio in 2010.
In 2011
, Pizza Hut
became the presenting sponsor of the pre-race show. Also, the first segment was moved from the hotel to a tented facility either trackside or in the infield, depending on the venue. The idea was to build a crowd around the production of the segment; this has similarities to Fox's own NFL pregame show
in 2006, as well as the College GameDay football and basketball
shows on ESPN.
For full races on Sunday, Waltrip is positioned initially in the studio for the show's pre-race segments.
Former
. An instrumental version was used for the opening segment.
Since mid-October 2010, Fox has used the NFL on Fox
theme song across all its sports properties, and the change became official on the NASCAR telecasts with the 2011 Budweiser Shootout
. In addition, country superstar Dierks Bentley
has unveiled a new version of his hit song "Sideways", with new lyrics referencing NASCAR. It now plays at the very beginning of the pre-race show.
For the 2004 season, a new ticker was introduced, with a style similar to that of Fox's NFL score banner at the time. Instead of retracting from the top of the screen, this version flashed on and flashed off. This time, the "NASCAR on Fox" logo was on the left, and the car numbers would be shown in the car's colors and number font. In 2006, the ticker went from black to a chrome finish, in line with the other Fox Sports properties (MLB, NFL
).
Some viewers pointed out that the running order on Fox's on-screen ticker quickly became out-of-date due to on-track changes in position. In response, Fox introduced "top 10 only," "top 20 only," and "lead lap and free pass car" tickers starting at the 2006 Coca-Cola 600
.
For the 2007 season, another new ticker was introduced, with a style similar to that of Fox's then current NFL score bar, but divided into 2 strips, one strip containing lap count and other information such as updates of positions, and a new unobstructed ticker that stretches the entire width of the screen. However, until May 2008, the standings still did not update in real time. The option finally became available at the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400
at Richmond
, but only because Fox diverted from NASCAR's official scoring. Instead it uses global positioning system
s located inside the cars, so the ticker can now be updated live if the position of a car changes.
For the 2011 season, broadcasts on both Fox and Speed took on a design based on the new Fox Sports graphics package that had recently debuted on the network's NFL coverage
. The new ticker is now contained within a bar (rather than a full-width banner), with race status located on a tab in the top-middle of the bar, and advertiser/network logos placed at the ends of the bar. Beginning at California, the colored "pods" that driver names are displayed in also began to show up in grey for drivers who are listed as being out of the race. As with all other Fox Sports broadcasts, coverage also began to be produced and shown in the 16:9
aspect ratio
for all viewers.
s for its coverage, including three for Outstanding Sports Series (2001, 2005, 2007), three for Outstanding Live Event Audio Sound (2002, 2005, 2006), one for Outstanding Graphic Design (2001), five for Outstanding Technical Team Remote (2001, 2003–05, 2007) and one for Promotional Announcement Episodic (2008).
, along with engineer James Fishman, had developed the technology fifteen years earlier under the name "Tread Cam." However, it should be known the devices are completely different. The Lingner "Tread Cam," used at O'Reilly Raceway Park, is a pop-up camera that was in 480p standard definition, while the "Gopher Cam" is flatter and smoother camera (not a pop-up) that is in high definition
.
"Digger" the gopher began as a symbol of the corner camera and was later adopted as unofficial mascot for FOX's entire coverage. Beginning with the 2009 Daytona 500
, Digger was extended into a series of short cartoons
that aired during the pre-race show. Country music
superstar Keith Urban
recorded the theme song for these shorts. Storylines revolved around Digger and his life beneath the infield of a fictional racetrack. Other characters include his girlfriend Annie and the track's security chief, Lumpy Wheels. They are named after David Hill
's daughter (Hill is the president of Fox Sports) and former track promoter Humpy Wheeler. Digger's souvenir trailer at the tracks attracts sizeable crowds of families with young children. However, the cartoon segment drew wide opposition from people who regularly watch the broadcasts.
After a NASCAR town hall-style meeting at the end of May 2009, Fox Sports chair David Hill reported receiving an email from a high-ranking NASCAR official whose identity he has concealed,
stating that Digger could have been a cause of the Fox ratings decline. Hill said "It was because of Digger that people were turning off in droves because they couldn't stand it, I said, I'm so sorry. If I'd known, I never would have created him. I didn't realize how insidious he was. It's the biggest crock of (stuff) I've ever heard."
Among the reasons of criticism is the purpose of the character's usage. Though it was at one time commonplace for networks to create mascots for sports coverage to incorporate an educational and entertaining element into their coverage, which was the case with Peter Puck
, Digger was created purely to add entertainment to the broadcast and reach out to a younger audience. Some NASCAR fans accuse Fox of dumbing down
and fluffing
their coverage so they can fill up on money from Digger merchandise sales.
Despite continuous outrage from the NASCAR fan community, as well as talk from the NASCAR community that the Fan Council is not pleased with this situation, Fox has not announced any plans to drop the usage of the characters, and even has posted pictures of Holiday 2009 and 2010-themed versions of the Digger die-cast. In 2010, the Digger cartoon was not shown during pre-race shows and less appearances of Digger at the bottom of the screen in response to the comments.
Digger made a cameo appearance in the 2009 film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
. He also made an appearance in the FOX NFL Sunday
intro on December 20, 2009; the Chipmunks also made an appearance in the intro as well. The movie was distributed by 20th Century Fox
, which has the same parent company (News Corporation
) as Fox Broadcasting.
It should be noted that “Digger” was not the first stock car themed cartoon character to be developed for race fans. The “Race Bug” was a popular racing cartoon character used in coloring books and merchandise in the 1990’s in Mooresville, NC.
In 1995, Art Almond, a Mooresville, NC Racing Cartoonist created one of the more controversial Stock Car Racing Characters to date. His creation,“Pit Road Toad” was more of an adult oriented character that consumed beer, and freeloaded around various race tracks and garages. The character soon became popular when used as a humorous learning medium for both fans, and industry insiders.
, Fox showed incidents from the 2002 and 2003 Aaron's 499
's amongst their top 10. The same clip of Mike Wallace
's #33 Chevy crashing from Tony Stewart
's in car camera from 2002 can be seen in both the 2002 and 2003 highlight compilations.
at Daytona International Speedway
(which used 3D representations of the cars), Fox showed only the logos on the hoods of cars that had paid the network to advertise during the race. For instance, Budweiser
was shown on the #8 and The Home Depot
on the #20 were shown, but Miller Lite
on the #2 was not. After outcry from some of the excluded companies, full logo graphics were restored to all cars three days later for the Daytona 500
telecast. After some controversy, the computer-generated cars used initially on the starting grid and top-five standings when going to break were phased out from main broadcast use, entirely discontinued in 2005 with exception to the Daytona 500 starting grid which featured the computer generated cars. While some writers continue to imply that Fox altered or removed some sponsor names on camera shots of cars during competition, this never happened.
, which was Fox's very first NASCAR telecast, also brought an unrelated controversy. At the end of that race, Fox left the air shortly after Dale Earnhardt
, fatally injured in a crash on the last lap, was admitted to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida
. The network provided no updates on his condition at the time of the 5:15 p.m. EST sign-off (although no information was available at that time), and continued regular programming (with the animated series Futurama
) at the moment Earnhardt's death
was confirmed at the 7:00 p.m. EST press conference. NASCAR's other broadcast network partner, NBC
, delayed a commercial break at a National Basketball Association game and ESPN (which aired the Craftsman Truck Series at that time) had earlier, and much more extensive coverage, of Earnhardt's death and its aftermath. However, Fox News Channel
and Fox Sports Net
did break into their programming to announce the seven-time champion's passing, with Myers providing reports on FSN programs. It is possible that Fox showed a crawl on the screen on the master control feed that showed Futurama. In addition, local affiliates may have chosen to pre-empt the episode, with anchors delivering the news live. However, none of this has ever been verified.
Shortly after the race, Hill explained to the Associated Press
that the network had gone over its allotted time (in part due to a long red-flag delay on Lap 175 caused by the infamous "Big One") and that continuing to cover the story would be too morbid. Neil Goldberg, producer, also said their staffers were not allowed near the crash scene.
When ESPN presented a tribute feature 10 years after Earnhardt died, it showed footage of the crash and aftermath, that looked like part of the live telecast. However, it was stamped with "WFTV
," the call sign of the ABC
affiliate in Orlando, Florida
. (Orlando and Daytona Beach share the same media market, and ABC's parent company
owns 80 percent of ESPN.) How footage from NASCAR on Fox got credited to another network's local station has not been made public.
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
's broadcasts of NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
races airing on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network since 2001. The production has been in high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
since 2005.
Background
On November 11, 1999, a new contract was signed for American television broadcast rights for NASCAR, split between FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
/FX
FX Networks
FX is the name of a number of related pay television channels owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
/TBS (later TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
) beginning in 2001. Fox/FX would cover the first half of the season while NBC/TNT would air the second half of the season.
From 2001–2006, Fox alternated coverage of the first and most famous race of the season, the Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
, with Fox getting the odd years and NBC the even ones. For balance, the opposite network would air Daytona's July race, the Pepsi 400. This particular television contract was signed for eight years for Fox/FX and six years for NBC/TNT and was valued at $2.4 billion. In addition to coverage on the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, the Fox
Fox Entertainment Group
The Fox Entertainment Group is an American entertainment industry company that owns film studios and terrestrial, cable, and direct broadcast satellite television properties...
-owned Speed Channel
SPEED Channel
Speed , is a cable and satellite television network broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...
carried the entire Craftsman Truck Series schedule, a contract they bought out from ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
in October 2002.
During the first half of the season FX was the primary home to the Busch Series
Busch Series
The NASCAR Nationwide Series is a stock car racing series owned and operated by the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing. It is promoted as NASCAR's "minor league" circuit, and is a proving ground for drivers who wish to step up to the organization's "big leagues"; the Sprint Cup circuit...
, airing all but the most prestigious races which then were shown on Fox instead. FX was also home to most NASCAR Sprint Cup night races, The All-Star Race
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, formerly known as The Winston until 2004, then the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge from 2004 until 2007, is a race open to race winners from the previous season as well as the current season, plus the past ten event winners and past decade's Cup Series champions...
, and the spring race at Dover
Dover International Speedway
Dover International Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned race track located in Dover, Delaware, owned by, and serving as the corporate headquarters of, Dover Motorsports, Inc. It is co-located with a harness racing track, Dover Downs, and shares the complex with Dover Downs Hotel & Casino...
. Should a Fox-scheduled race be rained out to Monday, FX would simulcast the race with some Fox affiliates. Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
covered the 2001 Gatorade Twin 125's at Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
, the only time it covered a race.
Contract extension
On December 7, 2005, NASCAR signed a new eight-year, $4.48 billion deal with the Fox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
and Speed Channel
SPEED Channel
Speed , is a cable and satellite television network broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...
. Also included in the new contract are Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
-owned ABC
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
, along with TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
. The contract came into effect in 2007. The rights were split up as such:
- Fox would become the exclusive home to the Daytona 500 and own the rights to the twelve points races after that. In addition, they will carry the Budweiser ShootoutBudweiser ShootoutBudweiser Shootout at Daytona, generally referred to as the Bud Shootout, is an annual invitation-only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series exhibition event held at Daytona International Speedway in February, the weekend before the Daytona 500. It is the first competitive event of the season and serves as a...
and two Craftsman Truck Series races. (In 2007, they were the MartinsvilleMartinsville SpeedwayMartinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, near Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved...
spring race, and the race in Mansfield, OhioMansfield, OhioMansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....
the Saturday before Memorial DayMemorial DayMemorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
. In 20082008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesThe 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series began on February 15, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway with the Chevy Silverado HD 250. The season concluded on November 14 of that year at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 200. Johnny Benson of Bill Davis Racing was crowned champion. The season...
and '092009 NASCAR Camping World Truck SeriesThe 15th season of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series began on February 13, 2009 at Daytona International Speedway with the Daytona 250. The season concluded on November 20 of that year at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 200. The season was the first under the Camping World...
, Fox aired the Kroger 250Kroger 250The Kroger 250 is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race that takes place at Martinsville Speedway in the spring.-Past winners:*1996, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2008, & 2009: Race extended due to a Green-white-checker finish....
from Martinsville, as well as the San Bernardino County 200 at California SpeedwayCalifornia SpeedwayAuto Club Speedway is a two-mile , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. The track was also used for open wheel racing events until 2005. The racetrack is located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and...
, instead of Mansfield. In 20102010 NASCAR Camping World Truck SeriesThe 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season was the fifteenth season of the third highest stock car racing series in the United States. Beginning at Daytona International Speedway, the season included twenty-five races, which ended with the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway...
, Fox didn't air any races of what is now the Camping World Truck Series; all 25 races aired on Speed. In 2011, Fox's coverage ended with the STP 400STP 400The STP 400 is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Kansas received a second date beginning in 2011 as part of NASCAR's latest round of schedule realignment; since 2001 the track had always held a race in late September/early October that became part of...
at Kansas SpeedwayKansas SpeedwayKansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. The speedway was built in 2001 and currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also raced at the speedway until 2011...
. - TNT will carry the next six Sprint Cup races including the Coke Zero 400Coke Zero 400The Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona is a 160 lap, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held annually, beginning in 1959, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida; the second major stock car event held at Daytona on the Sprint Cup circuit...
at Daytona International Speedway. - ESPN and ABC (through the ESPN on ABCESPN on ABCESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
arrangement) carried the final seventeen Sprint Cup races, with the ten races comprising the Chase for the Sprint Cup airing on ABC (in 2010, ESPN took over most of the coverage, leaving ABC with the last 3 Saturday night races in their broadcasting period). ESPN will begin the coverage with the Brickyard 400. The entire Nationwide Series season will be aired primarily on ESPN2 and ESPN, with selected races on ABC. - Speed will carry the Gatorade DuelGatorade DuelThe Gatorade Duel is NASCAR Sprint Cup Series preliminary event to the Daytona 500 held annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. It consists of two races, and serves as a qualifying race for the Daytona 500...
races and the Sprint All-Star Challenge, as well as the entire Craftsman Truck Series season, except for the two races each year carried by Fox from 2007–09. After the 2009 season, all the Truck races aired on Speed.
Studio
- Chris MyersChris MyersChristopher Patrick "Chris" Myers ) is an American sportscaster.-Biography:With more than 20 years in broadcasting, Chris Myers has covered premiere events, including the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, NCAA Final Four, The Masters and U.S...
– Host - Jeff Hammond – Co-Host/Analyst
- Darrell WaltripDarrell WaltripDarrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...
(pre-race) - Analyst
For all of their broadcasts, Fox uses a portable studio called the "Hollywood Hotel" for the pre-race coverage. The exception was from 2001 to 2007 at Daytona, where they would use the infield media center situated next to Gatorade Victory Lane. As of last year, the Hollywood Hotel and the "Ford Cut-Away Car" areas are also incorporated into Speed Channel's Happy Hour coverage with Steve Byrnes joining Jeff Hammond (Myers' contract is exclusively to Fox).
If the race is delayed to a Monday, the "Hollywood Hotel" has not been used. This was because Myers was also a talk-show host for Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
and he had to return to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to begin the following week's shows. However, if a Saturday night race is rained out to Sunday then the studio will stay. If the Hotel is no longer available, Jeff Hammond can be shifted to fill in a pit reporter's position or analyst's role if necessary. Hammond also did this in 2002 for the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA. The course is a complex series of twists and turns that go up and down the hills...
for Steve Byrnes
Steve Byrnes
Steve Byrnes is an American television announcer and producer from New Carrollton, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Maryland. Afterward, he began his television career as a sports producer where he covered several NFL teams. In 1985, he began producing and hosting NASCAR segments...
when Byrnes was unable to make it due to his wife going into labor.
Future use of the Hotel on Monday is now conceivably possible, as Myers left Fox Sports Radio in 2010.
In 2011
2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season was the 63rd season of professional stock car racing in the United States. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races, beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The...
, Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
became the presenting sponsor of the pre-race show. Also, the first segment was moved from the hotel to a tented facility either trackside or in the infield, depending on the venue. The idea was to build a crowd around the production of the segment; this has similarities to Fox's own NFL pregame show
FOX NFL Sunday
Fox NFL Sunday is the pregame show for the TV show NFL on Fox. The program is broadcast on Fox television affiliates nationwide. The audio portion of the show is broadcast over the Fox Sports Radio network, distributed by Premiere Radio Networks...
in 2006, as well as the College GameDay football and basketball
College GameDay (basketball)
College GameDay is an ESPN program that covers college basketball and is a spin-off of the successful college football version. Since debuting on January 22, 2005, it airs on ESPN Saturdays in the college basketball season at 11am ET and 8pm ET at a different game site each week...
shows on ESPN.
Broadcast booth
- Mike JoyMike JoyMike Joy is an American TV sports announcer, who currently serves as the lap-by-lap voice of FOX Sports' NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage. His color analysts are Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds. Joy has broadcast more than 30 Daytona 500s, NASCAR's biggest event...
– Lap-by-Lap - Darrell WaltripDarrell WaltripDarrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...
– Color Analyst - Larry McReynoldsLarry McReynoldsLawrence Joseph McReynolds III is a former NASCAR crew chief and currently serves as a racing analyst on Fox Sports, TNT and a columnist on Foxsports.com. He currently lives in Mooresville, North Carolina...
– Color Analyst
For full races on Sunday, Waltrip is positioned initially in the studio for the show's pre-race segments.
Pit Road
- Dick BerggrenDick BerggrenDr. Dick Berggren is a motorsports announcer and magazine editor from Manchester, Connecticut in the United States. Born in Westerly, Rhode Island, he now lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts with his wife Kathy. He is commonly seen wearing a trademark flat cap.- Academia :Berggren described himself...
- Steve ByrnesSteve ByrnesSteve Byrnes is an American television announcer and producer from New Carrollton, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Maryland. Afterward, he began his television career as a sports producer where he covered several NFL teams. In 1985, he began producing and hosting NASCAR segments...
- Matt YocumMatt YocumMatt Yocum is a long standing reporter in motorsports. He is best known for his pit reporting in the sport of NASCAR.-Biography:Matt Yocum's exposure to automobile racing began at an early age...
- Krista VodaKrista VodaKrista Voda is an American sportscaster who covers auto racing. Voda is a pit reporter for NASCAR on Fox and is the host of The Setup, the pre-race show for coverage of the Camping World Truck Series, as well as Trackside on Speed Channel.Voda was born and raised in Clinton, Iowa and attended the...
Former
- Jeanne ZelaskoJeanne ZelaskoJeanne Zelasko is a journalist and sportscaster who took over as the pre-game host of Fox's MLB games in 2001 after the departure of Keith Olbermann until October 2008. She also covered pre-game for MLB 2K6, MLB 2K7, and MLB 2K8 alongside Steve Physioc...
Theme Music
The original theme music for NASCAR on Fox broadcasts was in the same style as its other properties (NFL, MLB, etc.) and was used from 2001 to 2007. In 2008, Fox unrolled a new theme for its NASCAR telecasts called NASCAR Love, sung by country singer Toby LightmanToby Lightman
Toby Lightman is an American singer-songwriter. Her first album, Little Things, was released in 2004 on Lava/Atlantic. Her second album, Bird on a Wire was released in 2006. During her career, she has toured and performed with bands such as OAR, Rob Thomas, Jewel, Gavin DeGraw, Train, Prince, and...
. An instrumental version was used for the opening segment.
Since mid-October 2010, Fox has used the NFL on Fox
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
theme song across all its sports properties, and the change became official on the NASCAR telecasts with the 2011 Budweiser Shootout
2011 Budweiser Shootout
The 2011 Budweiser Shootout was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on February 12, 2011 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 75 laps, it was the first exhibition race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Kurt...
. In addition, country superstar Dierks Bentley
Dierks Bentley
Dierks Bentley is an American country music artist who has been signed to Capitol Records Nashville since 2003. That year, he released his self-titled debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's Modern Day Drifter, are certified platinum in the United States. A third album, 2006's Long Trip...
has unveiled a new version of his hit song "Sideways", with new lyrics referencing NASCAR. It now plays at the very beginning of the pre-race show.
On-screen graphics
For the show's debut in 2001, Fox first introduced the scoring banner to its national broadcasts. The first banner was simpler than the following two versions. From left to right, an advertisement with "FOX" underneath, then "RUNNING ORDER" in a Handel Gothic font, and finally the current placements of the drivers. The placements would be in yellow boxes while to the right of the boxes, the driver's name and car number.For the 2004 season, a new ticker was introduced, with a style similar to that of Fox's NFL score banner at the time. Instead of retracting from the top of the screen, this version flashed on and flashed off. This time, the "NASCAR on Fox" logo was on the left, and the car numbers would be shown in the car's colors and number font. In 2006, the ticker went from black to a chrome finish, in line with the other Fox Sports properties (MLB, NFL
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
).
Some viewers pointed out that the running order on Fox's on-screen ticker quickly became out-of-date due to on-track changes in position. In response, Fox introduced "top 10 only," "top 20 only," and "lead lap and free pass car" tickers starting at the 2006 Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, formerly known as the World 600, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held each year at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend...
.
For the 2007 season, another new ticker was introduced, with a style similar to that of Fox's then current NFL score bar, but divided into 2 strips, one strip containing lap count and other information such as updates of positions, and a new unobstructed ticker that stretches the entire width of the screen. However, until May 2008, the standings still did not update in real time. The option finally became available at the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400
Crown Royal Presents the Your Name Here 400
The Crown Royal Presents the Your Name Here 400 is a NASCAR Sprint Cup stock car race held at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Since 2007, race title sponsor Crown Royal names the race after the winner of an essay contest during Daytona Speedweeks...
at Richmond
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile , D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series...
, but only because Fox diverted from NASCAR's official scoring. Instead it uses global positioning system
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
s located inside the cars, so the ticker can now be updated live if the position of a car changes.
For the 2011 season, broadcasts on both Fox and Speed took on a design based on the new Fox Sports graphics package that had recently debuted on the network's NFL coverage
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
. The new ticker is now contained within a bar (rather than a full-width banner), with race status located on a tab in the top-middle of the bar, and advertiser/network logos placed at the ends of the bar. Beginning at California, the colored "pods" that driver names are displayed in also began to show up in grey for drivers who are listed as being out of the race. As with all other Fox Sports broadcasts, coverage also began to be produced and shown in the 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
for all viewers.
Awards
NASCAR on FOX has won 13 Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for its coverage, including three for Outstanding Sports Series (2001, 2005, 2007), three for Outstanding Live Event Audio Sound (2002, 2005, 2006), one for Outstanding Graphic Design (2001), five for Outstanding Technical Team Remote (2001, 2003–05, 2007) and one for Promotional Announcement Episodic (2008).
Turn cam and "Digger"
After limited usage in 2007, the network introduced the "Gopher Cam" full-time in 2008, a camera angle from the bottom banking of a track's turn. Fox implied that they invented the technology. However, it was quickly brought to light that Terry Lingner of ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, along with engineer James Fishman, had developed the technology fifteen years earlier under the name "Tread Cam." However, it should be known the devices are completely different. The Lingner "Tread Cam," used at O'Reilly Raceway Park, is a pop-up camera that was in 480p standard definition, while the "Gopher Cam" is flatter and smoother camera (not a pop-up) that is in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
.
"Digger" the gopher began as a symbol of the corner camera and was later adopted as unofficial mascot for FOX's entire coverage. Beginning with the 2009 Daytona 500
2009 Daytona 500
The 2009 Daytona 500, the fifty-first running of Daytona 500, was the first points-paying race to open the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. The race was won by Matt Kenseth making a car numbered 17 winning the Daytona 500 for the first time in 20 years since Darrell Waltrip's win back in 1989 and the...
, Digger was extended into a series of short cartoons
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
that aired during the pre-race show. Country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
superstar Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
recorded the theme song for these shorts. Storylines revolved around Digger and his life beneath the infield of a fictional racetrack. Other characters include his girlfriend Annie and the track's security chief, Lumpy Wheels. They are named after David Hill
David Hill (businessman)
David Hill is a British-born Australian businessman who has held a number of high profile senior positions with public authorities in Australia. He is also a writer....
's daughter (Hill is the president of Fox Sports) and former track promoter Humpy Wheeler. Digger's souvenir trailer at the tracks attracts sizeable crowds of families with young children. However, the cartoon segment drew wide opposition from people who regularly watch the broadcasts.
After a NASCAR town hall-style meeting at the end of May 2009, Fox Sports chair David Hill reported receiving an email from a high-ranking NASCAR official whose identity he has concealed,
stating that Digger could have been a cause of the Fox ratings decline. Hill said "It was because of Digger that people were turning off in droves because they couldn't stand it, I said, I'm so sorry. If I'd known, I never would have created him. I didn't realize how insidious he was. It's the biggest crock of (stuff) I've ever heard."
Among the reasons of criticism is the purpose of the character's usage. Though it was at one time commonplace for networks to create mascots for sports coverage to incorporate an educational and entertaining element into their coverage, which was the case with Peter Puck
Peter Puck
Peter Puck is a hockey puck-shaped cartoon character. The puck, whose animated adventures appeared on both NBC's Hockey Game of the Week and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada during the 1970s, explained ice hockey rules, equipment and the sport's history to the home viewing audience...
, Digger was created purely to add entertainment to the broadcast and reach out to a younger audience. Some NASCAR fans accuse Fox of dumbing down
Dumbing down
Dumbing down is a pejorative term for a perceived trend to lower the intellectual content of literature, education, news, and other aspects of culture...
and fluffing
Fluffing
A fluffer is a hired member of the crew of a pornographic movie whose role on the set is to sexually arouse the male participants prior to the filming of scenes that require erections....
their coverage so they can fill up on money from Digger merchandise sales.
Despite continuous outrage from the NASCAR fan community, as well as talk from the NASCAR community that the Fan Council is not pleased with this situation, Fox has not announced any plans to drop the usage of the characters, and even has posted pictures of Holiday 2009 and 2010-themed versions of the Digger die-cast. In 2010, the Digger cartoon was not shown during pre-race shows and less appearances of Digger at the bottom of the screen in response to the comments.
Digger made a cameo appearance in the 2009 film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. The film stars Zachary Levi, David Cross, Jason Lee, and the voices of Justin Long, Jesse McCartney, Matthew Gray Gubler, Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler, and Anna Faris...
. He also made an appearance in the FOX NFL Sunday
FOX NFL Sunday
Fox NFL Sunday is the pregame show for the TV show NFL on Fox. The program is broadcast on Fox television affiliates nationwide. The audio portion of the show is broadcast over the Fox Sports Radio network, distributed by Premiere Radio Networks...
intro on December 20, 2009; the Chipmunks also made an appearance in the intro as well. The movie was distributed by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, which has the same parent company (News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
) as Fox Broadcasting.
It should be noted that “Digger” was not the first stock car themed cartoon character to be developed for race fans. The “Race Bug” was a popular racing cartoon character used in coloring books and merchandise in the 1990’s in Mooresville, NC.
In 1995, Art Almond, a Mooresville, NC Racing Cartoonist created one of the more controversial Stock Car Racing Characters to date. His creation,“Pit Road Toad” was more of an adult oriented character that consumed beer, and freeloaded around various race tracks and garages. The character soon became popular when used as a humorous learning medium for both fans, and industry insiders.
Questionable editing
Showing a strangely celebrated series of the "10 Biggest Crashes" on the NASCAR on Fox telecast during the Sunday rainout of the 2010 Samsung Mobile 5002010 Samsung Mobile 500
The 2010 Samsung Mobile 500 was the eighth race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It was scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. EST on April 18, 2010, but because of poor weather conditions it was delayed until noon EDT on April 19 on Fox, and was...
, Fox showed incidents from the 2002 and 2003 Aaron's 499
2003 Aaron's 499
The 2003 Aaron's 499 was held on April 6, 2003 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. It was the 8th race of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeremy Mayfield was the pole winner for this race while Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the first driver to win four consecutive races at Talladega...
's amongst their top 10. The same clip of Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (NASCAR)
Mike Wallace is a NASCAR race car driver born in Fenton, Missouri. He currently drives the #01 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports in the Nationwide Series. He is a younger brother to Rusty Wallace, older brother to Kenny Wallace, and uncle to Steve Wallace...
's #33 Chevy crashing from Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart...
's in car camera from 2002 can be seen in both the 2002 and 2003 highlight compilations.
Commercial bias
In the starting grid for the 2001 Twin 125 racesGatorade Duel
The Gatorade Duel is NASCAR Sprint Cup Series preliminary event to the Daytona 500 held annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. It consists of two races, and serves as a qualifying race for the Daytona 500...
at Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
(which used 3D representations of the cars), Fox showed only the logos on the hoods of cars that had paid the network to advertise during the race. For instance, Budweiser
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
was shown on the #8 and The Home Depot
The Home Depot
The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...
on the #20 were shown, but Miller Lite
Miller Brewing Company
The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
on the #2 was not. After outcry from some of the excluded companies, full logo graphics were restored to all cars three days later for the Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
telecast. After some controversy, the computer-generated cars used initially on the starting grid and top-five standings when going to break were phased out from main broadcast use, entirely discontinued in 2005 with exception to the Daytona 500 starting grid which featured the computer generated cars. While some writers continue to imply that Fox altered or removed some sponsor names on camera shots of cars during competition, this never happened.
End of the 2001 Daytona 500 and Dale Earnhardt's death
The 2001 Daytona 5002001 Daytona 500
The 2001 Daytona 500, the 43rd running of the event, was held on February 18, 2001 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida over 200 laps on the 2.5 mile asphalt tri-oval. Bill Elliott won the pole. The race will be forever remembered for the final lap...
, which was Fox's very first NASCAR telecast, also brought an unrelated controversy. At the end of that race, Fox left the air shortly after Dale Earnhardt
Dale Earnhardt
Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...
, fatally injured in a crash on the last lap, was admitted to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
. The network provided no updates on his condition at the time of the 5:15 p.m. EST sign-off (although no information was available at that time), and continued regular programming (with the animated series Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
) at the moment Earnhardt's death
Death of Dale Earnhardt
Dale Earnhardt was an American race car driver who gained fame driving stock cars for NASCAR and winning seven championships. He was involved in a car accident during the last lap of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2001. He was taken to Halifax Medical Center,...
was confirmed at the 7:00 p.m. EST press conference. NASCAR's other broadcast network partner, NBC
NASCAR on NBC
NASCAR on NBC, identified by its on-air logo as NBC NASCAR, was a series of NASCAR races that aired on the network from 2001-2006. Prior to the contract that gave NBC broadcast rights the network aired races as early as the 1964 World 600...
, delayed a commercial break at a National Basketball Association game and ESPN (which aired the Craftsman Truck Series at that time) had earlier, and much more extensive coverage, of Earnhardt's death and its aftermath. However, Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
and Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
did break into their programming to announce the seven-time champion's passing, with Myers providing reports on FSN programs. It is possible that Fox showed a crawl on the screen on the master control feed that showed Futurama. In addition, local affiliates may have chosen to pre-empt the episode, with anchors delivering the news live. However, none of this has ever been verified.
Shortly after the race, Hill explained to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that the network had gone over its allotted time (in part due to a long red-flag delay on Lap 175 caused by the infamous "Big One") and that continuing to cover the story would be too morbid. Neil Goldberg, producer, also said their staffers were not allowed near the crash scene.
When ESPN presented a tribute feature 10 years after Earnhardt died, it showed footage of the crash and aftermath, that looked like part of the live telecast. However, it was stamped with "WFTV
WFTV
WFTV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Florida that is licensed to Orlando. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter between Bithlo and Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, WFTV is sister to Independent WRDQ. The two stations...
," the call sign of the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. (Orlando and Daytona Beach share the same media market, and ABC's parent company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
owns 80 percent of ESPN.) How footage from NASCAR on Fox got credited to another network's local station has not been made public.