Former Cable Net Speed Channel To Reinvent Itself On The Internet As RACER

Almost a decade after going off the air, the cable network Speed Channel, formerly Speedvision, is relaunching as a streaming video channel called RACER, with two heavyweights with plenty of experience in the sector helping the launch. Robert Scanlon, the former CEO of another car-focused channel, Velocity and Motor Trend Network will serve as President, while former Discovery ad sales president Joe Abbruzzese will be advising on ad sales and sponsorships.

Backers of RACER, which will be targeting the affluent 50+ demographic, include wrestler Bill Goldberg (who will also appear on air), racer Rick Hendricks, along with Scanlon and Abbruzzese. It will launch in the Fall with 500 licensed programs and 100 originals produced under commission.

The network will be one of many channels launching Internet-only which have been given the monicker FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) channels. The demographic of the channel, which was owned by Fox since 1995 and then rebranded as Fox Sports 1 in 2013, was racing fans and auto enthusiasts

In an interview with the Hollywood reporter, Scanlon said that the genesis of the idea came from the surprising success of Discovery channel Velocity (which was renamed MotorTrend Network in 2018) . “At Velocity we had a $140 million revenue line that was just advertising, there were no subscription fees…” he said. Speedvision, by comparison, generated roughly two thirds of its $300+ million per year in revenue from license fees from cable and satellite operators in 2012.

The no license fee model is unlike most cable channels who charge the cable and satellite operators a monthly license fee per subscriber per month which can go from pennies/sub/month to as high as $10+. Bloomberg, C-Span, Great American Country, Hallmark, Lifetime Real Women and Outdoor Channel, for instance, are under 10 cents/sub per month while ESPN tops the list at more than $10/sub/month.

Disney Channel, ESPN2, FOX News, Fox Sports 1, TBS and USA Network all charge more than $1/sub/month while NFL Network tops $2 and TNT is more than $3. These are industry averages. Large video providers like Comcast and DIRECTV get the lowest rate, while smaller ones pay much more. This is the main factor driving consolidation of cable systems over the years.