Spirit of the sport and the series
The FIM Superbike World Championship (SBK) is an intercontinental road racing series using production-based motorcycles from world class manufacturers such as Aprilia, BMW, Honda, Ducati, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. The machines are competitively engineered to boost performance, with top speeds exceeding 300 km/h.
Due to the technical appeal of the motorbikes and spectacular, close-fought racing between the world’s top riders, Superbike is highly popular with fans, manufacturers, broadcasters and commercial partners. It is arguably the most exciting form of motor sports offering a format of two races plus additional Supersport, Superstock 1000 and Superstock 600 racing. With international stars like Max Biaggi (Italy), Noriyuki Haga (Japan), Leon Haslam (Great Britain) and Carlos Checa (Spain) Superbike is truly fantastic viewing.
The 2012 FIM Superbike World Championship will be the 25th season in the history of the sport with 120 permanent riders from 25 countries competing in the four classes of the event. Superbike and its supporting categories is a truly global sport, not only popular throughout Europe but also in the USA, Australia, South America, the Middle East, Japan and Indonesia. Next year, the series will for the first time enter the Russian market – negotiations with a number of circuits in the country are currently underway.
Rights opportunities
Infront Motor Sports, a subsidiary of Infront Sports & Media, is the owner of the FIM Superbike World Championship and provides full promotional, marketing, hospitality, sales and broadcasting services to the events, which are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). All forms of media rights to the series are handled by Infront.
Media production prospects
Infront is handling the host broadcast and new media production through its international production operation, whilst at the same time ensuring the servicing of broadcasters and satellite coordination with its specialised team.
Continuous improvements have been applied to the production of the SBK race feed with the addition of new cameras, new state-of-the-art TV graphics and the introduction of HD features. On-board cameras were introduced in 2011 – adding even greater excitement for the viewer as they experience the fast on track action from the viewpoint of the rider. On an average race weekend, coverage is produced from seven events amounting to over 350 minutes of live material.
Infront produces interview feeds for both the qualifiers and full races in Superbike, Supersport and Superstock 1000. Full race feeds consist of circuit intro, pit lane, pit garage, pit wall and grid action, podium and post-race interviews (with international sound and English commentary provided) through a world feed with a commentator and sport expert. All footage is available live via a multilateral satellite feed through Globecast.
In addition to live, delayed and highlights coverage, Infront offers a 26 minute highlight show, available on the Wednesday after each round via satellite (distribution via tape on request). There is also a 26-minute season preview show and a 56-minute season review available. Magazine programmes and behind the scene footage are available on request.
Background appeal
Broadcast in approximately 175 countries across 94 channels the 2010 season achieved phenomenal viewing figures with over 3,000 hours of broadcast coverage worldwide. The series reached a cumulative audience of 498 million viewers - an increase of 33% compared to the previous year with live TV coverage also increasing by 18%.
