06/05/2010

North West 200 Gets 'Greenlight'

The North West 200 motorcycle race event is a continuing hit with TV viewers with an Isle of Man programme-maker revving-up for the BBC coverage.

Greenlight TV has signed a five-year deal with BBC Northern Ireland for production of the race for this year's live and highlight coverage of Ireland's most famous road race.

Three live programmes will be available online via BBC Northern Ireland's North West 200 web page, featuring practice on Tuesday and Thursday, as well as Saturday's racing.

Two of Saturday's races will once again be available behind the 'red button' as part of the BBC's network sports line-up.

That is just part of a range of cross-platform offerings which will once again integrate television with the internet and the mobile phone network, allowing viewers to participate in the broadcasts, with an active role in shaping the coverage.

Greenlight will also produce two hour-long highlights programmes, which will be shown on BBC Northern Ireland on Sunday and Monday nights.

The coverage will benefit from new camera angles, more kerb and on-bike cameras, as well as the stunning aerial views provided by the helicopter-mounted camera.

Last year's highlights programmes on BBC One Northern Ireland attracted a 28% audience share on Sunday night and 33% on Monday night, compared to 11% and 14% respectively for BBC One's network audience.

Greenlight will again produce this year's overall Road Racing Series, including not just the North West 200 but also the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man, which featured a record-breaking number of photo finishes.

That attracted a record TV audience of 500 million homes around the world.

(BMcC)

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