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Written by:
Erik Arneson
04/08/2007 - 07:00 PM
Los Angeles and Charlotte
SPEED President Hunter Nickell. » More Photos
Hunter Nickell has been named President of SPEED, it was announced today by Bob Thompson, President of Fox National Cable Sports Networks, to whom Nickell reports.
"Hunter has done a tremendous job at SPEED since taking the reins less than two years ago," said Thompson. "SPEED is the television destination not only for NASCAR fans, but fans of Formula One and a variety of shows for automotive enthusiasts. SPEED has added well over five million subscribers since Hunter came aboard, and the channel's depth of automotive coverage is truly unparalleled."
Nickell joined SPEED in June 2005 as Executive Vice President & General Manager, guiding the network through milestone contract negotiations with NASCAR and Formula One, while helping SPEED to record audience growth in 2006.
In February, SPEED topped 70 million U.S. households for the first time in network history, adding 720,000 households in February and 4.7 million homes in the last year. More than three quarters of all local systems carrying SPEED are now utilizing its programs to help drive their own local advertising sales revenue. Men aged 18-49 and Adults 18-49 recently named SPEED their favorite mid-sized network, while women ranked it second among similar networks, according to the 2006 Beta Research Cable Subscriber Evaluation Survey. With the growth of popular NASCAR programs, including the sport's signature pre-race show, "NASCAR RaceDay," and the tremendous popularity of automotive lifestyle shows, including "PINKS" and "Unique Whips," SPEED's total audience delivery grew for the fourth consecutive year and scored its mostwatched year in network history in 2006.
"After a strong year in 2006, we are expecting even more in 2007," Nickell said. "We continue to enhance our signature event coverage, highlighted by our at-track presence at NASCAR races. With the most knowledgeable and respected on-air personalities in motor sports, we are having a lot of fun with what we are doing across the board at SPEED and it's resonating with our viewers." In May of this year, SPEED will be home to the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge for the first time, giving the network one of sport's most popular events of the year, and marking he beginning of an eightyear deal with NASCAR that includes the Gatorade Duel at Daytona, the NASCAR Nextel Pit Crew Challenge, live coverage of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, multiple qualifying and practice sessions from all three of NASCAR's national series, and popular NASCAR programming including "Trackside," "NASCAR Live!," "NASCAR performance,"
As SPEED set record ratings numbers in Prime in 2006, much of the growth in network viewing has come in the young male demographics, with double-digit growth among Men 18-34 (+50%) and Men 18-49 (+15%) from 2005 to 2006. Leading the charge with younger audiences, "PINKS" was called "the hottest car show on TV" by Hot Rod Magazine, leading to the popular spin-off, "PINKS: All Out." Drawing more than 20 thousand spectators to program shoots, one track operator was stunned, noting "PINKS" had drawn more interest than a recent Metallica concert held at the facility.
Prior to leading SPEED, Nickell served as General Manager at FSN South (and its predecessor SportSouth) for 12 years, helping to expand its team relationships and coverage region. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, where he was student body president, captain of the university hockey team and also played lacrosse. He is past president of the Georgia Amateur Hockey Association. He and his wife Kimberly have three children – Andrew and twins Peter and Haley.
SPEED is the nation's first and foremost cable television network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 75 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest-growing sports cable networks in the country, the home to NASCAR on SPEED and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services.
Fox Cable Networks (FCN), a unit of the Fox Networks Group, a wholly owned division of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS), includes more than 30 domestic programming services in which News Corporation holds interests. These networks collectively service more than 400 million television homes and represent one of the media industry's largest and most diverse groups of programming operations. FCN networks include FX, FSN and its 18 owned-and-operated regional sports networks; National Geographic Channel; National Geographic Channel HD; SPEED; FUEL TV; Fox College Sports; Fox Soccer Channel; Fox Sports en Español; Fox Movie Channel, Fox Reality and the Big Ten Network. FCN also includes Fox Sports Enterprises, which manages interests in sports franchises and leading statistical information provider STATS, LLC.
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