FOX Sports Ends 24H Le Mans Coverage after 21-Year Run

Photo: Samuel Reiman/FOX Sports -2017

FOX Sports has elected not to renew its television contract for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and FIA World Endurance Championship, ending a 21-year run of live coverage of the French endurance classic across its networks.

The change will result in North American coverage shifting to a different network, which has yet to be announced.

A FOX Sports spokesperson confirmed to Sportscar365 that it will no longer broadcast the race or the WEC season, although declined to provide a statement on the decision to end its contract.

The network, then known as Speedvision, debuted live coverage from Le Mans in 1996 and provided extensive, around-the-clock coverage of the race for more than two decades, despite multiple name changes and ownership.

SPEED Channel, which debuted in 2002 following FOX’s purchase of the network, carried coverage until 2013 when it transformed into FOX Sports 1.

Last year’s broadcast team (pictured above) included anchors Bob Varsha and Brian Till along with Calvin Fish, Jamie Howe, Tommy Kendall and Brad Kettler.

Rumors have pointed towards the Discovery-owned Velocity network potentially picking up Le Mans and WEC coverage, although it has yet to be confirmed.

“Negotiations with several different broadcasters are ongoing at the moment,” a WEC spokesperson told Sportscar365. “The aim is to have them completed well in advance of the season but we don’t have a definite time frame.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John