By: IMSA
December 23 2016
2017 To Feature Expanded Rolex 24 At Daytona Television
The 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – which opens in fewer than 40 days with the 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona – is already shaping up to be a classic, with the introduction of brand-new race cars in the flagship Prototype class and a number of new cars and participants in both GT classes.
Once again in 2017, FOX Sports will have all of the action from the drop of the green flag in the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 28 through the final checkered flag of the season at Petit Le Mans on Oct. 7, as IMSA and FOX Sports today unveiled the complete television schedule for the series.
The 2017 season will open on Saturday, Jan. 28 with a live FOX Network telecast of the first three hours of the 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona. FOX Sports will provide 24 hours of live television coverage of the Rolex 24 across FOX, FS1 and FS2 with only a brief, one-hour window late Saturday evening that will not be televised.
The FOX Sports GO app will have 25 consecutive hours of Rolex 24 programming, kicking off live streaming in the U.S. of the entire 12-race WeatherTech Championship season in 2017. The app will simulcast all FOX Sports telecasts in their entirety and will have seven hours of exclusive coverage in 2017.
“We worked closely with our partners at FOX Sports to build an extremely strong schedule for WeatherTech Championship telecasts in 2017,” said David Pettit, IMSA vice president, marketing. “Together, we were able to ‘reimagine’ our television schedule to expand our presence on the FOX Network, reduce the number of channel changes during our Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup events and utilize the FOX Sports GO platform to provide a consistent platform for our most loyal race fans.
“We’ve more than doubled the number of hours of live FOX Network coverage over 2016, and are offering more live television coverage of the Rolex 24 At Daytona than we have at any time in recent history. At the same time, both of FOX Sports’ cable networks, FS1 and FS2, have grown substantially, and we are making FOX Sports GO a destination for fans to watch the season in its entirety. In total, it’s a fantastic package to offer our fans and partners.”
In addition to the first three hours of the Rolex 24, the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach on Saturday, April 8, also will be televised live on FOX Network.
Nine of 12 events, including all four Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup races – the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 28-29, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida on March 18, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on July 2 and Petit Le Mans on Oct. 7 – will have FOX Sports GO streaming with authentication for all FS1 cable subscribers.
FS1 will feature 27 1/2 hours of WeatherTech Championship coverage, including a nine-hour live block of coverage from the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida and complete telecasts of the events at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Road America and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. FS2 will carry 37 1/2 hours of live coverage in 2017.
The 2017 WeatherTech Championship season opens at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 28-29 with the 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona.
2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Television / Streaming Schedule
| Date | Event/Venue | Channel | Times (All Times ET) |
| Jan. 28-29 | Rolex 24 At Daytona | FOX | 2 – 5 p.m. Sat. |
| Daytona Internatinal Speedway | FSGO* | 2 p.m. Sat. – 3 p.m. Sun. | |
| Daytona Beach, Florida | FS2 | 5 – 10 p.m. Sat. | |
| FS2 | 11 p.m. Sat. – 12:30 p.m. Sun. | ||
| FS1 | 12:30 – 3 p.m. Sun. | ||
| March 18 | Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida | FSGO* | 10:30 a.m. – 11 p.m. |
| Sebring International Raceway | FS1 | 2 p.m. – 11 p.m. | |
| Sebring, Florida | |||
| April 8 | BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach | FOX | 4 – 6 p.m. |
| Long Beach, California | |||
| May 6 | Circuit of The Americas | FS2 | 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. |
| Austin, Texas | |||
| June 3 | Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix | FS2 | 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. |
| Detroit, Michigan | |||
| July 2 | Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen | FSGO* | 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. |
| Watkins Glen International | FS1 | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. | |
| Watkins Glen, New York | FS2 | 1 – 4:30 p.m. | |
| July 9 | Canadian Tire Motorsport Park | FS1 | 5 – 8 p.m. |
| Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada | |||
| July 22 | Northeast Grand Prix | FS2 | 3 – 6 p.m. |
| Lime Rock Park | |||
| Lakeville, Connecticut | |||
| Aug. 6 | Continental Tire Road Race Showcase | FS1 | 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. |
| Road America | |||
| Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | |||
| Aug. 27 | Michelin GT Challenge at VIR | FS1 | 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. |
| VIRginia International Speedway | |||
| Danville, Virginia | |||
| Sept. 24 | Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix Powered by Mazda | FS1 | 5 – 8 p.m. |
| Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | |||
| Monterey, California | |||
| Oct. 7 | Petit Le Mans | FSGO* | 10:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. |
| Road Atlanta | FS1 | 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. | |
| Braselton, Georgia | FS2 | 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. | |
| FS2 | 5 – 9:30 p.m. |
NOTE: Broadcast dates and times subject to change * - FOX Sports GO with FS1 authentication
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