Charles Less and Anita Azrina (centre) flanked by ESPN STAR Sports' presenters Steve Slater, Paula Malai Ali and Steve Dawson

PETRONAS Motorsports
News
10 March 2010

2010 Formula One Season reaches fever pitch with Malaysian viewers
ESPN STAR Sports and PETRONAS Flag off season with a line-up of new initiatives

Malaysian viewers can expect an interesting change in the Formula One coverage on ESPN Star Sports from 2010. With the season kick-off this weekend at the Grand Prix of Bahrain, the broadcast of the world's most prestigious motorsports race returns with an extended LIVE coverage of all 19 races on ESPN STAR Sports.

On top of covering the entire 2010 Formula One season across ESPN's television, online and mobile platforms throughout the region, Malaysian viewers will also get to enjoy the races in High Definition (HD) for the first time through ESPN's recently-launched HD channel.

The rising popularity of the sport is also set to get a boost with the return of Formula One's most successful driver - Michael Schumacher with the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One team.

Anita Azrina Abdul Aziz, General Manager PETRONAS Motorsports: "We are delighted to continue our partnership with ESPN STAR Sports for the live broadcast of the Formula One championship in Malaysia and the region. In reflecting the best of partnerships, we are confident that this is a relationship that allows both parties to leverage on each other's strength to further promote Formula One across Asia, the fastest growing region."

Charles Less, Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales, ESPN STAR Sports: "Malaysia is a passionate motorsport nation and with so many new exciting elements to this season, we expect viewer interest in this year's Formula One to hit fever pitch. We are proud to continue our partnership with PETRONAS and to complement PETRONAS' active involvement in Formula One we aim to deliver even more exciting coverage of this year's highly-anticipated season, starting with all the races being shown live on ESPN HD. Complementing the on-air broadcast will be the Live and authoritative online coverage and video content on espnstar.com as well as news and updates on mobileESPN."

Malaysia reinforced its reputation as a major motorsport-viewing nation with nearly 3.5 million viewers in 2009 tuning in to STAR Sports' comprehensive Formula One coverage and with viewing trends showing robust interest with younger profiles.

2010 Formula One season highlights:

Television Coverage:
STAR Sports will broadcast more than 600 hours of Formula One content in 2010 with comprehensive Formula One coverage on its pre- and post-race sports programme, Raceday and Chequered Flag. For the first time ever in Asia, Malaysia will be the first market to view the Formula One broadcasts in High-Definition on ESPN HD.

Live and authoritative online coverage and video content on www.espnstar.com
Fans can also get online coverage of the Formula One at ESPN's Live Race Centre featuring lap-by-lap live race coverage and commentary; online video highlights from the races and insightful comments by veteran Formula One pundit Steve Slater.

Formula One Fantasy Online Game
Fans can also take part in the F1 Fantasy game to stand a chance to win attractive prizes. There will also be a new online game predicting the winners of each race - sponsored by PETRONAS

News and updates on-the-go
Motorsports fans can also get Formula One mobile content on-the-go from mobileESPN in the form of news, results, driver and team standings, and the season calendar in English, Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia.

More on ESPN STAR Sports at www.espnstar.com