Right on. It was one of the sports "niches" that was still open, for the most part. At least it was one sport were they could cover the TOP leagues of each division, I.E. CART, F1 and NASCAR Winston Cup. ABC had done much the same thing, just on a much smaller scale.
Just like ABC 20 years prior, ESPN put HEALTHY doses of Auto Racing into it's coverage from the start. By 1981 they were covering CART, USAC, NASCAR, IMSA...and just about everything else on 2 or 4 wheel. Good move!
Yeah. You know, that's funny, B/C my dad has had Cable TV almost from the get-go (around 1978-1979) and he doesn't even remember ESPN's motorsports coverage, when in reality, that was a huge factor in making ESPN a widely-respected cable network the world over.
@TheAntihero6212 Opperman was never the same after his first big accident in 1976 that caused him to miss the rest of that season and all of 1977. Once he returned to racing in '78, he didn't have the same level of success. 1981 is the year that Jan's career ended with debilitating injuries.
Right on. It was one of the sports "niches" that was still open, for the most part. At least it was one sport were they could cover the TOP leagues of each division, I.E. CART, F1 and NASCAR Winston Cup. ABC had done much the same thing, just on a much smaller scale.
Just like ABC 20 years prior, ESPN put HEALTHY doses of Auto Racing into it's coverage from the start. By 1981 they were covering CART, USAC, NASCAR, IMSA...and just about everything else on 2 or 4 wheel. Good move!
Yeah. You know, that's funny, B/C my dad has had Cable TV almost from the get-go (around 1978-1979) and he doesn't even remember ESPN's motorsports coverage, when in reality, that was a huge factor in making ESPN a widely-respected cable network the world over.
@TheAntihero6212 Opperman was never the same after his first big accident in 1976 that caused him to miss the rest of that season and all of 1977. Once he returned to racing in '78, he didn't have the same level of success. 1981 is the year that Jan's career ended with debilitating injuries.
@sprintcarcrew You're welcome!!
Charles Intestine