GBR Challenge update

madforsailing caught up with Leslie Ryan on the sponsorship trail

Rights
The sticky issue of TV rights for the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America's Cup seems to be being slowly resolved. The Outdoor Life Network, a cable station in the US have purchased the North American rights to the Louis Vuitton Cup. This is no lightweight channel - in September last year they had 38 million viewers but of particular interest for those who live in the US will be that they are expecting to broadcast a phenomenal 450 hours of live coverage between October and February 2003.

Team New Zealand have sold the North America's rights to the America's Cup to ESPN - something of a gamble for the leading American sports channel as although there are three strong US challengers, it is just possible that the America's Cup could end up without an American boat in it.

With the North American rights sewn up, TWI, the television arm of Mark McCormick's IMG, are now selling the rights to both the Louis Vuitton Cup, and the America's Cup elsewhere.

In the UK, TWI are said to be nearing the competition of a deal with the BBC. Spurred on by the participation of Peter Harrison's GBR Challenge, the BBC deal is likely to be across a range of programmes, from news to documentaries, even to Blue Peter. One proposal is that the Blue Peter programme (for those outside of the UK this is a wholesome practical programme for kids shown in the afternoon) will be run a competition to name GBR Challenge's new boat, although it is believed Peter Harrison will have final say in this...

It is unclear yet whether the BBC will be showing the America's Cup live during the night. Ellen MacArthur is said to be involved with the BBC TV deal, although quite how she intends to shoehorn this in around her Route du Rhum campaign on Kingfisher, followed by her proposed Jules Verne attempt soon after, remains to be seen.