Barrett-Jackson and SPEED tie a 3-year knot
March 28th, 2008, 12:21 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Donna Hogan
Scottsdale city leaders can’t seem to work out a multi-year commitment with one of the area’s most lucrative tourism-generators, but Scottsdale-based auto auction giant Barrett-Jackson and SPEED Cable TV Channel have sealed a three-year deal that will keep all three versions of the collector car extravaganza on national TV through 2011.
SPEED started broadcasting the annual Scottsdale show in 1997 with six hours of TV time. Fast forward 11 years, the car-focused channel provided 40 hours of live coverage of the 2008 Scottsdale event.
SPEED crews are now broadcasting Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach, Fla. show. SPEED has also signed on to showcase Barrett-Jackson’s newest event, which will rev up in October in Las Vegas.
Barrett-Jackson chairman Craig Jackson and SPEED senior vice president Rick Miner have both said in the past that the hook-up between the two car-focused businesses has spurred growth of both.
Barrett-Jackson coverage, even in reruns, typically attracts SPEED’s biggest audiences, according to Miner. And SPEED’s coverage of the Scottsdale auction has brought Barrett-Jackson not only nationwide fame, but also lots of new buyers and sellers over the years, Jackson has said.
Neither would disclose the financial details of the deal.
