ESPN and DISH Network Join Forces on a Multi-Year, Multimedia Agreement for NASCAR on ESPN

ESPN and EchoStar Communications Corporation and its DISH Network announced a multi-year, multimedia agreement for NASCAR on ESPN.

The agreement consists of media in all NASCAR races on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes; exposure on ESPN audio and in ESPN The Magazine; a SportsCenter weekly sponsored NASCAR report; a custom promotion on ESPN.com; and six in-car cameras per season to be featured within the Busch Series. The highlight of the agreement is a custom-built, state-of-the-art DISH Network technology trailer dubbed
ESPN’s DISH Tech Center.

The ESPN’s DISH Tech Center will travel to all of ESPN
s NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series races, and will be utilized by ESPN
s production and talent for content segments to air during all of ESPN
s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series races. The technology trailer will also be used throughout a broad range of ESPN
s leading non-television media platforms.

DISH Network will also receive association with a technology-based ICON that includes exposures both in-race and across ESPN
s multimedia platforms.

Our agreement with ESPN is an exciting way for us to capitalize on our sponsorship of Roush Racing, and expand our relationship with NASCAR and its fans,
said Carl Vogel, president and vice chairman of EchoStar.
We see this as a great opportunity to reinforce DISH Network
s position as a top pay-TV provider that offers choice programming and services including cutting-edge DVR technology.

We work with our customers to break through the clutter and reach fans wherever they consume sports,
said Ed Erhardt, president of ESPN Customer Marketing and Sales.
The ICON strategy and our joint development of the tech trailer are good examples of creating innovative ways to help better explain the sport to both current NASCAR fans and new ones, as well as further integrating and aligning an advertiser into our coverage of the race and into a sport that is so passionately followed.

ESPN and ESPN on ABC will have comprehensive, multi-platform coverage that features telecasts of the final 17 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races, including the 10-race
Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
championship on ESPN on ABC. Additionally, ESPN2 will be the home of the NASCAR Busch Series all season. For the first time in the history of televised motorsports, all programming will be produced entirely in high definition.

ESPN has aired 262 NASCAR Cup Races over a 20-year period starting in 1981. The network’s award-winning, live flag-to-flag coverage was honored with 17 Sports Emmy Awards, as well as many industry honors. It is widely credited for helping to popularize the sport nationwide. NASCAR races have appeared on ABC for decades, beginning with broadcasts on the award-winning
Wide World of Sports
program in the 1960s.