So I turned the TV to channel 43 to watch “Pass Time” as I do almost every evening, only to find the new FOX Sports 1 which I have actually been looking forward to. Little did I know that the SPEED Channel is now dead. It is (at least for now) gone forever; replaced by FS1. I had no idea that the new channel I have been so excited about was going to replace one of the channels I watch the most! THIS SUCKS!
Man that is a tough break for car guys. Nothing wrong with the other sports but I think there are a lot of unhappy Speed channel people out there.
Steven
That’s horrible news! I couldn’t care less about other sports. But having Speed and Velocity has been so nice. That really sucks that they would replace one of only two car-centric channels with a “sports” channel when there are already plenty of those to go around. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll realize it was a mistake?
It’s not like there was no warning. They’ve only been hyping FoxSports1 for the last 6 months or so. Spend that SpeedChannel time out in the garage instead. In the words of certain car show host…“Get out there and BUILD something.”
Since I fixed the oil pan on my bike, my car time has been spent taking the bike out for the past couple weeks. Put in almost 100 miles in the past ten days or so. And I got my donor car very slightly disassembled/organized right before that.
But the Speed channel is something I can have on in the background while I’m doing other stuff in the house. Or on days where it’s 90+ in the garage and I can’t take the heat. Or, it was, I guess. I really loved Pass Time. About two months ago I had just gotten good enough at it that there were a couple episodes where I would have won if I was on and picked the same times I picked from the comfort of home. I’ll miss it, that’s all.
If Velocity goes away next, I’m gonna cancel Comcast.
I pretty much stopped watching when Speedvision was taken over by FOX and became Speed Channel. Closing the Lost Drive-in was the last straw. I watch more Velocity than Speed nowadays.
Some interesting comments on this site.
The cynical side of me wonders if its all a ploy to generate some free publicity, then bring it back in a few months with a bunch of fanfare.
Thanks for the link. If you follow it far enough there is another link to sign a petition to bring Speed back. I signed it. Just watch when you finalize signing as I had a box marked to receive crap from the democrats. I unmarked the box before hitting the SIGN button.
I had seen different commercials for the new Fox Sports channel but they never told us that in order to make space for this “new” channel that we would lose the Speed channel. Now how can we find out how the finished build of the Cougar went on Gearz???
Randy Goodling
CCOA #95
My dish doesn’t carry Velocity. I wish it did. I never even knew that channel existed until I had to travel for work and the hotel carried it.
Goodbye Barrett Jackson coverage too. 
I think this is just Fox boosting its profits. ESPN charges the highest subscriber rates to cable/sat providers (over $4 per subscriber). Speed was at the industry average (~20 cents per subscriber). Don’t know what FS1 will charge, but I’m willing to bet it will be closer to ESPN than Speed.
I really wish we could buy cable TV a la carte. I don’t watch major league sports (unless the Vikings or Twins are winning in playoffs - so, I guess, almost never). Nothing against sports fans, but I’d rather not pay for the expensive sports channels just so I can watch History (22 cents) and Discovery (25 cents) type channels.
Hopefully other channels (or FS1) will pick up some of the Speed programs.
That is an excellent point! We will be without GEARZ and Barrett Jackson. Maybe velocity will pick them up.
The auctions (B-J & Mecum have been for a while, Russo and Steele just started) are usually streamed on the web, without commercials.
GEARZ is moving to another channel TBD. Stacey David has moved to a bigger place, still in TN.
Any chance that petition has an option to vote for losing Al-Jazeera?
I predict Barrett Jackson will air as usual on the Fox channel. Look for Gearz to be on a different network.
Barrett Jackson will be airing on Fox Sport 1.
Steven
Thanks for the link Steven. It looks like the only automotive programming that will survive will be Barrett-Jackson and NASCAR. I have to add that I don’t give two shits about Nascar…although it is good when I need a nap! With all that said, I will say it again, this sucks.
There is a box to add your comments. You can say anything you would like to say.
Randy Goodling
CCOA #95
I’m thinkin that Formula 1 Racing had something to do w/ this.
Speed carried all races. Bob Varsha was main man.
Things changed contract went to NBC sports.
Big $$ in F1
??
Maybe that is why he never finished the Cougar…