Report: Clear Channel to promote F1 in the U.S.

America's largest outdoor advertising and radio station network, Clear Channel, appears poised to gain rights to promote Formula 1 in the United States. The co-founder of Clear Channel, Billy Joe "Red" McCombs, has been revealed as the man behind the proposal to build a track outside of Austin, Texas to host a future F1 race, so it's not surprising that Clear Channel would be in the mix. Although he sold his shares in the company a few years ago he's still on the board and the new owners of Clear Channel would be wise to go after the 520 million pairs of eyes that F1 has worldwide.

U.S. involvement in Formula 1 has had a bit of a checkered past, most recently with a failed attempt to reach the grid by a U.S. based team this season and the dissolution of the U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2007. While American fans of F1 are just as rabid as anywhere else on Earth, the TV audience and business interest in the world's greatest form of motorsport has mirrored that of futbol – interesting, but not our thing. We export entertainment, we don't import it. Perhaps Clear Channel can help to change that.

[Source: The Telegraph]