LIVE COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF FORMULA ONE CHINESE GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS MOTORSPORTS PROGRAMMING ON NBCSN THIS WEEKEND

Chinese Grand Prix Airs Sunday Morning at 2:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN; Encore Presentation Airs Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET

Live Coverage Begins Friday with Practice at 2 a.m. ET, Followed by Qualifying on Saturday at 2 a.m. ET

Bahrain Grand Prix Record Viewership Contributes to Best Formula One Viewership Over First Three Races in a Decade

STAMFORD, Conn. - April 17, 2014 - NBC Sports Group's coverage of the 2014 Formula One season continues this weekend with NBCSN's live presentation of the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday at 2:30 a.m. ET, followed by an encore presentation on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Live coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix begins Friday morning at 2 a.m. ET with practice, followed by qualifying on Saturday morning at 2 a.m. ET. NBCSN will re-air qualifying on Sunday morning at 1 a.m. ET, leading into live race coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix. Practice, qualifying and the Chinese Grand Prix will all be streamed live via NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) is looking for his third consecutive win this season following victories in Malaysia and Bahrain, and the fourth straight victory for Mercedes, as teammate Nico Rosberg took the checkered flag at the Australian Grand Prix to begin the 2014 F1 season. Rosberg (2012) and Hamilton (2007, 2011) are past winners of the Chinese Grand Prix, and are currently ranked first and second in the F1 driver standings. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) took the checkered flag last year and currently sits fourth in the F1 driver standings.

Lead F1 announcer Leigh Diffey will call the Chinese Grand Prix, and will be joined by veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs, and analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett. F1 insider Will Buxton will serve as the team's on-site reporter from the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China.

NBCSN will present a new installment of F1 Countdown, reviewing the Bahrain Grand Prix and looking ahead to the Chinese Grand Prix, this Friday at 5 p.m. ET. Diffey will host alongside Hobbs, Matchett, and Buxton, who will be on-site.

In addition to F1 coverage, NASCAR AMERICA, NBCSN's 30-minute weekday show highlighting the latest news in stock car racing, airs at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday. Host Rick Allen will be joined in-studio by analyst and former driver Kyle Petty. NBCSN will also present the Stadium Super Trucks Series on Saturday morning at 1 a.m. ET, leading into live coverage of Chinese Grand Prix qualifying.

Following is this week's motorsports coverage schedule on NBCSN:

Date Program Time (ET) Network

Thu., April 17 NASCAR AMERICA 5 p.m. NBCSN

Fri., April 18 Sebastian Vettel: On Road and On Track 1:30 a.m. NBCSN Chinese Grand Prix - Practice 2 a.m. NBCSN F1 Countdown 5 p.m. NBCSN

Sat., April 19 Stadium Super Truck Series 1 a.m. NBCSN Chinese Grand Prix - Qualifying 2 a.m. NBCSN Chinese Grand Prix - Qualifying (Encore) 12:30 p.m. NBCSN

Sun., April 20 Chinese Grand Prix - Qualifying (Encore) 1 a.m. NBCSN Chinese Grand Prix 2:30 a.m. NBCSN F1 Extra 5 a.m. NBCSN Chinese Grand Prix (Encore) 2:30 p.m. NBCSN F1 Extra (Encore) 5 p.m. NBCSN

BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX RECORD VIEWERSHIP CONTRIBUTES TO BEST FORMULA ONE VIEWERSHIP OVER FIRST THREE RACES IN A DECADE

The first night race in Bahrain Grand Prix history produced the most-watched non-domestic Formula One race on cable in three years, including the most-watched race on NBCSN since the network began televising the circuit last year.

The race, which took place on Sunday, April 6 (10:30 a.m. - 12:53 p.m. ET), averaged 594,000 viewers, the most for a non-domestic F1 race on cable since the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix on SPEED (627,000 viewers). The previous best for an F1 race on NBCSN was last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (354,000 viewers).

The viewership was also up 435% from NBCSN's third race last year (111,000 viewers) for the Chinese Grand Prix.

The first three races have averaged 364,000 viewers, making this season the most-watched through the first three races on cable in a decade (SPEED, 2004, 382,000). The 364,000 average viewers is up 206% vs. the first three in 2013 on NBCSN (119,000) and up 46% vs. SPEED's first three races in 2012 (250,000).

FORMULA ONE DIGITAL PROGRAMMING

NBC Sports Group is engaging fans with new, original Formula One content across its social and digital platforms featuring F1 insider Will Buxton throughout the 2014 season. Exclusive digital features include:

· Buxton's Racing Debut - A five-part digital series with Buxton, which follows him as he joins the Ferrari Driver Academy to experience how young drivers develop to hopefully achieve their dreams in their motorsports careers.

· F1 Paddock Pass - Each week, Buxton takes F1 fans behind the scenes at the track, talking with various drivers about the upcoming race, and providing viewers with an inside look at preparations for each grand prix.

· Off the Grid - For select grands prix, Buxton and producer Jason Swales will examine the F1 scene off the track, exploring the local culture and food of various race locales, and interacting with celebrities and fans to present an all-access ride through the life of an F1 fanatic.

Click here to see NBC Sports Group's original motorsports digital programming featuring F1 insider Will Buxton.

FORMULA ONE(TM) ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA: NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets - will provide live comprehensive streaming coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix via "TV Everywhere," the media industry's effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Coverage will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via "TV Everywhere," which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on the Formula One, Verizon IndyCar Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and all other motorsports racing from around the world. The site also serves as the destination for all news, analysis and video from NBC and NBCSN productions of IndyCar and F1, including contributions from on-air commentators.

MotorSportsTalk's content is provided by top racing journalists and expert analysts, including:

· Luke Smith is creator and editor at Richland F1, which begins its second season this year. He's on Twitter at @LukeSmithF1, primarily handling the F1 scene from Europe in great detail.

· Tony DiZinno has most recently served as web editor for RACER Magazine and has more than seven years of experience in the industry. Follow him on Twitter at @TonyDiZinno.

· Chris Estrada launched the Indy Racing Revolution blog site and has served as a contributor to IndyCar's IndyCar Nation blog. Follow him at @estradawriting.

· Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran NASCAR reporter with more than 30 years of experience. He has contributed to USA Today, Yahoo! Sports and other websites over the course of his career. Follow him on Twitter @JerryBonkowski.

To explore the site, please visit MotorSportsTalk.com.nbcsports.com or www.NBCSports.com.

SOCIAL: Follow @MotorsportsTalk, @F1onNBCSports and @NBCSN on Twitter and "like" Facebook.com/NBC Sports for the most up-to-date news, videos and commentary about Formula One on NBC Sports and NBCSN.