Sunday’s Coverage Begins with Lead-In from the Beijing Olympic Games
NEW YORK – August 21, 2008 - The AST Dew Tour, the world's premier season-long action sports tour, will benefit from the NBC Olympic broadcast "lead-in" this Sunday, the final day of the Beijing Olympic Games. Immediately following NBC's last competition telecast from Beijing, the world's action sports athletes will be spotlighted during NBC's coverage of the BMX Park finals from Wendy's Invitational in Portland, Ore., Sunday at 4 p.m., ET/PT. The event is the third of five stops on the 2008 AST Dew Tour.
"NBC's Olympics lead-in is a great boost for the AST and action sports," said Wade Martin, AST President. "It will provide a terrific opportunity for the millions of NBC Olympic fans to experience the world's best action sports athletes competing on the AST Dew Tour from our Portland event."
USA Network will air Skate Park competition Friday, and BMX Vert Finals on Saturday, midnight to 1 a.m. ET/PT both nights. NBC's coverage continues next Saturday, August 30, with the Skate Vert finals from 4-6 p.m. ET.
Athlete correspondents Paul Zitzer (skateboard) Kenny Bartram (FMX) Chris Miller (skateboard) and Jamie Bestwick (BMX) will join correspondent Tiffany Simons from the Rose Quarter in Portland.
Currently in its fourth year, the AST Dew Tour is the most watched and attended action sports property in the world. Attendance for the 2007 AST Dew Tour totaled nearly 300,000 and an average of 41 million viewers tuned in via NBC and USA each year. The top athletes in the world will take part in this year's Tour, all competing for the highly coveted Dew Cup that will be awarded in Orlando at season's end to champions in each of the six disciplines. The 2007 Dew Cup winners include USA's Nate Adams (Freestyle Motocross), England's Jamie Bestwick (BMX Vert), USA's Ryan Nyquist (BMX Dirt), Venezuela's Daniel Dhers (BMX Park), USA Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Shaun White (Skateboard Vert) and USA's Ryan Sheckler (Skateboard Park).
Complete 2008 AST Dew Tour Schedule, airs on NBC & USA:
Date/Event/Site – Venue
Aug. 21 – 24: Wendy's Invitational – Portland, Ore. – Rose Quarter
Sept. 11 – 14: Toyota Challenge – Salt Lake City, Utah – Energy Solutions Arena
Oct. 16 – 19: PlayStation Pro – Orlando, Fla. – Amway Arena
