I miss Paul Paige....
First, locking in a prime time slot on Sundays is a pipe dream due to live events. Events that ESPN (or their advertisers) are paying for rights to broadcast. So just forget about that.
As for little league, far more, and and mean far, far, far more people have a connection to LL baseball than drag racing. I would garner to bet more people attend little league games in one week than attend any 5 NHRA national events combined. Could be more than that on any 1 given night, who knows....
NCAA softball is probably part of ESPN's collective base package. Football, hoops, CWS, etc. All of it. If you think the NCAA will allow ESPN to dump them and still keep an insider role in college sports, you are sorely mistaken. Title IX and all.
Look, NHRA coverage on TV sucks. No doubt about it. But just because a very small demographic has such a passionate loyalty to it doesn't change viewership numbers. That should be evidenced by A: the fact that NHRA has to pay for coverage, and B: there is no competitor to ESPN offering a better deal.
I can't believe people continue to complain so much about this subject (every year, every week, same complaints) when it hasn't been that long ago (at least for those of us who are aged like fine wine) where you had to wait 2 weeks for the Dragster, or call a 900 number to get results.
Here is some bad news, just heard back from ESPN3-
Hello,
Thank you for contacting us.
I am sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
At this time it does not appear that ESPN will be offering any live NHRA racing
for broadcast.
For live assistance with this or any other issue, please call Customer Care at
1-888-549-3776 (ESPN) between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. EST.
Regards,
Ian
ESPN.com Customer Care
Damn, and I just set up my phone to link to my tv.
No DVR here so, I too am dependent on ESPN3.Whatever the times are, they better bring back the Espn3 online for Friday nights. That's the best thing they have going. The tv does not matter to me, I'm used to setting my Dvr to go an hour late for whatever it is anyway.
Oh man, I hope this turns out to be wrong.Here is some bad news, just heard back from ESPN3-
Hello,
Thank you for contacting us.
I am sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
At this time it does not appear that ESPN will be offering any live NHRA racing
for broadcast.
For live assistance with this or any other issue, please call Customer Care at
1-888-549-3776 (ESPN) between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. EST.
Regards,
Ian
ESPN.com Customer Care
Damn, and I just set up my phone to link to my tv.
I hope they bring John Kernan back. He knows his stuff, does a good job and he is enjoyable to listen to. I enjoy Jaime as well. Hope she is back.
No DVR here so, I too am dependent on ESPN3.
Mike English will tell you back in the old days when he was dating (before DVR's), Friday nights were a no-go because "I Love Lucy" was on live and in black and white. He never missed an episode.
I can believe people would complain. It's because every year, every week, they continue to bump the programming for nonessential stuff like Sports Center repeats and Tim Tebow sightings. After a couple bumps people just go do other things rather than attempting to watch NHRA programming. Hurts their viewership ratings, I'm sure. Wouldn't it be nice if they stuck to a schedule so the people who set their DVR's could actually rely on it, and the sponsors and NHRA who paid for the slots could get their money's worth?
As far as little league games go, unless it's the playoff's it's just like the NHRA division races. The people in the stands are basically just the family and friends of the kids playing. But ESPN knows well in advance when the little league games are played when setting the schedule. They also know that live games can run over. Schedule that into the schedule. It's not rocket science.
Not my rodeo, but if it were up to me I would look for another source to broadcast from. Velocity, Discovery, MAV, etc., where they might be more inclined to show some love.
Cheers.
Here is some bad news, just heard back from ESPN3-
Hello,
Thank you for contacting us.
I am sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
At this time it does not appear that ESPN will be offering any live NHRA racing
for broadcast.
For live assistance with this or any other issue, please call Customer Care at
1-888-549-3776 (ESPN) between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. EST.
Regards,
Ian
ESPN.com Customer Care
Damn, and I just set up my phone to link to my tv.
bummer...finally got one too many straws. I guess I just won't be watching much NRHA racing anymore. I can't get through the regular broadcasts these days, way too much "fluff" for me; and DVRing and watching later means no internet until after I watch so......![]()
Oh, I believe people complain too. Except I think they do it for, oft times, no good reason other than to bitch. without using logic.
I can set my watch by it every Sunday night by logging in here. And sorry, but Sports Center isn't nonessential.... It is what got ESPN to where ESPN is. Love it, hate it, it ain't goin away. As for your assertion that the sponsors and NHRA aren't getting their money's worth, evidently they are getting exactly what they are paying for. And, I would go one further and say whoever is sponsoring spelling bees (since that is a frequent complaint) is paying more than NHRA. And if fans want to pay more at the gate so revenue goes up and NHRA can afford to outspend spelling bees, don't complain about ticket prices.
It's a viscous circle. If it cost me more to attend a race I won't watch live, so others can see it live, and I don't like paying more for it, why don't others spend more money at races I can't attend so I can see them? If you notice, the majority of people that complain are ones that aren't actually AT the race, because if they were, they wouldn't be complaining about the coverage. See how that works?
And sure, bumping it costs viewers. But, there are some that want to bitch because it isn't live, it isn't an hour delayed, whatever... And if you want to see a set in stone schedule, if ESPN gave NHRA a full hour at 3 AM on Tuesday morning as so not to interrupt it for those who DVR it, people would bitch because it wasn't timely. NHRA and ESPN are in a lose/lose situation.
I am not sure you, as a sportsman racer, really want to make that comparison. Especially with the part about dumping on divisional races as being a place only fans and friends go to. Have you ever had anyone visit your pits at a divisional that wasn't a family member or friend? Of course you have. That mindset is precisely what put the sport of drag racing in the position it is currently in. When sportsman racers think that way about fans, WTF should the Pro's think of them?
It is sad you feel that way about what few people that attend divisional races. And, it is sadder that you expect them to come back unless they are friends or family.
More people attend little league games in one night than attend all divisional races for a month. Hell, maybe all year. And, like I said, more people watch the LLWS than do NHRA events on TV. That is obvious. Otherwise, NHRA would own the time slot. But, you know what... 1 week after a national event, I can see the sportsman highlights, pretty much right on schedule. And this happens, knowing the results of the race.
And guess what... Just like oil downs, little league games go to extra innings, which sets the next game back by a half an hour, rinse, and repeat.
Just imagine, using your train of thought of scheduling, if ESPN booked the final round of an event and a PS car exploded a bottom end at 6:30 Eastern, and they didn't get the TF final run until after the show went off the air at 7:00. Holy shit would this place go nuts. That poor team and driver would be considered Satan around here.
Look, everyone needs to understand a few things.
First, we are all rabid about the sport. But I come here and I see, right now, 11 members logged in. Lots of guests. 64 guests.
64 guests that wouldn't even spend a dollar to be able to post. What does that say? If they won't spend a dollar to post, they more than likely won't spend any money to actually attend an event, and if, big if, they catch a race on TV, well, it is because they just came across it. Not because they were expecting it. Most assuredly not because they set an alarm to watch it.
Sad... But true.
View attachment 3113
If Velocity, Discovery, Mav, etc, thought they could turn a dollar on NHRA viewership, that would already have happened. Clearly, they don't see enough interest in the sport to spend the money, or they would have. Hint: It's called supply and demand.
One last thought..... for those who so feel inclined to write ESPN, or the other networks that don't bid on a race package......
Why, would I if I were an adviser for a network programming scheduler, suggest that we (a network scheduler) take on televising the sport after what I read on this message board?
I read "NHRA sucks", "It's NHRA's fault", "ESPN sucks", "Boycott ESPN", "Boycott (insert sponsor name here") here on a regular basis, so why would I suggest to ESPN that market is a good fit to invest capital in?
And that goes for advertisers as well.
The age old debate Complaining vs complaining about those that complain. Not sure which is worse![]()
But I come here and I see, right now, 11 members logged in. Lots of guests. 64 guests.
Agreed , not to mention live broadcast of the lower sportsman classes (SS, Stock, etc. ) quarters, semis and finals. That was great stuff...gone this year? That really does suck.But there was nothing like the raw feed as it happened. Even the oil downs allowed a "refreshment" break just like being in the stands!