FS1 Info

[vegasnitro]

Grim ratings news for FS1. It will be interesting to see what lift, if any, they get from NHRA.

http://deadspin.com/this-photo-of-john-wall-will-probably-get-more-viewers-1757330648

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

I'm gonna reserve judgment on FS1 till after Pomona. I already don't like the loss of Mike Dunn, but keeping an open mind.
Lets see just what they got.

 

[Mike_in_Toney]

This article just seemed more like someone with an axe to grind over Colin Cowherd. Also the nightly show has changed formats a time or two if I recall correctly. I think it had Regis Philbin and a bunch of folks on there when the network first started. They will probably never outsportscenter Sports Center, but what I care about is their motorsports coverage, which has increased over the last couple years since they took over Speed. I think FS1 will be a good fit and besides, it can't be any worse that what we had.

 

[Terry]

I wanted to hate FS1 since it took away our beloved Speed network. But I have changed quite a bit in that evaluation as time went by as I began to see them making a real effort to cover a LOT of motorsports including drag racing, motocross, and of course NASCAR. Also they have some really innovative programming. Has anyone caught Katie Nolan's show Garbage Time? It's informational, funny, and most important of all, different. If you haven't seen it, take a half hour sometime and check it out. I, too, am a bit excited about the upcoming tv package for NHRA....I think it can be a real boon for the sport if it turns out well, and I'm certainly going to wait to see the product before passing judgment.

 

[rckymtn3]

Has anyone caught Katie Nolan's show Garbage Time? It's informational, funny, and most important of all, different. If you haven't seen it, take a half hour sometime and check it out. I, too, am a bit excited about the upcoming tv package for NHRA....I think it can be a real boon for the sport if it turns out well, and I'm certainly going to wait to see the product before passing judgment.

I love her show. Half hour goes fast with her. Funny funny stuff.
The daily Superbowl shows this week were kind of lame, but they had to try I guess. I was more annoyed with her guests (Cowherd et al) than anything her or her staff did.
As far as Colin Cowherd goes, my take is, he is simply a cheap knock-off of Dan Patrick who is the best daily sports show in my opinion.

As with most here. I'll tune in, but I am certainly not expecting much, especially with Dunn benched. If I'm surprised, great. But being surprised by the show will be a surprise in itself. I am bracing myself for a total fluff-fest. I expect less tech and more fluff than ESPN offered. Again, if they surprise me, great.

Level of desire that they (FOX) return to a more motorhead-type show than soap opera / social media fu**-a-thon? "HIGH"
Level of confidence that they (FOX) return to a more car-centric format and veer away from "human interest" saturation? "LOW"

So, it'll be quite easy to "surprise" me. So please. Surprise me FOX Sports Network.

 

[vegasnitro]

This article just seemed more like someone with an axe to grind over Colin Cowherd. Also the nightly show has changed formats a time or two if I recall correctly. I think it had Regis Philbin and a bunch of folks on there when the network first started. They will probably never outsportscenter Sports Center, but what I care about is their motorsports coverage, which has increased over the last couple years since they took over Speed. I think FS1 will be a good fit and besides, it can't be any worse that what we had.

Deadspin has had a long, contentious relationship with Cowherd, I will give you that. The bottom line is, that network is getting whooped in the ratings by shows on networks with 1/3 the market penetration that FS1 has, with talent like Cowherd that previously drew decent ratings on ESPN. So either people will watch anything on ESPN no matter what, or FS1 is doing something wrong. It will be interesting to me to see if the 800K or so viewers that NHRA consistently pulled on ESPN will transfer to FS1. If we watch in similar numbers, it will be a huge win for both FS1 and NHRA.

 

[Terry]

Did anyone catch the Supercross from Phoenix this weekend on FS1? Glad to see lots of 30 sec spots hyping the upcoming Winters and rest of season (even though they were predominately Force in content--I'll take what I can get!) and the live interview with Alexis Dejoria and Antron Brown who were in town for "Spring Training"? The race was live this weekend on FS2, (usually it airs live on FS1) but I watched the rebroadcast Sunday am on FS1, What I saw on the Supercross race was way more promotion than ESPN ever did on other programming. I, like everyone else, didn't like the dropping of Dunn from the team, but I'm not going to throw the baby out with the bath water either and condemn the effort with a new network before I ever see a broadcast. I'm hoping it turns out well, and I like what I see so far promotion-wise.

 

[Gordon]

Put me in the reserving judgment category too. What I hope to do is go into the first races telecast with an open enough mind to watch and listen without comparing everything they do (or don't do) to what ESPN did (and didn't do). Complain all you want, but ESPN was a step up from TNN in that we got to see the races pretty much same day. And they did have some pretty decent coverage too - or we wouldn't all be complaining about a lack of Mike Dunn. Perfect? No. Still miss Steve Evans a LOT! And the waiting around for the end of girls college softball games was irritating. But consider too that drag racing is a difficult event to telecast given it's format. There is a lot of dead time that must be filled in (see below) and the casual fan is almost never going to get interested in the sport by seeing it on TV. Folks are sold on the live event and then follow it on TV. Anyway, ignoring what ESPN used to do will be challenging, especially given the fact that Dave Reiff will be the commentator, but it's my goal. Here are some ideas for filling the down time (some have been done in the past, but could be improved upon):

- I'm interested in the on-track action and as much as they can tell me about the tuning decisions... which is likely very little.
- When speaking about tuning decisions and so forth, I'm curious to know the "why" as much as the "what."
- I'm interested in the personalities of racers and teams not named Force or Schumacher. Love both of them, but I wanna hear about the other teams too. Interview folks like Diehl, Welch & Buff. Folks who may impress a potential sponsor with their on-air personality, not guys who already have a gazillion sponsors. They'll get their air time naturally, but give the other folks a shot too.
- I'm interested in the history of the sport, both from an event perspective and an association perspective.
- Most of all, please allow the drama to unfold on it's own without generating it with interviews designed to spark a controversy where one doesn't exist.

I dunno about anyone else, but I'm ready for the season to start already, regardless of what network is carrying the NHRA!

 

[mick]

said i wouldn't pony up more dough for fsn1 and i haven't, nor has DISH or DIRECT placed it in a lower tier package.
it's gonna' suck to not watch nhra but IMO it's just not worth it. good luck nhra, fox and tony p., will catch it a day or two later on youtube

btw.....used to get colin cowherd on espn radio in our market every morning.....what i talent; the man is so intelligent......fox gets him
and i barely see or hear him anymore...... almost feel bad for him on the sunday fox nfl show he is on; his intellect surpasses the sum
of the other analysts on show with him.