NHRA Leaving ESPN for Fox Sports 1 in 2016

[CJDeeds]

Coverage on FOX broadcast is huge. That was one thing I always hated about the ESPN deal was that they didn't include dates on ABC.

I like this bit as well: "FOX Sports has also committed to heavily promoting all NHRA Mello Yello Series shows throughout its media platforms. NHRA will sell advertising and sponsorship packages and assume responsibility for the production of the shows in concert with FOX Sports, with the creation of an in-house television production group as well as handle all international distribution for the programs." Increased television advertising will be a major boon, ESPN's promotion was seriously weak. The international market is relatively untapped and the potential for growth is huge.

 

[vegasnitro]

I understand what you're saying, but I can see this going both ways. I've always said that drag racing is a niche sport, and that the vast majority of the viewership during events on ESPN were the already existing fans tuning in specifically for the races. I might be wrong, but that's what I feel. Plus, it simply cannot be good for marketing partners on any level when the show is already in a non-prime time slot AND routinely gets delayed on top of that.

Sean D

I hope you are right Sean. I hope the same 800,000 to 1 million of us tune into every race as we always have on ESPN and life will go on as normal. The thing is, FS1 is available in about half as many homes as ESPN/2. And as we have already seen in this thread, many people are going to have to upgrade their packages to get the channel. It is a whole different ball of wax to come out of your pocket ~$20 per month just to get 1 channel for 1 specific thing. So half the availability minus the folks who won't pay equals a lot of attrition. Hopefully, this new TV deal will grow new eyeballs to replace the ones we are losing (or bring back in some of the ones we have lost over the years). A steady time slot and live TV should help and 4 events on Fox will help too.

And to whomever said NBCSN is the gold standard for their coverage of F1 ... that is kinda funny. NBCSN has no control over the coverage or production of the race. That is all handled by FOM. Diffey, Hobbs and Matchett sit in a studio here in the states (with the exception of Monaco, Montreal and Austin) and call the race over the same feed we see on the TV. They use the same F1 live timing and scoring webpage that any of us can access on the web during the race. The only thing they can do is send Will Buxton and a camera man to the grid before the race (and the studio show before and after the race obviously), the rest of it is 100% controlled and produced by rich Uncle Bernie.

 

[vegasnitro]

Coverage on FOX broadcast is huge. That was one thing I always hated about the ESPN deal was that they didn't include dates on ABC.

I like this bit as well: "FOX Sports has also committed to heavily promoting all NHRA Mello Yello Series shows throughout its media platforms. NHRA will sell advertising and sponsorship packages and assume responsibility for the production of the shows in concert with FOX Sports, with the creation of an in-house television production group as well as handle all international distribution for the programs." Increased television advertising will be a major boon, ESPN's promotion was seriously weak. The international market is relatively untapped and the potential for growth is huge.

All very good points Cory.

 

[NYNitro86]

I hope they keep the commentary team somewhat intact. Also it's pretty crazy to think they've been on ESPN as long as they were on TNN

longer. 1986 was the first year NHRA was on ESPN I believe that was the Winston Finals. They have had races on ESPN every year since. Almost 30 YEARS

 

[NYNitro86]

We might not be in much better shape when it comes to pre-empting: http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/fox-sports-interrupted-the-biggest-event-in-motorsport-1711203247

Also FOX has had in Soccer I believe longer than Le Mans (there was a FOX Soccer channel). I do know that certain events may/will get dibs over NHRA like NASCAR, Soccer, UFC, College Ball. No Different than when Mike Francesa has to get pre-empted on weekdays.

To quote our Vice President, "This is a big F****ing deal"

I wonder which races it'll be. My guess is Pomona 1 &2, Indy and Four Wide.

I would hope Englishtown would be one of them because it's NY Market and when NBC would do Sportsworld. the events that were on them were Englishtown, Both Pomonas (and starting in 1990) Indy. I could see FOX doing the same.

 

[club]

Everyone understands pre-empting a race for the finish of a live baseball game etc. But delaying the broadcast for a 4 year old worlds strongest man competition?

 

[yoda]

Guess there is no reason to have ESPN or ESPN 2 Then... generally, I don't watch sports, except drag racing... if it's on at a godly time... Not getting extra channels just to watch

I was thinking the exact same thing, Karl.... I can now officially take ESPN GO off of all of my devices, as that drags were all I used it for....

 

[J]

I'm interested to see how this works out. I have Dish and have Fox Sports 1 in my package, but don't have Fox Sports 2. Without upgrading I won't have Fox Sports 2 & I wonder how many times we will get shifted to Fox Sports 2 because of something else on Fox Sports 1. If that's the case I'll miss a lot of drag racing. And as a Dish customer I certainly miss having MavTV. I was hoping they'll get their issues settled but its not looking good.

Think they mean fs2 will have reruns of the race,the prime channel is fs1.

 

[BB]

So how do you explain to a sponsor that their exposure just got cut by about two thirds?

 

[RebilasPhoto]

So how do you explain to a sponsor that their exposure just got cut by about two thirds?

The 4 races on the national Fox channel alone will probably have more eyes on them than ALL the espn2 races in a season combined. Many of those will first time viewers (AKA the most important people to get watching)

With most of the races in the season being on live TV, that will quickly bring back many of the fans who don't like to wait around for tape delayed results and follow online through various social media platforms/youtube etc. to get results before being spoiled by going online while waiting till the 10pm tape delay broadcast.

With Fox Sports now being the go to channel for motorsports, fans of the other racing series will be exposed to NHRA through commercials and promos during NASCAR and other events which will slowly but surely add to the viewership base.

To those bringing up that they won't pay to add the channel, while the sport will certainly lose some viewers who don't have the channel, I can assure you there is a large percentage of people (who don't come online to complain/rant) who will pay to add that channel (if they don't already have it and just don't know it).

I work in the sport and can tell you I have spoken to multiple drivers, team PR and media members and we are all beyond excited with what this means to the future of the sport!

#itsgonnabegreat

 

[Butch]

I can hear it now, as the tree goes to green. Waltrip yelling,
BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY
LETS GO RACING.
I'm about to puke. Lol

 

[PJ]

It all sounds good so far. There will be some loss to begin with as more people have espn2 then foxsports but if there is a commitment to advertise the sport outside of the airings of the races themselves then there is the chance to gain new fans.

 

[Speed1288]

Also FOX has had in Soccer I believe longer than Le Mans (there was a FOX Soccer channel). I do know that certain events may/will get dibs over NHRA like NASCAR, Soccer, UFC, College Ball. No Different than when Mike Francesa has to get pre-empted on weekdays.


I would hope Englishtown would be one of them because it's NY Market and when NBC would do Sportsworld. the events that were on them were Englishtown, Both Pomonas (and starting in 1990) Indy. I could see FOX doing the same.

I love listening to Francesa. Also, I don't know what the NASCAR vs NHRA schedule looks like for next year but I think that could have an effect on which races are live. I know Pomona 1&2 would be fine. Probably Indy too. Might have to be a race later in the season when NBC has NASCAR

 

[ResidentEvilRock]

I guess I won't get to watch any of the races next year. I usually watched the big races through the ESPN live stream that you did NOT have to provide cable credentials to access. I don't have any kind of cable or satellite tv, just internet.

 

[The Little Lizard]

Going to Tee this thread up. Can someone explain how much sportsman/Lucas oil series coverage Fox will have starting next year? Could anyone out there on the board compare and contrast the current amount of sportsman coverage on ESPN with the new amount Fox will be offering? Looking forward to your answers-Thank you!

 

[.]

I for one, welcome our new coaxial overlords. It can't be any worse. This season I feel more disconnected from the NHRA product in a long time. Lousy and inconsistent time slots, delayed broadcasts, loss of the live Friday show make the NHRA product a moving target that is getting smaller.


and wow about the "pay us so you can stop paying us" clause! Sure makes the NHRA execs look dumb.

 

[DrRocket]

I'm actually looking forward to seeing how this comes off. As has been mentioned, this pretty much takes ESPN out of the auto sports field entirely. I've always felt that the people running ESPN are, at their heart, stick and ball people, and thier relationship with car racing was a love/hate one.

 

[rocketman]

I think it's not a good deal for drag racing and here's why. If it's only available on higher channels or premium cable packages fewer people will see the broadcasts compared to ESPN2. This will make companies even less likely to sponsor fuel cars. Even though the NHRA broadcasts were on late or not on time people could still catch the shows while flipping through the remote.

 

[CRR]

As an overseas viewer in the UK, I'm afraid to say that I'm a little disappointed with this news. I currently get ESPN at no extra charge as part of my Virgin TV package. The NHRA shows are mostly aired at sensible times here. Last weekend I watched a 2 hour qualifying show from Route 66 on Sunday afternoon 3-5 pm followed by a 3 hour eliminations show Monday evening 7-10 pm. So, not sure if I will be able to watch NHRA at all from 2016.

 

[Butch]

I'm reading that Fox will have 3X the hours of broadcast compared to ESPN.