Wan't to send a complaint to ESPN?

[rckymtn3]

The only thing I watch on ESPN is NHRA coverage.

ESPN sucks othewise, further the NHRA coverage also sucks, I am over it.

I DVR it and fast forward it to Only see the runs in T/F and F/C...and that is Only because I still have a few friends out there racing.

I've worn the arrows off of my FFW and REW buttons.

I'm just over the drama B.S. Its like General Hospital on 90% Nitro.

Instant classic.



Breakdown of modern NHRA coverage
-------------------------------------------

Absolutely nerded-out here, but, I wanted to prove with actual numbers, the comments I've made about the coverage.

Here's the results of the recent TX race. (yes, I had a lot of time on my hands....I babysit old people)


3:00:00 Three hour ESPN2 event

2:58:33 Accounted for below +/- (I used my DVR time counter, so it was bound to have a little overlap)


1:15:58 Was Actual Racing (I included pit action where they were talking about maintenance, or tune-ups, replays of each race, and the Kalitta post race interview) If I were to just count the actual racing, it would have been nearer to fifty minutes instead of an hour fifteen.

0:52:25 Talk (includes any piece where no racing is shown, and the discussion is about points or how a driver feels about the points, or how a driver feels about completing a run, which is most often, no different from the last interview where they were asked how they feel)

0:05:25 Picture in Picture Talk (when "how do you feel" post race interview continues over the actual racing with box in upper right...pretty bad when the interview seems more important to the producer/director than the actual race you tuned into watch, which is still actually happening)

0:41:30 Commercial Break (15 breaks) to be expected for a purchased TV package, but the purchaser is usually the network, not the sanctioning body.

0:01:00 Blast from the past (legitimate past runs, like, at least 5-10+ years old)

0:02:15 Recent flashback (replays of last weeks race or the year before same track)

Basically, when you spend roughly 2/3rds of the coverage on "General Hospital" crap, it's bound to be a tough sell to the hardcore racing fan.

Tip #1 Just because it's a unique type of racing that you can interview racers during the race (much more than NASCAR), it sure doesn't mean you should.

Tip #2 I tune in to see a race, so show me a race. They sure do talk a lot, and show a lot of non-racing for a race.

 

[FC138fan]

I've worn the arrows off of my FFW and REW buttons.


1:15:58 Was Actual Racing (I included pit action where they were talking about maintenance, or tune-ups, replays of each race, and the Kalitta post race interview) If I were to just count the actual racing, it would have been nearer to fifty minutes instead of an hour fifteen.


0:41:30 Commercial Break (15 breaks) to be expected for a purchased TV package, but the purchaser is usually the network, not the sanctioning body.

0:01:00 Blast from the past (legitimate past runs, like, at least 5-10+ years old)

0:02:15 Recent flashback (replays of last weeks race or the year before same track)

Nice post. I bet people would be happier if they showed just what I referenced in your quote... adds up to 2 hours perfectly. Although if you got it down to 2 hours 1/3 of the comercial brakes would be gone too. If you dvr'd and skipped the comercials you could see the whole thing in an hour and fifteen minutes.

I'd guess that the diamond P's and speedworlds followed this format.. except they had to do it in an hour... and summarize qualifying as well. I remember they would summarize first round then show the coverage of rounds 2- finals.

 

[mick]

this morning Colin Cowherd's ESPN talk radio show he was commenting how televised sports has become
such a huge market and used the NBA and the Big 10 Network as two leagues who stand to profit from
competing networks bidding for popular sports programming; he went on to say that neither the NBA or Big Ten N.
are necessarily an 'NFL' when it comes to ratings, but high enough ratings that they are worthy catches for
existing and new sports networks competing for viewership, ratings and of course profit.
Furthermore he mentions that these high bids for various leagues are not league performance driven, but rather
market driven as sports television continues to grow and gain viewership.
sure wish the nhra had these problems

does anyone know what ratings number you have to hit consistently before networks will start bidding on your
product as opposed to paying the network to air it?

 

[Huge]

Ever since Speed has changed to Fox Sports, I have noticed that the Nascar coverage is hurting also. Part of their programs are on ESPN, FS1 and FS2, and a lot of their fans can't even get FS2. RaceDay has always been a two hour program and now it is only a one hour program for most of the races, and Victory Lane is only a half hour program now. Plus, I havn't seen a fraction of the Nascar commercials this year compared to the past few years.