THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Jan. 5, 2015
Volume X, Edition I
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Jan. 5, 2015
Volume X, Edition I
~~~~~~~~~~
What to Watch: January 5-11- This week, we'll have some actual vehicles on tracks. IMSA teams will be in Daytona this weekend for the Roar Before the 24. Meanwhile, Monster Energy Supercross has their season opener at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Saturday night, live on FOX Sports 1.
- At Frontstretch, we'll be linking to our writers' favorite articles of 2015 for the next week. Keep your eyes peeled to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for those links and look for your favorite writers to speak up in the comments.
~~~~~~~~~~
This week's TV Schedule can be found here.
This week's TV Schedule can be found here.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
NTS Motorsports '100 Percent Committed' to 2016 Truck Series Return
NTS Motorsports '100 Percent Committed' to 2016 Truck Series Return
On Wednesday, we talked with Brennan Newberry about the future of NTS Motorsports given rumors of the team shutting down. Those rumors are unfounded. The team is actively working towards putting together a program to race in the Camping World Truck Series in 2016. Read more
Kentucky Speedway Announces Track Improvements
Kentucky Speedway Announces Track Improvements
On Tuesday, Kentucky Speedway announced a renovation project that will see the 1.5 mile tri-oval completely repaved. Turns 1 and 2 will be completely reconstructed with 17 degree banks and narrowed by 18 feet to create a unique intermediate track experience. Read more
Have news for The Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.
~~~~~~~~~~The Critic's Annex: 2016 IMSA TV Changes Could Hurt Sports Car Racing in U.S.
by Phil Allaway
Welcome, chaps. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed the holiday season. Mine was relatively low-key, but fun.
Today, I'm not writing an actual TV broadcast critique, but a reaction article. Next week, we'll have a nice TV critique. On Monday, RACER's Marshall Pruett wrote about changes to IMSA TV in 2016. Now, none of what Pruett wrote about has been officially announced yet, but at least some of it is true.
First off, Bob Varsha is out for 2016 as host and play-by-play. He was quoted in the above article to that affect and stated that it was true on his Twitter feed. From what I could tell from fan response, they're not too pleased about it. A number of the drivers are not exactly happy either. Justin Bell, who also worked in the broadcast booth for races, is out as well.
While Daytona later this month will be an outlier due to the sheer amount of manpower necessary to actually cover a 24 hour race, the rest of the races will see only two men in the broadcast booth. They will be Greg Creamer (most recently of Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA Radio broadcasts) and Calvin Fish, the lone returning booth commentator. Brian Till will be the only pit reporter.
In addition, IMSA plans to take race telecast production in-house. Much of the race telecast production will be in Charlotte instead of on-site. Pruett hypothesizes that it could mean that Creamer and Fish would end up calling races from Charlotte after the Rolex 24. It's unclear whether that would happen or not.
I'm not a fan of these moves. Let's face it. Even on this level, TV personalities are known quantities in the paddock. Much like NASCAR, everyone's on a first-name basis. Removing the commentators from the site is never going to be a good thing. The booth commentators help to collect the information that is used on the broadcasts, along with the pit reporter(s).
Tying that into NASCAR, when ESPN was still airing Sprint Cup races, information gathering was one of Andy Petree's most crucial roles for the broadcast. Petree would spend a significant amount of time in the garage during race weekends, gleaming knowledge. Even if it looked like he was doing nothing more than chatting with his buddies in the garage, he's getting first-hand knowledge of what's going on and what to look out for. Assigning one person to gain information from upwards of 60 or more teams between IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge is admittedly rather arduous.
It's the kind of move you take when you either cannot afford to send people to the races, or the event is a low-level event that going to be tape-delayed for an extended period of time (Ex: K&N Pro Series races on NBCSN). The example of NBCSN's (and prior to 2013, SPEED's) Formula One coverage is given, but only a couple of those races are really feasible to travel to. In IMSA's case, all but one of the races are inside of the United States (Canadian Tire Motorsports Park is the lone exception). The moves here are going to isolate the TV personalities from the competitors. If the commentators aren't on-site, you lose something from the broadcast. You can pretend that you're there all you want, but its just not the same. The only on-site information is going to have to come from Till.
Tying that into NASCAR, when ESPN was still airing Sprint Cup races, information gathering was one of Andy Petree's most crucial roles for the broadcast. Petree would spend a significant amount of time in the garage during race weekends, gleaming knowledge. Even if it looked like he was doing nothing more than chatting with his buddies in the garage, he's getting first-hand knowledge of what's going on and what to look out for. Assigning one person to gain information from upwards of 60 or more teams between IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge is admittedly rather arduous.
It's the kind of move you take when you either cannot afford to send people to the races, or the event is a low-level event that going to be tape-delayed for an extended period of time (Ex: K&N Pro Series races on NBCSN). The example of NBCSN's (and prior to 2013, SPEED's) Formula One coverage is given, but only a couple of those races are really feasible to travel to. In IMSA's case, all but one of the races are inside of the United States (Canadian Tire Motorsports Park is the lone exception). The moves here are going to isolate the TV personalities from the competitors. If the commentators aren't on-site, you lose something from the broadcast. You can pretend that you're there all you want, but its just not the same. The only on-site information is going to have to come from Till.
Till's going to have to work his butt off in what will clearly be some kind of throwback to the 1980's. Despite Till's work ethic, which seems to be quite substantial, the move will hurt fans' ability to get information. I honestly fear burnout for Till at some point in 2016.
If they don't find someone to compliment Till in the pits (or whoever's going to sub for Till because he has other responsibilities), I hope they allow greater access to the pits for the media during the race. By that, I don't necessarily mean going over the wall, but in the "hot" areas behind the pit wall. Independent people on-site are going to have to pick up the slack from wherever IMSA leaves off because these plans are going to create some form of an information hole. If need be, writers at the track (and let's be honest, outside of the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup races, there really aren't that many) could volunteer each week to fill an unpaid second pit reporter slot for the IMSA broadcasts. I'll state right here that I'm willing to throw my hat in there for a race like Lime Rock if need be. Heck, I'll even borrow a spare helmet from one of the drivers at Lebanon Valley and go over the wall to call pit stops.
If they don't find someone to compliment Till in the pits (or whoever's going to sub for Till because he has other responsibilities), I hope they allow greater access to the pits for the media during the race. By that, I don't necessarily mean going over the wall, but in the "hot" areas behind the pit wall. Independent people on-site are going to have to pick up the slack from wherever IMSA leaves off because these plans are going to create some form of an information hole. If need be, writers at the track (and let's be honest, outside of the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup races, there really aren't that many) could volunteer each week to fill an unpaid second pit reporter slot for the IMSA broadcasts. I'll state right here that I'm willing to throw my hat in there for a race like Lime Rock if need be. Heck, I'll even borrow a spare helmet from one of the drivers at Lebanon Valley and go over the wall to call pit stops.
Pruett mentions that the TV ratings are part of the reason for the move. To be fair, they stunk. They're down significantly on what Grand-Am was drawing back in 2013. Ratings continued to sink as the season went on. COTA saw the lowest sprint race ratings of the year as only 70,000 viewers tuned to FOX Sports 1 for the race. The FOX portion of the Rolex 24 dropped 34 percent to just 525,000 viewers last year. What was the highest rated race outside of Daytona? Detroit. Why? It was tape delayed a day and aired immediately after live coverage of the Sprint Cup Series' FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks from Dover.
For the most part, the endurance races saw ratings that could be described as ok at best on FOX Sports 1. However, those races moved off of FOX Sports 1 due to other live broadcasts at some point. When they moved to FOX Sports 2, the eyeballs didn't follow due to FOX Sports 2's continued availability issues. Such a move resulted in 70 percent drop in viewership or more.
Streaming is still a work in progress. FOX Sports GO has spotty availability, especially if you don't subscribe to a major cable company. Watching on a computer requires a relatively recent model PC with Windows 8.1 installed, the strictest minimum requirements that I know of for any streaming app. Streaming on IMSA.com doesn't give you the actual FOX broadcast, but that of IMSA Radio for the international audience. I still think it's a couple of years away from complete viability. Constant buffering issues and video quality is still far from ideal.
I fully admit that I watch Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge live streams on IMSA.com while I'm at work (a number of the races take place on Friday afternoons). The issues I've encountered there have to do with the feed freezing for buffering, which forces me to restart the feed a couple of times a race. The picture quality fluctuates as well. Much of the time, the quality is not great. We're still a couple of years away from streaming being an ideal place to watch races.
Pruett believes that IMSA is blaming FOX Sports and only FOX Sports for their rating issues. If that's the case, why aren't you voiding your TV deal with FOX Sports and going elsewhere? Oh yeah, there really isn't anywhere else to go.
With the NHRA moving to FOX Sports this year (which might actually crimp IMSA's coverage to a degree), ESPN is all but out of motorsports (the Verizon IndyCar Series is their only major property, but all of the races air on ABC) and cost-cutting so that they can pay the massive freight on their Monday Night Football, NCAA and NBA deals. NBCSN is pretty full right now with NASCAR, the NHL, MLS, Formula One, the non-ABC INDYCAR races and their award-winning coverage of the Premier League. CBS Sports Network, while I do enjoy watching it, is a big step down from where there are now. Also, they air Pirelli World Challenge, a competing series. Velocity and MAVTV are even further down the dial from where CBS Sports Network is.
With the NHRA moving to FOX Sports this year (which might actually crimp IMSA's coverage to a degree), ESPN is all but out of motorsports (the Verizon IndyCar Series is their only major property, but all of the races air on ABC) and cost-cutting so that they can pay the massive freight on their Monday Night Football, NCAA and NBA deals. NBCSN is pretty full right now with NASCAR, the NHL, MLS, Formula One, the non-ABC INDYCAR races and their award-winning coverage of the Premier League. CBS Sports Network, while I do enjoy watching it, is a big step down from where there are now. Also, they air Pirelli World Challenge, a competing series. Velocity and MAVTV are even further down the dial from where CBS Sports Network is.
As far as I'm concerned, leaving FOX Sports would hurting your visibility even more than what IMSA's doing here. The broadcasts are time buys, meaning IMSA and manufacturers are paying for the airtime on FOX networks. The only way the cuts are going to benefit IMSA in any way is if the extra money that would have gone into the broadcasts goes into promoting these broadcasts. It's unclear whether that will be the case. I hope so. Problem is, if they do use the freed-up funds for TV commercials and such, the new viewers might end up disappointed when they see the product you're advertising because of the cuts.
Ultimately, the series needs to get some more eyes on the product. To grow the series means probably going outside of their comfort zone. Some kind of a tie-in with something in the entertainment world wouldn't be a terrible idea. Maybe a little higher profile than ARCA's tie-in with The Identical from 2014. Racers making guest appearances on TV shows is not out of the ordinary. Carl Edwards was on two different shows on the same night last year. Danny Sullivan appeared on Miami Vice back in 1986 in an episode that centered around the Grand Prix of Miami. It's doable, but IMSA would need to choose wisely.
Ultimately, the series needs to get some more eyes on the product. To grow the series means probably going outside of their comfort zone. Some kind of a tie-in with something in the entertainment world wouldn't be a terrible idea. Maybe a little higher profile than ARCA's tie-in with The Identical from 2014. Racers making guest appearances on TV shows is not out of the ordinary. Carl Edwards was on two different shows on the same night last year. Danny Sullivan appeared on Miami Vice back in 1986 in an episode that centered around the Grand Prix of Miami. It's doable, but IMSA would need to choose wisely.
The way IMSA's talking makes it sound like they want to get more eyes on the sport, but they're going to strip their coverage to the bone in the process. These plans do not jive with the desire to increase visibility for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. I wouldn't be shocked if there's actually less coverage of not only the Rolex 24, but the rest of the series as well this year. Based on last year's data, I wouldn't be surprised if there were more tape delayed races in 2016, preferably with good lead-ins.
I'm still jacked up for the upcoming IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season and will be on-site at Daytona in a little more than three weeks from today to provide coverage for Frontstretch. However, I will be walking into Daytona International Speedway with some serious concerns. I just hope that the decisions that are being made will ultimately get the series in front of more people that could potentially become fans.
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
as told to Mike Neff
by Aaron Bearden
by Jeff Wolfe
by Zach Catanzareti
by Aaron Bearden
by Zach Catanzareti
by Matt Stallknecht
by Tony Lumbis
by Mark Howell
by Tom Bowles
by Phil Allaway
~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: Here's a rare instance in which racing and game shows collide. Name the former racer who was a contestant on Press Your Luck in 1985.
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Friday's Answer:
Q: In 1992, the FIA formally booted the Andrea Moda team out of the World Championship. Why?
A: In Formula One, you're supposed to run a two-car operation. The FIA was angry at first that Andrea Moda managed to replace their original drivers (Alex Caffi and Enrico Bertaggia) before they ever competed in an official practice session. An attempt to bring Bertaggia back in after the driver found $1,000,000 in sponsorship was blocked by the FIA. Later, the team was throwing everything they had behind Roberto Moreno giving second driver Perry McCarthy next to no chance. That earned an ultimatum from the FIA to give McCarthy a proper go. They never really did.
Later, team owner (and owner of the namesake shoe company) Andrea Sassetti was arrested in the paddock at Spa. Shortly afterwards, the team was thrown out of the World Championship for bringing the whole enterprise into disrepute. The team made only one start, at Monaco when Moreno qualified 26th. The rest of their attempts resulted in either DNQ's or DNPQ's.
~~~~~~~~~~
COMING THIS WEEK AT FRONTSTRETCH:
COMING THIS WEEK AT FRONTSTRETCH:
We'll have news from all over the world of motorsports when it breaks.
-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2015 Frontstretch.com
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2015 Frontstretch.com
--
Feel free to forward this newsletter if you have any friends who loves
NASCAR and great NASCAR commentary. They can subscribe to the Frontstetch by visiting http://www.frontstretch.com/notice/9557/.
If you want to stop your Frontstretch Newsletter subscription, we're sorry
to see you go. Just send an email to
TheFrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com from the address that you
recieve the Frontstretch Newsletter.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Frontstretch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thefrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
No comments:
Post a Comment