TV…OD In the 1960’s, during the golden era of the original Can-Am series, success was measured by the number of spectators who attended the events, and the amount of ink those events generated in the print media. Television at the time, at least as motor sport was concerned was little more than a dream. Other than a few syndicated programs laid down on film, and the half hearted attention of the ABC Network, which interspersed racing segments among the other, more mundane athletic competitions on its weekly Wide World of Sports show on Saturday afternoons, the industry was ignored. Certificate X Only when there was a death, preferably the more gruesome the better, did the electronic community dare to put in on air, usually with the warning that caution should be taken to preserve the vulnerable sensibilities of both children and women who might be shocked by the graphic nature of what they were watching. That was then, now, we live in a different time, one where the traditional networks must face the challenge of cable television, whose appetite for subject matter is virtually unrestrained. The Truman Show In short, we are a live in a time of specialization. Cooking, golf, gardening, and alike all have their own dedicated cable channels. However, no industry has benefited more greatly from the explosion of cable TV than motorsport. Starting with ESPN in the early 1980’s, racing made its way into the living rooms not only of our nation, but nations throughout the world. It was an ideal marriage. Cable needed programming for not much money. Motorsport needed a home, and could provide that programming at a cost effective price. The Cable Guys What has come from all that is a growth that would have been unimagined in the golden era of the 1960’s. Cable television in effect made the racing industry mainstream; so much so that today in the United States NASCAR’s current $2.4 billion TV contract that embraces The Fox Network, NBC and Turner Network Television, has made racing one of the three, particularly the Nextel Cup, most watched sports in North America, What television has done for the industry has been breathtaking. However, in the process it has changed the very nature of the sport. Brought to you by…. America’s dean of motorsport journalists, National Speed Sport News Publisher, Chris Economaki has long maintained that racing is a charitable exercise, living beyond its means because of the huge, expensive technology-driven budgets that permeate its universe, As Economaki sees its, that charity comes in the form of the equally outrageous sponsorships that fund those budgets. Yet, for the sponsors, the money spent is anything but a gift. Rather, it is, in their mind a sound way of doing business. The numbers, in terms of audience size, generated by television coverage of motorsport today are staggering, and not just for the high profile series, but the lesser one’s as well. A Sprint to the Finish Take for example sprint car racing, a traditional American oval short track staple. Most of the venues if filled to capacity can hold a maximum average of roughly five thousand people. Put a sprint car event on television and that audience jumps one hundred fold. Given figures such as these it is clear how important television is to the wellbeing of the sport. Unfortunately, that well being comes at a price. The piper in this case is the group of people who have invested their money for the precise purpose of getting television exposure. For the most part the quality of the telecast, while not unimportant is secondary to their agenda of making their point, or getting their product shown to the TV audience. Unhappily, if one is to sell to that audience, on has to keep that audience interested in what they are seeing, and to do that, one has to tell a good story. The conflict here revolves around the fact that telling a good story, more often than not means paying less attention to some of the agendas being pushed forward by those doing the paying. All this is difficult enough if there is only one category of car competing. It gets far more difficult, when so often is the case in road racing, there are multiple classes running. From a story viewpoint the action for the overall lead might be riveting. However, from a manufacturer’s, or from a team’s point running in one of the lesser divisions, the attention paid to what’s happening up front detracts from what they feel their investment entitles them to. The Road Show The result? All too often the decision is made to fulfill their wishes at the expense of the story the audience really wants to watch. And, the result of that all too often is that the audience tunes out. It is a fine line for those who produce motorsport television. Is one creating a “show,” or is one airing what amounts to an “infomercial?” Road racing in particular is built around romance; romance about the cars, people and speed; not how many times one mentions one’s sponsor’s name, or cuts away to a car out of contention simply to satisfy an agenda. Television has become more than a critical factor in the future of the sport, it has become THE factor in its continued survival and growth. It is a resource to be used wisely, or in the end it will not matter how it is used, and that will be a disaster for all who care about the sport. |
Bill Oursler |
