Latest NASCAR/ Speedvision info from the President of Speedvision
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Latest NASCAR/ Speedvision info from the President of Speedvision
This is long but very informative. Also, Read the Q&A at the bottom. Pretty cool......
An Open Letter To Speedvision Viewers
New York, November 30 — Over the past few months I have received many e-mails regarding the relationship between NASCAR and Speedvision. While I would love to answer them individually, I cannot. I would however like to take a moment and cover some of the more popular concerns that have been raised.
First, let me explain the reason we are adding NASCAR programming, although some of the reason should be self evident.
Speedvision has built a reputation as the best motorsports destination in the world. We have accomplished that to date, without the most popular of all domestic racing, NASCAR. Obviously, the inclusion of NASCAR programming will do nothing but grow the network and add to our claim of being the best. I would also like to add that the partnership with NASCAR comes at a good time, as we are finding early indications of a slowdown in our growth. Over the past few months, some cable companies that are currently carrying us, have begun to move us to less desirable positions within their universe. Less desirable and smaller. This is a solid indication that our growth with our current properties is slowing. NASCAR and its 75 million fans are a perfect addition to keep our progress sustained, pressure cable operators to keep us or move us to a more attractive spot for our viewers, and more importantly, in the areas that currently do not carry Speedvision, ( a number that represents about half of the country), include us in their line-up. In short, our NASCAR programming is what will keep the network growing and prospering. If we could not continue to grow, the network would not be in a position to renew or extend even the current line-up as it exists.
That current line-up seems to be the center of the debate. I would like to outline the core programming we will carry in the way we have in the past, have multi-year deals with or, in some cases, are adding to the line-up.
The notable exception is F1, as we are negotiation with them to continue our relationship with them. We have put together a very attractive offer and are doing everything we can to continue with F1. We feel confident we will move forward with them:
F1, including qualifying and all current F1 events
Le Mans, ALMS
Le Mans 24 hour coverage
SCCA Trans Am
Grand AM
All of the current motorcycle event coverage will remain including:
FIM Grand Prix
World Superbike
AMA Superbike
Existing programming to remain as well:
Legends of Motorsports
Motorsport Mundial
Speedvision GT Championships
Barrret Jackson auto auction
Speed News
In addition we will now have:
NASCAR programming
CART, Qualifying and other events
Extended coverage of World Rally
ARCA live races
We also hope to have some very exciting news regarding additional motorcycle programming soon.
Programs eliminated were done so based off of extensive research looking at ratings and audience composition. Like any company, we eliminated poor performers and if you were a fan of a show no longer on our air, you unfortunately must have been in a small group. Some of this includes aviation programming, boating programming and other half hour magazine programs. We will still carry some aviation and boating shows that performed well.
THIS LIST IS NOT MEANT TO BE COMPLETE OR REPRESENT OUR ENTIRE SCHEDULE.
If you have a specific question, please feel free to e-mail them in.
It is your passion and concern that will continue to fuel this network. That is why I appreciate the time many of you spent to contact us. I would encourage you to do so, and also stay in touch with your local cable operator to let them know how important this channel is to you. We do continue to understand the entertainment value the network holds for you and will continue to honor that and grow the network. Growth that is critical to ensure the longevity of this network.
Thank you, keep writing. — Jim Liberatore - President Speed Channel
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Dressing: Master Apprentice
Jacksonville, Fla., Nov. 30 — The young apprentice arrived with our usual plumber to correct an alarming reverse-flow condition immediately below the kitchen sink. He was early 20s, too blonde and had some sort of hardware in one of his ears. But he knew his business, and had the water running the right way (outbound) within 40 or so minutes.
When he spotted my Speedvision cap hanging next to the dogs' leashes, he said, "Cool! I love Speedvision. They have the best racing!"
There was more than a touch of passion in it. I thought he was going to tell me about his favorite NASCAR driver: Probably Jeff Gordon. Perhaps F1 was his meat: Michael Schumacher or JPM his man. Very wrong.
"Dakar, man, and World Rally. Excellent!"
And he continued explaining in impressive detail about Subarus and Ford’s WRC Focus and Mitsubishis and (ready?) Peugeots! Just how long has it been, I thought, since Peugeot abandoned America? Answer: when this lad was in elementary school.
So, what strange demographic forces were at work here? Dakar is a once-per-calendar event. World Rally rounds are tape-delayed to America by at least a week while Winston Cup races seem to occur live on network TV about every 72 hours.
No matter. Through the video and commercial barrage laid down by NASCAR’s heavy marketing artillery, here, just 90 miles from Daytona Beach, this hard-working young man had managed to link World Rally and Paris/Dakar-style Raids to his lifestyle. (NB: He drives a Honda with all the correct accessories; mostly cosmetic and audio.)
He knows the cars of the World Rally Championship, but not the details. He knows of the drivers of NASCAR, but has zero interest in the cars. In his world, the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Taurus and Intrepid are road clutter; props, cars that get in the way; cars for Fogies. No more a part of his world than Packard, Maxwell, Oakland or Studebaker.
Now I couldn’t resist.
Q: "What’s your fantasy car?" (Porsche, I’ll bet.)
A: BMW and Audi were named, instantly and enthusiastically. (Wrong again.)
Q: "What about a Corvette?"
A: No verbal response. Just a quick, withering look of pity.
The recent Baja 1000 was still fresh in my mind. Besides, a Paris/Dakar man would love a Godzilla-class pick-up truck, right?
Q: "What about a truck; a 4x4?"
A: The same pitiful look, then one word: "Work." He nodded toward the GMC sitting in the driveway: Just a beast of burden to carry all the pipes and tubes and tools.
Sport-Utility Vehicles didn’t enter into it at all, despite the obvious link to Dakar-style Raids.
"I guess Moms gotta drive somethin’."
Did he just say that Sport-Utility Vehicles are "Chick Cars?" Could this be the reason NASCAR hasn’t added a SportUte series to their Touring classes?
He flogged and twisted the old pipe and kept talking in phrases and stanzas. The bottom line began to emerge: Trucks and NASCAR were part of another world, where Geezers run the show and write the checks but never really get it. The WRC, Paris/Dakar and the Slammed Orient-Rod scene were part of the happy world of complex video games and equally frantic music that always makes ancients like me complain at loud and long length about excessive volume.
But the discovery that our young plumber-to-be came to love the WRC through a video game was a cold, blue bolt of demographic lightning, the nexus of the moment.
The video game had come first, opening a double door to the real world of FIA World Championship rallys: And that brought him to Speedvision. That he found the real thing more potent and compelling than the bright and busy games captured my attention totally. This video-game-first scenario had not occurred to me. Ever. But to him, the rally shows on Speedvision were stronger and purer than the relentlessly televised images of NASCAR (a disinterested shrug), the IRL (Huh?) or CART (he thought I meant karts!).
He did not know Juan Fangio, Stirling Moss or even Fireball Roberts. Ned or Dale Jarrett? Nope. He never heard of Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna, either: Not even ancient history, just meaningless names. They could have been a bullfighter, a painter or a former Governor of Florida for all he knew, or cared.
The USGP, the Daytona and Indy 500s were just races, part of the electronic static. There was no ignorance in any of it. He just didn’t care; there was nothing there for him. But he knew cars and the audio systems that seem to have replaced the engine as the prime component of the modern performance automobile.
This young neo-plumber with the fine all-American work ethic was gone in less than an hour, and left me much to think about. This is probably how the marketing geniuses in Detroit feel when the focus group bores of being prodded and probed, runs out of pastry and bolts for home.
It was a quick peek into an alternate universe of performance cars and racing, and it only cost me $140 American to get a quick lesson in the new Everything-You-Know-Is-Wrong School of Automobilia. I probably should have asked him about the NHRA’s import drag racing program, but I was starting to get it.
Dakar and the World Rally Championship, with its stunning television production values and face-first action (even though it’s just one car on TV at a time... just like video games), touches and excites some exposed mental nerve of Generation Y Car Guys.
If I read this correctly, only motorsports events with a genuine sense of occasion will succeed with this new breed. Cold Fact: Ninety minutes north of Daytona and he was only peripherally aware of the Rolex 24.
How about Le Mans?
"Those Audis are awesome, man. Just awesome!" (And he was aware that Audi did not race at Daytona.)
My crystal ball was in worse shape than my kitchen drain, but one doesn’t have to be Nostradamus to get the message, delivered free of charge (unless you count the $140 for a new drain pipe) last week by a bright, articulate kid with an earring, some firm opinions and no interest in traditions of any sort. We were even spared the traditional plumber’s butt crack. — Chuck Dressing, Senior Editor, RACER
[Modified by Trey, 5:21 PM 11/30/2001]
An Open Letter To Speedvision Viewers
New York, November 30 — Over the past few months I have received many e-mails regarding the relationship between NASCAR and Speedvision. While I would love to answer them individually, I cannot. I would however like to take a moment and cover some of the more popular concerns that have been raised.
First, let me explain the reason we are adding NASCAR programming, although some of the reason should be self evident.
Speedvision has built a reputation as the best motorsports destination in the world. We have accomplished that to date, without the most popular of all domestic racing, NASCAR. Obviously, the inclusion of NASCAR programming will do nothing but grow the network and add to our claim of being the best. I would also like to add that the partnership with NASCAR comes at a good time, as we are finding early indications of a slowdown in our growth. Over the past few months, some cable companies that are currently carrying us, have begun to move us to less desirable positions within their universe. Less desirable and smaller. This is a solid indication that our growth with our current properties is slowing. NASCAR and its 75 million fans are a perfect addition to keep our progress sustained, pressure cable operators to keep us or move us to a more attractive spot for our viewers, and more importantly, in the areas that currently do not carry Speedvision, ( a number that represents about half of the country), include us in their line-up. In short, our NASCAR programming is what will keep the network growing and prospering. If we could not continue to grow, the network would not be in a position to renew or extend even the current line-up as it exists.
That current line-up seems to be the center of the debate. I would like to outline the core programming we will carry in the way we have in the past, have multi-year deals with or, in some cases, are adding to the line-up.
The notable exception is F1, as we are negotiation with them to continue our relationship with them. We have put together a very attractive offer and are doing everything we can to continue with F1. We feel confident we will move forward with them:
F1, including qualifying and all current F1 events
Le Mans, ALMS
Le Mans 24 hour coverage
SCCA Trans Am
Grand AM
All of the current motorcycle event coverage will remain including:
FIM Grand Prix
World Superbike
AMA Superbike
Existing programming to remain as well:
Legends of Motorsports
Motorsport Mundial
Speedvision GT Championships
Barrret Jackson auto auction
Speed News
In addition we will now have:
NASCAR programming
CART, Qualifying and other events
Extended coverage of World Rally
ARCA live races
We also hope to have some very exciting news regarding additional motorcycle programming soon.
Programs eliminated were done so based off of extensive research looking at ratings and audience composition. Like any company, we eliminated poor performers and if you were a fan of a show no longer on our air, you unfortunately must have been in a small group. Some of this includes aviation programming, boating programming and other half hour magazine programs. We will still carry some aviation and boating shows that performed well.
THIS LIST IS NOT MEANT TO BE COMPLETE OR REPRESENT OUR ENTIRE SCHEDULE.
If you have a specific question, please feel free to e-mail them in.
It is your passion and concern that will continue to fuel this network. That is why I appreciate the time many of you spent to contact us. I would encourage you to do so, and also stay in touch with your local cable operator to let them know how important this channel is to you. We do continue to understand the entertainment value the network holds for you and will continue to honor that and grow the network. Growth that is critical to ensure the longevity of this network.
Thank you, keep writing. — Jim Liberatore - President Speed Channel
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Dressing: Master Apprentice
Jacksonville, Fla., Nov. 30 — The young apprentice arrived with our usual plumber to correct an alarming reverse-flow condition immediately below the kitchen sink. He was early 20s, too blonde and had some sort of hardware in one of his ears. But he knew his business, and had the water running the right way (outbound) within 40 or so minutes.
When he spotted my Speedvision cap hanging next to the dogs' leashes, he said, "Cool! I love Speedvision. They have the best racing!"
There was more than a touch of passion in it. I thought he was going to tell me about his favorite NASCAR driver: Probably Jeff Gordon. Perhaps F1 was his meat: Michael Schumacher or JPM his man. Very wrong.
"Dakar, man, and World Rally. Excellent!"
And he continued explaining in impressive detail about Subarus and Ford’s WRC Focus and Mitsubishis and (ready?) Peugeots! Just how long has it been, I thought, since Peugeot abandoned America? Answer: when this lad was in elementary school.
So, what strange demographic forces were at work here? Dakar is a once-per-calendar event. World Rally rounds are tape-delayed to America by at least a week while Winston Cup races seem to occur live on network TV about every 72 hours.
No matter. Through the video and commercial barrage laid down by NASCAR’s heavy marketing artillery, here, just 90 miles from Daytona Beach, this hard-working young man had managed to link World Rally and Paris/Dakar-style Raids to his lifestyle. (NB: He drives a Honda with all the correct accessories; mostly cosmetic and audio.)
He knows the cars of the World Rally Championship, but not the details. He knows of the drivers of NASCAR, but has zero interest in the cars. In his world, the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Taurus and Intrepid are road clutter; props, cars that get in the way; cars for Fogies. No more a part of his world than Packard, Maxwell, Oakland or Studebaker.
Now I couldn’t resist.
Q: "What’s your fantasy car?" (Porsche, I’ll bet.)
A: BMW and Audi were named, instantly and enthusiastically. (Wrong again.)
Q: "What about a Corvette?"
A: No verbal response. Just a quick, withering look of pity.
The recent Baja 1000 was still fresh in my mind. Besides, a Paris/Dakar man would love a Godzilla-class pick-up truck, right?
Q: "What about a truck; a 4x4?"
A: The same pitiful look, then one word: "Work." He nodded toward the GMC sitting in the driveway: Just a beast of burden to carry all the pipes and tubes and tools.
Sport-Utility Vehicles didn’t enter into it at all, despite the obvious link to Dakar-style Raids.
"I guess Moms gotta drive somethin’."
Did he just say that Sport-Utility Vehicles are "Chick Cars?" Could this be the reason NASCAR hasn’t added a SportUte series to their Touring classes?
He flogged and twisted the old pipe and kept talking in phrases and stanzas. The bottom line began to emerge: Trucks and NASCAR were part of another world, where Geezers run the show and write the checks but never really get it. The WRC, Paris/Dakar and the Slammed Orient-Rod scene were part of the happy world of complex video games and equally frantic music that always makes ancients like me complain at loud and long length about excessive volume.
But the discovery that our young plumber-to-be came to love the WRC through a video game was a cold, blue bolt of demographic lightning, the nexus of the moment.
The video game had come first, opening a double door to the real world of FIA World Championship rallys: And that brought him to Speedvision. That he found the real thing more potent and compelling than the bright and busy games captured my attention totally. This video-game-first scenario had not occurred to me. Ever. But to him, the rally shows on Speedvision were stronger and purer than the relentlessly televised images of NASCAR (a disinterested shrug), the IRL (Huh?) or CART (he thought I meant karts!).
He did not know Juan Fangio, Stirling Moss or even Fireball Roberts. Ned or Dale Jarrett? Nope. He never heard of Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna, either: Not even ancient history, just meaningless names. They could have been a bullfighter, a painter or a former Governor of Florida for all he knew, or cared.
The USGP, the Daytona and Indy 500s were just races, part of the electronic static. There was no ignorance in any of it. He just didn’t care; there was nothing there for him. But he knew cars and the audio systems that seem to have replaced the engine as the prime component of the modern performance automobile.
This young neo-plumber with the fine all-American work ethic was gone in less than an hour, and left me much to think about. This is probably how the marketing geniuses in Detroit feel when the focus group bores of being prodded and probed, runs out of pastry and bolts for home.
It was a quick peek into an alternate universe of performance cars and racing, and it only cost me $140 American to get a quick lesson in the new Everything-You-Know-Is-Wrong School of Automobilia. I probably should have asked him about the NHRA’s import drag racing program, but I was starting to get it.
Dakar and the World Rally Championship, with its stunning television production values and face-first action (even though it’s just one car on TV at a time... just like video games), touches and excites some exposed mental nerve of Generation Y Car Guys.
If I read this correctly, only motorsports events with a genuine sense of occasion will succeed with this new breed. Cold Fact: Ninety minutes north of Daytona and he was only peripherally aware of the Rolex 24.
How about Le Mans?
"Those Audis are awesome, man. Just awesome!" (And he was aware that Audi did not race at Daytona.)
My crystal ball was in worse shape than my kitchen drain, but one doesn’t have to be Nostradamus to get the message, delivered free of charge (unless you count the $140 for a new drain pipe) last week by a bright, articulate kid with an earring, some firm opinions and no interest in traditions of any sort. We were even spared the traditional plumber’s butt crack. — Chuck Dressing, Senior Editor, RACER
[Modified by Trey, 5:21 PM 11/30/2001]
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