I agree with Jeff
on the TV coverage. I look forward
to all drag racing on TV. Having the shows
after 10:00 pm central time on Sunday and
very late on Saturday is killing the ratings.
If I remember correctly when TNN was doing
the NHRA shows the finals were live. What
a concept! I think it is about time that the
brass take their POWERade shirts off and walk
around at an event and find out what the paying
public wants. They might be surprised. I try
to attend at least two national events a year
and it is the highlight of my summer (next
to riding my Harley, but that another story).
Thanks!
Bob Baldwin
Jeff, I suppose
I am one of those 'hard core" fans
that will watch an ESPN broadcast of a drag
race at any time of the day night or very
early morning. So my comments can be seen
through that lens. I agree with you on the
potential of being left with the impression
of boredom that one could come away with after
watching an ESPN-NHRA broadcast. I am not
sure how to bring the sensuality of being
there to the TV box except to turn up the
volume as has been suggested in previous discussions.
By the way, I think Mike Dunn is very good
in his
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spot,
however, this season he seems to be less himself
than last year. For example, there was a segment
last year when he was explaining the warm
up procedure on a fuel car and the driver
wapped the throttle to seat the clutch and
he (Dunn) got excited and exclaimed something
like "that's what its all about!" I say that
to say this, maybe a more sensual approach
needs to be taken instead of the often sanitized
version we get.
Also, I want to state the obvious in regards
to the ethnic make up of the NHRA/drag racing
in general and NASCAR. White bread vs multicultural.
While our multicultural presence should not
be exploited, I think it could be embraced,
in the media.
Regards,
Brett Porter
Hey Jeff.
I just read your recent Burk's Blast on drag
racing's television woes. Good reporting,
especially in obtaining the Neilsen ratings.
Very informative.
My thoughts are that the "packaging" of the
overall drag racing telecasts are weak. If
you watch the NASCAR package - it's so damn
insightful, well produced, good anchors with
funny personalities et al. Then, when the
NASCAR coverage goes to commercial break,
I would say that half of the ads run feature
NASCAR drivers pitching corporate products.
That's the key. It builds product awareness
and driver awareness, which leads to further
enhancement of the NASCAR driver1s personalities.
When watching NHRA telecasts, I notice that
not one ad (save for Powerade's) features
a current NHRA driver pitching products. No
beer ads, no auto parts store ads - no nothing
with current NHRA drivers serving as pitch
men ala NASCAR. This has to change!
As far as the actual NHRA race coverage -
the only thing worth watching is the ESPN
super slo-mo cams which provide long lens
shots of the cars going down the track.
But my ultimate question is HOW do you translate
the feel of a drag race through a television
monitor. It's damn near impossible. If you
go back and watch TNN's "American Sports Cavalcade"
shows from the late '80s and early '90s -
they were far superior shows compared to today's
ESPN shows, but even those broadcasts failed
to translate the "feel" of the cars and racing
action. Steve Evans and Dave McClelland added
much to those shows, which simply cannot be
said about today's on-air people.
I'm as stumped as you are as to how to "tune
up" the racing coverage. I would start by
changing the entire format (hire a whiz to
restructure how the current format is played
out) and get some new on-air talent. Then
I would resolutely turn my attention towards
encouraging current NHRA sponsors to USE THE
GUYS THEY SPONSOR in humorous, effective and
creative marketing and advertising campaigns...
Just my two cents.
John Drummond
