Baja 1000 TV coverage, doing more harm then good

[nelson979]

i have always wondered why we dont even get any kind of coverage on espn. i have seen a story in espn the mag and they used to cover the sport back in the day but if you watch sports center the day after the 1000 you would think that it would get a mention but it doesnt. i mean if they can talk about chris paul not getting traded for 20 minutes or some other other bs that they do to fill time and we cant even get a mention. shouldnt score or bitd have pr people that put together something and send in results? i have almost come to the conclusion that the sport that we love and want to think that everybody else should love, is just a sport that the majority of america does not get and never will, at least the way that familia does.

[SPONSOR]

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[mexgamer]

ESPN used to cover the most important off-road races in a great way:



The question is, what happened?

[ndvalium]

ESPN used to cover the most important off-road races in a great way:



The question is, what happened?

Have any SCORE races been ESPN produced since Barstow 1995. I know that was the same time that ESPN shifted focus in what they were coveing and also got out of NASCAR for about 10 years at that point.

I know I would love to see a better coverage of the sport. I am thankful for all the media guys we have and what they share with us. Lets see what 2012 brings!

[AZ45]

Ironically, IronMan Kona was on NBC for 90 minutes on Saturday, there are a couple threads on the Triathlon enthusiast sites that mirror these same concerns. There’s one of these threads every year and they always read the same.


Here are a couple samples of another group in the same boat FWIW-

I was disappointed. Even realizing that NBC doesn't put on this show for "us"....the less than 1% who actually do triathlons and understand what it's all about...I felt they really didn't convey what "it's really about". Spending so long focusing on the guys trying to finish that couldn't even stand up...made it look like a weird spectacle instead of the great achievement that ironman distance racing is. .


I was disappointed. Even realizing that NBC doesn't put on this show for "us"....the less than 1% who actually do triathlons and understand what it's all about...I felt they really didn't convey what "it's really about". Spending so long focusing on the guys trying to finish that couldn't even stand up...made it look like a weird spectacle instead of the great achievement that ironman distance racing is.

I enjoy it too.
My point is that WE (triathletes) are not the target audience.
I set low expectations for it, but always enjoy the whole thing (well I thought the Ford ads embedded last year were a bit much). I didn't catch this year's yet.
I enjoyed (and awesome job to Roy!). I didn't pay a dime for the show...No need to hate on NBC because their job is to make money, not promote Triathlon. I definitely would have liked much more coverage of the pro race and a bit more of the personal sagas (not the rich wine guy, though), but the bottom line is that there aren't enough of us to pay for huge productions and pregame and postgame shows like they do for football.



Its desert racing folks, not everybody loves it as much as we do.

[Randy Ross]

You have to remember back in the day ESPN was just starting out and didnt have the main stream sports it has today (which BRINGS REVENUE) Score hdra etc didnt have to pay for the cost of production .We do need to get fresher thoughts on Television . But the reality is special interest stories pay the bills when NBC shows the 1000 its a matter of dollars and cents and special Thanks to the COPS TEAM for stepping to the plate in a tough spot

Randy Ross
www.racecdr.com

[ACME]

The irony is ESPN" (sports network?) shows dozens of always exciting "Dog Shows" a year, the lumberjack events, competitive ball room dancing and my favorite: 190 hours a week of Poker (is that really a "sport"). With that entertaining line-up no wonder they don't have time for off road racing.

Maybe it's not a bad thing based on what's happened in the sport and the microscope we are under. Yeah a few "sponsor hunters" are frustrated but the rest of the "average joe's" who make up a majority of the sport are really unaffected. The reality is a lot of the footage you see on RDC, the shenanighan's and the B.A. attitude might be exactly why the sport doesn't get the respect/recognition it deserves. I spend a lot of time overseas and other than soccer the only thing of interest on TV to me is the WRC/Dakar stuff and when you watch how they present themselves vs this sport, we are miles behind them.

From another perspective: Out of sight=out of mind. As a community we get enough of our fix on the web. If the goal is to see a piece such as we always see here on RDC on national TV: Why invite the potential opposition to our sport by showing the same stuff that always pops up: Zoo Road, Ojos, the start in the wash etc... It'll draw attention and inevitably with a click of a mouse; something will come up that'll do more damage than good. Maybe it's a blessing we aren't on TV...

Personally I'd prefer to see the companies that make a living off this sport, invest in the causes that keep the sport alive over a TV show that nets us nothing in the long run. But then historically they haven't done the right thing anyway so why expect them to make an investment in their sport/business.

Gotta run, the National Knitting Finals are on the "ocho"...

[EBryant]

A lot of valid points made, although I think the biggest reason that the race isnt attractive to TV is the fact the most important parts of the race are run in the dark...horrible for TV. Until the TT's start at 4AM and the important race stories unfold during daylight hours and the top 10 cars finish at dusk, it will always be a tough sell for TV. It can be done, as demonstrated by the McMillen video, but the difficulty of chasing a race (with cameras) and telling a story in the dark in Baja takes a lot more people (cant follow in choppers) which is a lot more money and sponsors just won't pay for it.
We use 15 plus videographers (all dedicated desert racing enthusiasts) to cover King of the Hammers for the yearly DVD movie and we still can't cover EVERY story. That's a much slower paced race and a short loop format, with easy access to every point on the course, and mostly run in daylight. I'm not certain how many camera crews it would take to comprehensively cover a peninsula run in the dark, but I'm sure it would be more than 15.

[EVO Racing]

A lot of valid points made, although I think the biggest reason that the race isnt attractive to TV is the fact the most important parts of the race are run in the dark...horrible for TV. Until the TT's start at 4AM and the important race stories unfold during daylight hours and the top 10 cars finish at dusk, it will always be a tough sell for TV. It can be done, as demonstrated by the McMillen video, but the difficulty of chasing a race (with cameras) and telling a story in the dark in Baja takes a lot more people (cant follow in choppers) which is a lot more money and sponsors just won't pay for it.
We use 15 plus videographers (all dedicated desert racing enthusiasts) to cover King of the Hammers for the yearly DVD movie and we still can't cover EVERY story. That's a much slower paced race and a short loop format, with easy access to every point on the course, and mostly run in daylight. I'm not certain how many camera crews it would take to comprehensively cover a peninsula run in the dark, but I'm sure it would be more than 15.

We already have many more then 15 people! It can WORK! We all know the great people that film down at baja. We just need them to get togetther. Many of us also run incar cams and im not just say 1 cam. Incab cam, rear cam, bumper cam im sure you get my point. These cams can also be quickly changed out at pits stops. I didnt go to the B1k this year but how many choppers did the big teams bring out? I really dont see this being less them a 2 hour show...

My opinion: We need people like Mad Media, Jim Cook, as well as all the other very talented videographers (Langley, Tuba, cactus films, 4 days actions, zoo rd productions, factor offroad and anyone else I left out) to put all the footage together from each resource possible and make one kick a s s show.

Then, you throw Cam Steele in as announcer (someone who actually knows whats going on, and wont say "here's the leader coming thru Ojos" when the footage is of the leader going over the summit. I watch hours of YouTube videos and cactus/4days videos, and there is great footage in places you don't usually see photogs/videogs. Combine that with Mad Media footage, Jim Cook footage, and Langley footage. I don't understand. There's no reason why it can't be done. Or maybe there is and none of us know it?

[onetrack]

JrSyko...please check your PM for me.

[EBryant]

We already have many more then 15 people! It can WORK! We all know the great people that film down at baja. We just need them to get togetther. Many of us also run incar cams and im not just say 1 cam. Incab cam, rear cam, bumper cam im sure you get my point. These cams can also be quickly changed out at pits stops. I didnt go to the B1k this year but how many choppers did the big teams bring out? I really dont see this being less them a 2 hour show...

Yes there is a lot of cool footage that comes out of Baja. The conversation is about network TV coverage rather than youtube and internet videos. The business side of TV doesn't work quite so simply. Networks have standards of practice beginning with the types and quality of cameras required. Most of us who shoot regularly in the desert think were pushing it by bringing $5k cameras out in the desert. A majority of videoagraphers out there use handicams. TV networks will not accept footage from cameras that normally run less $10k to $40k. That's just the camera point of view. There's a lot more to it, but you get a feel for the business/Network side.
IMO the best approach would be to produce a full length feature, release it online and DVD to show that it can be done and see what type of distribution numbers you get. Then you could market it as a concept with a niche following. Problem is, it takes several months to organize, plan and prepare for the event. A month to shoot interviews and preproduction, and then a couple more months of post production. Not sure who's ready to dedicate that type of time and resource on prospectus.
Again though, the first thing they need to do is make it TV friendly by running at least the last half in daylight.