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Post by Aaron Drever on Jan 11, 2009 23:11:33 GMT 12
Well this has been on my mind for a while and I thought I would put pen to paper on this issue.
Television and SNZ...... With so many quality meetings from so many tracks I strugle with the limited or no coverage that we are getting. Now I am not having a pot shot at TVNZ or SKY or whatever, my Questions are; With TV such a powerful marketing tool of the whole sport, why is it that we don't get any and why is SNZ not putting in place a plan to broadcast what is happening around the country and market the sport.
For example if Speedway runs from November to March why cant we have 18 x 1 hour Speedway Shows where it highlights the feature events from that week gone and promotes upcomming events from around the country, does the live grid draw for the teams, does have internationals being interviewed and then promotes the comming weeks events whats on Friday/Sat/Sun......
Expensive YES worth it YES easy to find backers YES....... Its the one thing that is controlled.... I am sure that Ian Rawkins and Co would be happy to sit down and work with SNZ on this.
Okay so how do we get sponsors? Well I am a beliver that this show within three years can be self funding and will have TV stations demanding the rights once the product is up and running..... Lets look at Major Corporates get them in on the ground floor, Base the show on the old ESPN Saturday Night Thunder or Speedweek show that was hosted by Larry Rice..... Perhaps the $$$$ that SNZ get from meeting permits is pushed into this..... Perhaps some of the Licence $$$$ is pushed this way. If every track ran 1 extra derby then that $$$$ can be put in.
Lets not get overtaken by bowls for coverage..... too late. Speedway in this country is one of the most exciting sports to be part of lets show the country...... then sell it to UK, Australia and USA.....
If we dont THINK BIG we will grow no more.....
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Post by MadMarty13B on Jan 11, 2009 23:15:25 GMT 12
A few seasons ago we paid a one of fee on our licenses for TV coverage we were told it was a one off fee and the coverage would carry on each season the next thing i heard was that talks had broken down between SNZ and the television company maybe Tim has something on this,wheres my refund?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2009 23:49:49 GMT 12
The Tab got into coverage big time, not a show as such proposed in the original post but several champ meets were covered for TV by the TAB, why no more?... Cause there was no money in it.
if there was they would still be doing it. The TAB own the largest OB co in NZ. Speedsport contracting out to small local company's for next to nothing means we are going to get what they pay for..... bugger all.
Would you sit and watch a show about bowls, or squash? If you were a fan of either you would prob go out of your way to watch it but if not the chances of you sitting and watchin it are slim to none.
I beleive SNZ do have a plan that involves TV . Sure Tim will explan it soon enough
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Post by Brett85p on Jan 12, 2009 5:33:33 GMT 12
SPEED TV has a show Lucas Oil on the edge, it is supposed to be an extreme motorsports programe and has stuff like demo derbys, combine harvester derbies, sand drags etc. Nothing I have seen on it comes close to teams champs or a NZ stockcar title. Wonder what it would take to get a channel like SPEED out to NZ to film the teams?
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Post by Morpheous on Jan 12, 2009 7:27:58 GMT 12
Yes i agree, something must be done, you get sick of seeing the same rubbish on the nightly sports news, Cricket, Rugby, Basketball, don't get me wrong i do like hearing about those sports, but when you get other cr@p news like Bowls, polo etc, you would think that Speedway is a much more watched sport than a lot of those mentioned, what i would like to see is a Sky motorsport chanel with Speedway as a major contributor, just like the Rugby chanel, i would pay extra for that!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2009 8:21:16 GMT 12
What happens when you try and force-feed a baby something it does not want to eat – it ends up splattered over your face!
Same too with the idea of trying to waste money by ramming down the markets throat a product it clearly doesn't like. Something is wrong with the typical speedway meet product. Boring they seem to be saying!
How many inventors have come up with a product or idea then gone broke trying to market it. Stupid. Find out what the market wants - then adapt the product to suit.
So what does the public seem to like? Well sadly it seems all the events the speedway purists don’t – fireworks, demolition derbies, caravan derbies, etc. I guess getting the balance between what die-hard speedway fans want vs what public want to see is tricky.
I recently attended the Tauherenikau Racecourse located in the Waiarapa. As Ramjam mentioned, the TAB had their mobile setup there including big screen on semi. Very impressive. I was amazed how many people were having a bet at the many portable booths. No wonder the promoters can afford to put on such excellent kids side shows - all free too. How could punters be encouraged to bet on speedway like that I wondered?
In the book ‘The Elusive Fan’ it says..…produce a market orientated product, satisfy audiences needs for sports viewing and participation, and distribute that sport in a meaningful and fan-centered manner..’
Well worth a read.
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Post by Action-Man on Jan 12, 2009 8:28:07 GMT 12
A few seasons ago we paid a one of fee on our licenses for TV coverage we were told it was a one off fee and the coverage would carry on each season the next thing i heard was that talks had broken down between SNZ and the television company maybe Tim has something on this,wheres my refund? I WANT MY MONEY BACK ;D ;D ;D
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Post by HITMAN94 on Jan 12, 2009 9:55:36 GMT 12
would be interesting to see some audience figures on the shows that were televised from the glen.people say putting it on tv causes people to stop going to the track ,if so record the events and run the programs during the off season, i for one would love to see more on tv Hitman94
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Post by sonic33 on Jan 12, 2009 11:00:19 GMT 12
I'm not sure playing meeting in there intirety is good for the sport. Tv sometimes doesn't do justice to the spectacle, but a weekly show with highlights, crashes and the winners, from the weekend gone and a preview of whats coming up next week has real merit.
I am a real speedway nut, but other than the teams I tired quickly of the speedway that was on tv last season. Just my humble opinion.
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Post by Geoff public on Jan 12, 2009 11:16:16 GMT 12
Agree with Ram jam, we need to see what Speedway NZ has in mind. I believe they need to pick a very small amount of classes & promote the hell out of them. The TAB is covering 8 classes in various forms in 11 meetings this season. I doubt if even rugby promotes so many different versions of itself at TAB level. We need to give fans heroes and villans they become familiar with and can cheer or jeer on a regular basis. We have a good message, keep it simple & keep repeating it till they get it.
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Post by Aaron Drever on Jan 12, 2009 15:06:49 GMT 12
I disagree with that.
If you only are going to promote a handful of classes then demote the rest to regional.....
All National classes are due airtime in some form or other
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Post by BarryB on Jan 12, 2009 15:29:27 GMT 12
I disagree with that. If you only are going to promote a handful of classes then demote the rest to regional..... All National classes are due airtime in some form or other No way!!!!!!!!!!!! Even our glamour classes don't come up that well, when compared with being there live, and probably never will unless we can somehow fund production that would cost about 10 times what we pay now. We need to get our product right first, THEN expand into greater coverage. Even then I could never be persuaded that all national classes are worthy of screen time........rugby, league, NASCAR etc concentrate on their glamour divisions, with (hopefully) a trickle down effect benefiting all clubs through increased attendances. I don't believe speedway's own house is in order yet, to the extent we want heightened awareness. So no, in my opinion the time has NOT yet come..........
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Post by azza007 on Jan 12, 2009 15:44:48 GMT 12
Unfortunately for us, we may need to realise that in reality speedway is a bit of a minorty sport and as much as we love it there are plenty of people who have no interest in it at all. I'm sure there are people on polo and lawn bowls boards who are as peplexed as us as to why their sport doesn't get three hours of prime time airplay a week. I for one will just keep going to the speedway I love and enjoy it for what it is. it's a whole lot better in person anyway ;D
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Post by Aaron Drever on Jan 12, 2009 16:26:40 GMT 12
I disagree with that. If you only are going to promote a handful of classes then demote the rest to regional..... All National classes are due airtime in some form or other No way!!!!!!!!!!!! Even our glamour classes don't come up that well, when compared with being there live, and probably never will unless we can somehow fund production that would cost about 10 times what we pay now. We need to get our product right first, THEN expand into greater coverage. Even then I could never be persuaded that all national classes are worthy of screen time........rugby, league, NASCAR etc concentrate on their glamour divisions, with (hopefully) a trickle down effect benefiting all clubs through increased attendances. I don't believe speedway's own house is in order yet, to the extent we want heightened awareness. So no, in my opinion the time has NOT yet come.......... Barry Wrong! I think that a higlights package of the weekend action could be well worth it.... introduce the top 10 crashes..... create a following of the sport by putting in the public lounges of those who have no idea what Speedway is...... Over the season they can focus on all classes determining what events they wish to follow...... it will be different than the current TV format..... look at Australia they have a speedway show.... David Tapp is the man we need to head this type of thing.... it has done wonders across the ditch...
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Post by BarryB on Jan 12, 2009 19:07:50 GMT 12
A highlight's type show has been mooted before, and discussed to death here really. At the end of the day everybody pretty much agrees that would be the ultimate. 1 hour would be too long though I suspect, that'd turn off the very type of people you're suggesting we want to put the sport in front of. We don't have 1 hours worth of suitable highlights most weeks. I'd suggest 10-15 mins, then maybe those you're really trying to hook may not bother changing channels whilst it's on, and eventually see something they like.
With regards to Oz, can you tell us what this show has done for speedway over there? Some details, facts and statistics please. Who pays? and how much? And does it now "have TV stations demanding the rights" now "the product is up and running?" Is it now self funding?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2009 19:20:52 GMT 12
.. create a following of the sport by putting in the public lounges of those who have no idea what Speedway is....... Aaron do you have any idea on Mongolian folk dancing? If not (as i suspect) and a one hour show came on about it at say 8.30pm tonight as you were sitting in your lounge contemplating your busy day just gone, you wouldn't change channels I asume, and after watching this show you would start seeking out where and when you can watch it live?? Believe it or not Speedway holds as much interest to your average punter sitting in their lounge as Mongolian folk dancing does. The best approach is to try and get the odd crash clip and results on the two major network news bulitons and try and build it from there. You would not believe how arrogant you sound telling somebody that they are wrong cause their opinion is different to yours
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Post by Aaron Drever on Jan 12, 2009 19:46:15 GMT 12
Ran Jam, not sure what speedway background you have...... In a meeting a year ago with Dave Stewart who quoted that Speedway is the second most spectated sport behind cricket..... So all in all your theory of changing channels might not be the case..... also what about conveting the other motorsport followers jet boats, V8's, go karts etc etc
A well executed Highlights show WILL WORK
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Post by Aaron Drever on Jan 12, 2009 19:51:37 GMT 12
Barry, It is on Fox Sports, Channel 10 and Channel 9 and yes it does have great coverage. check out what he has been doing since 1995 powerproductions.net.au/cflag.shtmlthere are other shows as well....
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Post by Mav, back bein a pit biarch on Jan 12, 2009 19:58:20 GMT 12
.....to say goodbye...........to all our company.
m i c.....see ya real soon..........k e y...why? cos i said so.......m o u s e
mickey mouse mickey mouse
;D
now back to the intended purpose of the thread.....................
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Post by eddiek on Jan 12, 2009 20:03:50 GMT 12
Trackside commentator.....
Ask your average joe off the street if they like cricket, then if they answer yes, ask them if they watch entire test matches. The answer in at least half the cases - probably more - would be "no, but they love a great one dayer". Those are my answers too.
Petrolheads can sit down and watch a lot of classes in small doses, including speedway and yes, I believe it needs to be better covered on the news networks, perhaps a good roll featuring on Hayden wossname's Plays Of The Week segment on 3 sport, but a whole hour plus every week would only attract some of the purists.
I say some - one senior member on this board once told me they couldnt stand to watch whole meetings on videos....
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