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Post by Admin on Jan 13, 2009 12:19:56 GMT 12
I just don't believe having our sport on TV is the be-all and end-all......although I admit I once did. If it cannot be done properly, which costs a fair bit of moolah, we'd be better off not being there at all. If we can't make our sport appear better than it really is, or at least as good, then we should not bother. A highlights show, maybe, well done documentary style programming would probably better however. This could/would attract new watchers and hopefully a few new fans. We don't want to be aiming TV coverage at the already converted. That's just a waste of money and resources....... Careful BB , you're starting to sound like me . |
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Post by tank11 on Jan 13, 2009 12:33:05 GMT 12
I watch what I can when it comes on TV, but it is no way near like being there.
Will get some people interested in speedway and may get a few to stay at home as well.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2009 12:34:14 GMT 12
.....Id also like to point out that I have met both Ramjam and Dreve's, you are both nice guys and passionate about your speedway, but please get off the board and ring each and have your catfight's somewhere where I dont have to read it, NO! NO! NO! This is not tiddlywinks. Strap them both in a stockcar. The first one to roll the other wins.... |
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Post by BarryB on Jan 13, 2009 12:57:59 GMT 12
I just don't believe having our sport on TV is the be-all and end-all......although I admit I once did. If it cannot be done properly, which costs a fair bit of moolah, we'd be better off not being there at all. If we can't make our sport appear better than it really is, or at least as good, then we should not bother. A highlights show, maybe, well done documentary style programming would probably better however. This could/would attract new watchers and hopefully a few new fans. We don't want to be aiming TV coverage at the already converted. That's just a waste of money and resources....... Careful BB , you're starting to sound like me . OMG  Must have missed taking my meds this morning ;D Maybe we've been injected with the same stuff during our hospital stays?? |
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Post by Aaron Drever on Jan 13, 2009 13:55:37 GMT 12
It would appear that NZ Speedway is going to be what it is today. A place where people who want the action have to go to every meeting and watch.
To this end I add, that if the sport does not move with the times it will be lost. Tim S is the current CEO for how long who knows, but It would be good to see what the FIVE YEAR plan is and WHAT their plan is for the good of the sport.
This board is about opinons being spouted and I have done that as too have the others...... Some in my opinon are correct but others are not.....
Good debate and no blood...... yet..... ;D
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Post by snoggrat on Jan 13, 2009 16:25:40 GMT 12
And what are we going to gain by getting speedway on TV? Probably LESS people coming through the turnstiles because they can now get their speedway fix without moving away from the remote. No need to go to the track anymore and watch the hotdog classes, just stay at home and watch the highlights package. If you REALLY want to see speedway survive you need to be finding out why crowd numbers are down for your average Saturday night show, find out what the tracks are doing right that are maintaining their numbers, and do some solid promotion to get the families back on a regular basis. Apart from Firework nights, Demo Derbies, and major championships the crowds are generally pathetic at a lot of tracks. I witnessed one track absolutely blow their chances with a great Fireworks crowd at the beginning of the season by running a terrible show that will never encourage people to return. It seems that the man everybody loves to hate, Mr W Kay, did the opposite last Saturday night by turning on a SPEEDWAY meeting to an audiance that had come to watch a Demo and Caravan derby. And what was the difference? By most accounts, fastest from the back for the feature. We have known that since year 1, but choose to ignore every week. The answers are basic, so forget TV and work on getting the crowds back to speedway, because if you don't there will be nothing to show on your hourly show other than re-runs of how it used to be. Yes what this man said. What made/makes speedway different was and still should be fastest from the back. I would suggest that it should be done all night. In Baypark's programme they have got handicappers for each class listed but I have no idea what they do. Peter |
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Post by bernie on Jan 13, 2009 16:44:03 GMT 12
www.speedway.co.nz/pdf/Directors%20Meetings/Summary%20of%20Meeting%20161.pdfHeres the link SNZ notes from the Nov 31/ Dec 1 board meeting. This topic i covered on page 4. I think TV coverage is good, its positive but it has to be managed. Would V8 super cars have reached its dizzying heights without TV. But like everything it comes at a price, look at F1, A1, NZ super cars , how much do they cost compared to our speedway , is that where we want to end up.I believe thats where TV coverage may take us if it isn't manged properly. I think we should look at rallying or rugby as an example, these are sports with a range of levels from low level entry to multi million dollar teams. But are managed globally to achieve that. I wonder about this $500 a year levy by SNZ, if youre not getting direct benefit and have to pay it for someone else's benefit thats gotta hurt. I note that SNZ is offering a subsidy to tracks who arrange their own TV coverage, but what if you A: don't want too , or B: your location precludes a TV company coming to you. Should you be levied $500 to subsidize every one else. I use the word levied based on the assumption that clubs don't have a choice about paying the $500. Bernie
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Post by pallmall on Jan 13, 2009 16:51:52 GMT 12
It would appear that NZ Speedway is going to be what it is today. A place where people who want the action have to go to every meeting and watch. To this end I add, that if the sport does not move with the times it will be lost. Tim S is the current CEO for how long who knows, but It would be good to see what the FIVE YEAR plan is and WHAT their plan is for the good of the sport. This board is about opinons being spouted and I have done that as too have the others...... Some in my opinon are correct but others are not..... Good debate and no blood...... yet..... ;D Aaron, there is no doubt that speedway in NZ has to change to survive, but at what cost? You quote Springs Speedway, and the fact that the place has turned around despite the doom and gloom merchants a few years ago. You mention their TV coverage and magazine. It is all fantastic, but does it all make a profit, or is it subsidised by Bill Buckley. If it is making a genuine profit on its own, I say fantastic, Aaron is correct, lets follow his vision. If it is not, how can the rest of NZ speedway do what you want? Whatever, I still think we need to be able to get regular bums on seats before rushing off on a tangent. |
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Post by BarryB on Jan 13, 2009 17:33:28 GMT 12
$500 per year is less than 2 extra people through the gate each night during the season at most tracks........hardly an imposition I'd have thought to get a little TV exposure for the sport.
It's just how much exposure we really need.........
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Post by rebel1 on Jan 13, 2009 17:37:48 GMT 12
Pallmall is correct IMHO, its about getting bums on seats. There are a number of ways of doing this : High profile events like NZs, GPs, 240s, World of Stocks, Teams Champs, DHL series, Hoopla, Battle of stocks.... Lesser profile events like fireworks meetings, demo and caravan derbies that drag the families and crowds in. Interesting events like drum races, handicap races, celebrity races and historic stockcars. Club nites at $5 eg Rotorua that can be great value. Keep the meeting flowing and the races turning over quickly, the analogy here being 20/20 cricket v one day cricket. Speedway purists love long nites but the general fan or families can relate to 3-3.5 hours far easier. Add competitions, giveaways, things for the kids ( WP had a bouncy castle last season that was hugely popular ), good food, not just hot dogs and chips. Have less meetings per club with high quality fields by working in with other clubs to make better value meetings. I like the idea of "Speedway hour" on Radio sport, why not ? Get the mix right, look after the drivers, the fans and the sponsors when these events are on and the bums will be on seats.  |
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Post by carwrecker on Jan 13, 2009 18:30:35 GMT 12
If we could get a couple of competitors to display as much passion and venom as Jam and Arron have displayed in this thread I suspect speedway on TV might come across a little better than it has in the past.
But on a more serious note SNZ have been moving in the rite direction since the formation of the Television and Media sub committee.
Results for this year will be reasonably limited due to the fact that we were pretty much locked in for the season despite the best efforts of the CEO and Director in charge.
Having said that there are many types of media available to us .
Some of which have never been explored in the past.
I remember the catch phrase of some movie many years ago.
when Kevin Costna said (If you build it they will come) I guess we are in the building stage and eventually They will come
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Post by bernie on Jan 13, 2009 19:19:35 GMT 12
$500 per year is less than 2 extra people through the gate each night during the season at most tracks........hardly an imposition I'd have thought to get a little TV exposure for the sport. It's just how much exposure we really need......... You raise a fair point , its the socialist aspect /feel to it I have trouble with. The levy (tax) factor, its compulsory and how do you measure the benefit received from it. Thats probably the big question , exactly what do we want from TV exposure, and how will we know that we are getting it. |
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Post by TonyT on Jan 13, 2009 19:27:23 GMT 12
Perhaps some “why?” questions would help here. Why do you want to put speedway on prime time TV? To what end? What makes you think that doing so will bring more people through the gate? I reckon Barry is right in saying that we need to think very carefully whether the product we currently have to broadcast is going to achieve this end.
However, there are other reasons why putting speedway on TV might be a good idea – it increases exposure for sponsors (drivers’ sponsors, event sponsors, track sponsors, maybe even grade sponsors or generic speedway sponsors if we ever get to the point where there are any). It also opens the way for strategic partnerships which could bring national or even international revenue into speedway – but the speedway “product” has to be right.
What is the business model of speedway in the future? Where will the revenues come from? Personally I think that the days of relying on more bums on seats as the best way of increasing revenue are gone. The future lies with more creative and more intelligently managed sponsorship and partnerships – just one example, imagine the power of all of New Zealand’s tracks working together to secure a national sponsor. Sure you might reduce your walk-up crowd a little if you do a live broadcast on TV or internet (although I think the jury is still out on this based on the live shows we did from Woodford Glen), but what you might loose on the turnstiles can surely be made up with the increased sponsorship reach you get from telling a sponsor they will be on TV. Regional TV, national TV, international webcast.
The internet is the way of the future to help secure these ideas – there will always be a finite number of people who are prepared/able/willing to physically go to a track, so why not give them the chance to be a virtual spectator? We all know its not the same watching on a screen as being there, and of course the keen loyal fans will always go rather than stay at home, but watching at home is better than not watching at all. How many of the thousands who constantly refreshed the 40 odd pages during this year’s Super Stock title would have forked over $20 to be able to watch it live on their computer screen? And that’s just the keen fans who knew it was on.
The global market is huge and untapped – if just one in a thousand US motorsport fans could be persuaded to watch a New Zealand speedway meeting on pay-per-view then that would double the gate numbers at most tracks. And that’s just one country. Ask Bernie Ecclestone where the dollars are in motorsport promotion these days and he will unequivocally say Asia. The technology exists, the medium exists, the market exists. Its all there, in place. NZ speedway just needs to get smart enough to join the dots. Before someone else does.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2009 20:05:27 GMT 12
This will be my final post on this topic Some of you may have noticed I'm not in favor of a prime time show Here are my reasons. Call me an idiot and disagree if you will but its my considered opinion and if I'm proved to be wrong then so be it. IMHO it would do far more damage than good. For a start only 3 or 4 tracks are presentable enough for this. About the same number of tracks have lighting good enough We don't have enough premier classes, I don't for a minute think that people who have no interest in the sport will sit through our best (spectacular) classes, never mind asking them to sit in front of Ministox, minisprints, productions or any of our other Hot Dog classes (read competitor orientated rather than spectator oriented). The cost would be hugely prohibitive. As someone said, does The Dirt tv show make a stand alone profit? (inquiries I have made would suggest not, but I don't have the facts and figures to back this up so am open to be corrected. and finally as Bernie asks I think TV coverage is good, its positive but it has to be managed. Would V8 super cars have reached its dizzying heights without TV. But like everything it comes at a price, No I don't think Aussie super cars would have reached the peak it achieved with out Telly, But I think if they covered it with just 2 camera coverage + One shoulder/roving cam It would have hurt the game, If they canceled a meeting half an hour before racing starts due to rain live TV interest wouldn't last long, If the production co covering it used wrong graphics constantly, viewer interest wouldn't last long. To close I pose just one question, (and the answer is not simply "cause no one thought of it before now"), If having this mythical high quality, prime time 1 hour a week speedway show is such a goer ... Why is it not being done right now? |
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Post by cards on Jan 13, 2009 21:12:42 GMT 12
Well done people.
There are some fantastic ideas and arguments on this thread ... BUT ... could I ask you to go back to page one and read Phill B's response.
Just because you think it's a good idea, doesn't mean the TV Networks or public will agree.
Until you test the market on this you are wasting your time.
To defend Aaron on one point ... Back in 1984-5 when the whole Outlaw-SCB-MANZ battle was raging on I paid for some research figures that showed ... at that time ... that Speedway was the number one spectator sport in New Zealand, ahead of Cricket !
Before you start getting all excited Dreves, that was based on the previous years reported figures so make that nearly a quarter of a century ago. Things change.
Re the possibility of a half hour Speedway magazine programme on Sky. Yes, like all things it's possible. BUT. Would the production company that does the Springs GIVE their footage to the show if they weren't making it ? Would Cue TV allow their product to be used by the people that shoot Palmy etc, etc, etc.
Take it from someone in the industry, just because it's on tele doesn't mean anyone will watch it ... sad but true.
Watch the sponsors disappear Tony T if no one watches the show they've sunk money into.
So first ... test the market.
Get your wallet out and find out what people want.
Not just the payers who go to the Glen or Te Marua every Saturday night ... but regular folk that have television sets in their homes.
So, who's going to win at Hoopla Supers then ? Well Cards, now that you've asked, I think young Craig.
ttfn
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2009 21:12:54 GMT 12
LONG THREAD, SETTLE IN
Thanks Tony T for putting forward some sensible words into the equation. Prime time TV for speedway is I suspect pie in the sky. Speedway is about the rumble of the ground when a full field of machines is racing, its the smell of the air with the methanol or av gas burning, its the sound of well prepared power plants being put through their paces, its the audible, visual and physical stimulation that makes it exciting, tv cannot give true audio or physical stimulation, that's simply a fact. Think also of the Kiwis out there who don't know a speedway from their elbow, throwing racing on television without educating them is just a waste of time because they don't have an appreciation of whats really going on. Think also that the majority of folks think stockcars and and think bashing and crashing. With so much money going in to machinery today and speeds ever increasing the bash and crash has gone out of the event, unless you are talking teams events, even dealing with teams we are talking only 8 or 10 cars with a lot of empty track. Not great for the tele. For all other classes that have no contact watching them go round a track can get very boring to the uneducated.We like it because we have an appreciation of what goes in to it. When dealing in speed,well the sprintcars are the fastest, they're already on tele. So what do we think we've got to sell to the stations, sweet feck all i reckon.
BUT WAIT
Instead of dreaming of a weekly hour on the box a far more sensible solution should be within the speedway grasp. with funding from NZ on air etc i believe a 3 or 4 ( or more) part documentary with a humorous twist could succeed,,, Introducing the concept of "ONLY FOOLS BUY STOCKCARS" Its not a new concept ,in fact I stole this straight off the box, and i think it may have been shown here, not certain about that. Anyway here goes
Hector an Irish comedian got tired of putting his money through the bookies and losing it all the time, he made a series called "only fools buy horses".he decided it was time to buy a horse,get it trained and get it racing. Hector had sweet feck all money so sought the expertise of one of the republics top trainers who explained the racing industry to him( and the viewer) introduced him to various people like jockeys (drivers to us) other owners, and took him him to the yearling sales in england to look at horses and finally pick one he could afford. At the very end of the last day of the sales he spent his 3000 pound sterling on a very unfancied animal which was shipped back to Ireland for training etc, the horse arrives in Ireland only to find it was lame and needed heaps of money spent on it.( sound familiar?) and the story unfolded from there, vets fees, (damage to us) unreliability issues, green sheeting, qualifying to race etc all the fun, heartbreak, success and failure that went in to his horse,, was documented with a friendly humorous twist that educated us, entertained us and got people interested in the horses again.
Those who have seen the programme will appreciate the similarities to owning a race vehicle and hectors experience. I can see Te Radar being our Hector. What do you all reckon, I hope this will inspire a new line of thought as we dwell on the question of our favourite sport on tele. Little steps will get us there in the end, bit like my stockie. Zitadel
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