May 21, 2009
By Brian Watkins
Brian Watkins
|
Last week I wrote about NASCAR's investigation into why TV ratings are down consistently this season. Many reasons have been offered to me by readers and many solutions were offered as well. Almost all readers cited commercials as the least desirable part of the broadcast, followed closely by the pre-race show. My guess would be that it's a combination of the two.
Folks tune in to watch the race, only to be bored to death by endless banter of hosts who seem just as bored to be there as we are to watch it. So bored are we in fact that often viewers will start channel surfing while waiting for the race to start. Once they start surfing, there's a good chance they won't come back. Heck, I'd rather get caught up in reruns of Matlock or 'Murder, She Wrote' than suffer through the pre-race broadcast.
If NASCAR wants to up viewership, kill the pre-race show and make a big deal of letting the fans know about it. Have a media blitz that lets both the dedicated and finge fans know that you hear 'em, and pre-race is done. Drive the folks who want to hear all the ins-and-outs of the past week, to SPEED, who somehow have figured out the way to do an interesting and informative pre-and-post-race show, and have the broadcast of the race either start with the National Anthem or "Gentlemen, start your engines!".
Better do it with the fire engines command because I'm getting tired of seeing a handful of drivers and crew members picking their noses or scratching their butts during the Star Spangled Banner. Yes I understand they hear it every weekend, sometimes two and three times, but it's still our National Anthem -- show some respect boys.
Much more hubbub prior to the green flag dropping is gravy -- and not good homemade gravy, but cold nasty canned gravy. And before I forget, advertise the public execution of Digger during an upcoming race -- you'll be sure to get record ratings.
Readers also were unanimous in their dislike of commercials during the race. They know they have to be there, but no matter where you put them, aside from a long red flag break, they're preventing the fans from seeing part of the race. The other thing about the commercials that fans were unanimous about was that they don't watch them. They either DVR the race and skip through them, record it on a VCR and fast forward or find something else to do until someone shouts "Hey, the race is back on!!"
Integrating advertisements into the broadcast whether by split screen or on screen graphics, would go a long way toward making the viewing experience more fluid. Advertisers have to know that most fans aren't going to watch the ads, especially the third and fourth time they air during an event -- so why spend money making funny or interesting ads. Have the booth announcers do the ads the way the old TV hosts did in the 50's. DW can spout off about how great it is to eat stuffed crust pizza at Pizza Hut and how tasty their new pasta is and DJ can let us know the value of buying a Dodge (get 'em while they last!).
Something else that would help the fan/NASCAR relationship a bit, hey, A LOT is transparency.
NASCAR needs to open the blinds and let some sun shine on the inner workings of the sport. I don't mean let fans go into the garage or hang out in the pit stalls or even sit in on driver/crew chief meetings. I'm talking about publishing the rule book. I'm talking about adding some clarity to the often subjective rules like section 12-4-A "actions detrimental to stock car racing"; and I'm certainly talking about posting their list of illegal substances and publishing who came up hot for what.
Nothing makes NASCAR harder to enjoy than the times when you're reminded that NASCAR seems as much kingdom as sport or when some ruling or another makes NASCAR look as much like the WWE as it does a legitimate sport. The "we're not going to tell you because we don't have to" reasoning only goes so far. Explaining away the lack of information about a drivers suspension due to a positive drug test because of "privacy concerns" is bunk, especially after you send out press releases, stating in no uncertain terms that said driver is a no good druggie that can't even be listed as an owner. If you're certain enough that they were using, then step up and say so.
NASCAR loves to say that the fans are the heart of the sport, that without the fans NASCAR wouldn't exist, so act like you mean it.
Give us the benefit of the doubt and lay the cards on the table. Let us bicker to each other about whether we think this rule or that makes sense. Let us armchair quarterback the rule book as it's enforced during the race and let us decide for ourselves if we think a driver is a nogoodnik or not, based on clear facts, not on murky reports lacking hard information. Mayfield might be every bit the drug abuser NASCAR wants us to believe him to be, but their handling of the situation makes many of us think that he's a regular guy getting' screwed over in which case everybody involved loses, including the fans.
So throw open the shutters, NASCAR, and let a little light in. Turn the page and start a new era of transparency. Hey, you guys could even promote it on the air during a race.... "NASCAR: A New Era of Transparency sponsored by Saran Wrap" You cater to the fans AND need one less commercial all at once.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Brian Watkins at ..
