US Le Mans coverage a hot mess!

[Boorish Grobian]

This is awesome! The FIA can't figure out why the WEC hasn't taken off in the USA?  The Le Mans coverage started out by being demoted to Fox Sports 2 (which only a fraction of the country gets) because of the screwed up US Open golf schedule, and now, what was the overnight LM coverage on FS2 has been preemted for women's UFC fighting. The trailer on the bottom says to tune into FS-GO for Le Mans coverage? f**k*ng seriously?  If the ACO & FIA want to grow their brand in the US, then put the TV coverage somewhere more than 5% of the population can see it! It's their blue riband event and we need to look for it on Fox Sports Go?
What a f**k*ng joke!
Fax

[Boorish Grobian]

It's 0316 in the morning here in EST, but according to the Fox Sports coverage there is five hours and sixteen minutes left in the race...ha, ha! Real pro's at work here.
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[jimclark]

Grumble, grumble, grumble.... 

[Boorish Grobian]

My three in the morning cabernet fueled rant aside, apparently a lot of US viewers shared my opinion that the Le Mans coverage by Fox was utter garbage.  One of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the race was watched by a whopping 49,000 viewers in the US...
The WEC seriously needs to find a better outlet in the USA, Fox obviously see's it as nothing more than airtime filler, one cut above infomercials.
http://www.racer.com/north-american-racing/item/131089-tv-ratings-le-mans-f1-baku
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[Rhino]

I must say the Radio Le Mans finish was pants. Saying he was slowing for a photo opportunity and he's stopped a lap early had me shouting at the radio.

[Dave H]

John - I ended up watching it on the YouTube live-feed which was pretty decent.  The golf started early cos of rain delays in the week, so Fox thought "where's the money?" for 2 seconds.

[Boorish Grobian]

Hi Dave, totally agree, had they bumped the Open coverage to FS2, they would have been crucified.  Sadly the LM TV ratings are indicative of where sports car racing really is on the U.S. motorsports landscape.  At best the LM coverage drew less than half the viewership of NASCAR's second, and third tier series, racing in a Iowa cornfield, and the NHRA at Bristol respectively.  The actual coverage, when you could find it, I thought was awful.  Varsha, Brian Till, and Tommy Kendall are pros, but the supporting cast was laughable at best, and sometimes unwatchable.  The sight of Justin Bell with his bicycle helmet on made me scramble for the mute button.
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[jimclark]

My three in the morning cabernet fueled rant aside, apparently a lot of US viewers shared my opinion that the Le Mans coverage by Fox was utter garbage.  One of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the race was watched by a whopping 49,000 viewers in the US...
The WEC seriously needs to find a better outlet in the USA, Fox obviously see's it as nothing more than airtime filler, one cut above infomercials.
http://www.racer.com/north-american-racing/item/131089-tv-ratings-le-mans-f1-baku
Fax

John - I ended up watching it on the YouTube live-feed which was pretty decent.  The golf started early cos of rain delays in the week, so Fox thought "where's the money?" for 2 seconds.

Hi Dave, totally agree, had they bumped the Open coverage to FS2, they would have been crucified.  Sadly the LM TV ratings are indicative of where sports car racing really is on the U.S. motorsports landscape.  At best the LM coverage drew less than half the viewership of NASCAR's second, and third tier series, racing in a Iowa cornfield, and the NHRA at Bristol respectively.  The actual coverage, when you could find it, I thought was awful.  Varsha, Brian Till, and Tommy Kendall are pros, but the supporting cast was laughable at best, and sometimes unwatchable.  The sight of Justin Bell with his bicycle helmet on made me scramble for the mute button.
Fax

I know to some (many?) I'm being repetitive, however the reason remains the same, so....

FOX provided us 20 hours of coverage (I did say provided, not gave; FOX is not a charity) and people are b.tching. I turned on FOX1 Sat. morning and what the you know what...golf. I moaned, but also know there's things called contracts so decided to check FOX2 and lo and behold, thank god (small g intentionally), Le Mans.

The number of viewers ain't 'cause of FOX...sorrowfully, the interest in sportscar racing isn't here. Ask any Joe Blow you meet anywhere "Who won Le Mans?" (we know what that means) and you'll end up with a deer in your headlights with a "Huh?". Admit to yourselves, we're a small...nay, tiny... fraction of the population. For that reason, there's little sponsorship $$$ to be had.

No one likes to hear about the past, but when I started following Le Mans (or just about any racing) I hadda wait 2-3 months for the mags to hit the racks so I could read about it.

Cry all you's want. I'm always happy to get as much as I can, as I know how it works. If and when (prolly never) our numbers prove worthy, we'll get what the masses get, not until, no matter what station picks it up. I almost like it like that...I'm part of an elite few. On top of which, what if it weren't FOX. If it were NBC, CBS, ABC there's no way we would get the 20 hours we got. They'd still be pre-empting us (again, contracts) for the stick and ball sports.

19 hours of race coverage, to me, was pretty d.mn good. I'll take that any day. The quality of coverage coulda been better. Also coulda been worse. At least sitting at home, I was "there".

ala Porky Pig, "Th-th-th-th-th, that's all folks".

[Boorish Grobian]

You "hadda" wait three month's?  WTF? Were you getting the mags delivered by horse & buggy?  When I subscribed to Autosport in the late seventies it only took a couple of weeks.
You say Fox gave us 20 hours of coverage?  Your assuming everyone gets FS2, and FS Go.  There are vast numbers of viewers who don't get FS2, we are among the lucky ones who do, albeit its located between the the pay-for-porn channels, and the Home Shopping Network.
In reality, the hardcore fans are going to be able to find the footage come hell or high water, as Dave said, you can go to YouTube if all else fails.  But if your trying to grow the sports car audience here, that that Fox coverage wasn't the way to do it.  I judge that coverage by the yardstick set by SPEED, and before that ESPN.  The Fox sports coverage was piss-poor, low budget by those standards.
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[jimclark]

Easy. R&T and C&D was all I knew about in the early sixties and the issues with the desired race articles did not come out  for 2-3 months. I was turned on to "Autoweek and Competition Press" by a slotcar racing (big in the 60's) buddy in '68which was a godsend as the weekends races were covered worldwide and arrived in the mailbox usually Thursday. At the innaugural Miami GP ('83, IMSA) I discovered "On Track" at their display which was a better alternative to "Autoweek" after it went too commercial and racing was sent to the last few pages.

ESPN and SPEED had nothing on SPEEDVISION but that's another story.

Interest in the sport isn't going to be grown by coverage...especially when there isn't enuff "eyes" to interest big dollar sponsors. 'Why the start got bumped to FOX2.  Golf gets the sponsors that can pay for the contract guaranteeing their priority.

No mas. We shouldna' hijack this thread. PM me if you'd like to continue.