Not enough motor racing or people don't care?
Discussion
Kraken said:
pablo said:
Aside from F1, who wants to watch amateurs racing ?
Eh? What does that refer to?Teddy Lop said:
pablo said:
HustleRussell said:
As a millennial, I need to ask if motorsport was ever mainstream enough that you could walk into a bar when a race was on and have half a chance of the TV being tuned in?
I thought Motorsport has always been viewed as a sport for the few, losing out to the ‘Everyman’ ball sports, apart from some rare occasions when a character transcends the sport and excited the wider public- Hunt, Sheene etc etc...
It’s never been that mainstream and I’ve never walked into a bar and seen motor racing on. If it’s September-May, it’s football or rugby. If it’s summer, it’s cricket, horse racing or sports news programmes. Even with a GP on consecutive weekends, most football teams will have played twice if not three times in the same period so it will always only be afforded minor coverage. I thought Motorsport has always been viewed as a sport for the few, losing out to the ‘Everyman’ ball sports, apart from some rare occasions when a character transcends the sport and excited the wider public- Hunt, Sheene etc etc...
Aside from F1, who wants to watch amateurs racing ?
Recently I bought a new TV and now have something called Samsung Plus and another hundred or so free to air channels. One of which is “Extreme Motorsport”.... I’ve flicked it on a few times and every time it’s been the VW Beetle Fun Cup which is probably ace fun to compete in but dull as f
k to watch.... So as much as there is more racing on tv, albeit subscription only, it’s not great viewing. Luckily there is loads of free stuff including Le Mans on YouTube etc.
Watching TV in a bar? Those were the days...
Motorsport has never been the default, but bars tend to be happy sticking it on so long as the default football or rugby isn't on.
Two years back I landed up out for a few beers with some mates on the le mans weekend, delighted wandering into a few bars and already finding them showing it!
Motorsport has never been the default, but bars tend to be happy sticking it on so long as the default football or rugby isn't on.
Two years back I landed up out for a few beers with some mates on the le mans weekend, delighted wandering into a few bars and already finding them showing it!
I don't think there's enough interest. Albeit anecdotal, a lot of petrolheads I know don't bother watching any motorsport.
I remember a few years back there used to be Motors TV which was good for some racing series. I think it turned into motorsport.tv - the last time I checked, they have a lot of content but it seems a bit... haphazard to say the least.
Last year I watched all of F1 (on a mix of Sky and C4), all of BTCC (ITV2/4), and a bit of WorldRX (on YouTube). I would watch a lot more motorsport series if they were more easily accessible and not spanning across numerous apps / subscriptions / devices. I don't mind motorsports being behind paywalls but the costs can be enormous if you wanted to subscribe to a lot of them individually. I'd happily pay for a subscription at say £50 a month if I could get a majority of motorsports in one place.
I remember a few years back there used to be Motors TV which was good for some racing series. I think it turned into motorsport.tv - the last time I checked, they have a lot of content but it seems a bit... haphazard to say the least.
Last year I watched all of F1 (on a mix of Sky and C4), all of BTCC (ITV2/4), and a bit of WorldRX (on YouTube). I would watch a lot more motorsport series if they were more easily accessible and not spanning across numerous apps / subscriptions / devices. I don't mind motorsports being behind paywalls but the costs can be enormous if you wanted to subscribe to a lot of them individually. I'd happily pay for a subscription at say £50 a month if I could get a majority of motorsports in one place.
Agreed Dave
But you cannot really blame the tv companies, they are competing for time, it is the rights holders that make these decisions, in every sport.
So many sports have been on loads of channels, I think WRC has been on just about channel it could be on, F1 has been on a few and MotoGp etc all been on numerous channels, why? Because only a core of people ever watch this stuff regularly, it might go up and down a bit, but long term the viewership is poor. hence you get a stable but non growing fanbase. Tv people want growth not stability when they are paying for a sports service.
This means rights holders can lie about their numbers and do PR on it all to sell it to weak minded tv people who don't do their research, and sell it on after 3 years when they realise it was a waste of money. a la WRC.
The answer is simple, don't pay for it where you can, it will eventually come full circle and be free to air or on a cheaper deal online. Or the series will die as the rights holders were too greedy.
But you cannot really blame the tv companies, they are competing for time, it is the rights holders that make these decisions, in every sport.
So many sports have been on loads of channels, I think WRC has been on just about channel it could be on, F1 has been on a few and MotoGp etc all been on numerous channels, why? Because only a core of people ever watch this stuff regularly, it might go up and down a bit, but long term the viewership is poor. hence you get a stable but non growing fanbase. Tv people want growth not stability when they are paying for a sports service.
This means rights holders can lie about their numbers and do PR on it all to sell it to weak minded tv people who don't do their research, and sell it on after 3 years when they realise it was a waste of money. a la WRC.
The answer is simple, don't pay for it where you can, it will eventually come full circle and be free to air or on a cheaper deal online. Or the series will die as the rights holders were too greedy.
LukeBrown66 said:
Agreed Dave
This means rights holders can lie about their numbers and do PR on it all to sell it to weak minded tv people who don't do their research, and sell it on after 3 years when they realise it was a waste of money. a la WRC.
Absolutely!! The WRC has had 20 years of nomadic existence on TV; it's now 20 years since the highlights had a stable home on the BBC. Since then it's gone around Ch4, ITV, ITV4, Dave, ITV4, Ch4 and now Five.....This means rights holders can lie about their numbers and do PR on it all to sell it to weak minded tv people who don't do their research, and sell it on after 3 years when they realise it was a waste of money. a la WRC.
When Ch4 got the highlights deal to great fanfare in 2002, we were promised a new dawn; if I remember rightly, BBC Sport weren't impressed with how they were treated and vowed never to show WRC again.
There is a reason for this channel swapping; viewing figures aren't great, despite the figures they (WRC) like to put out.
As for motorsport as a whole, well to your average man (and Sports Editor) , it means F1 & Lewis Hamilton. I don't think it has always been like this.
pablo said:
Kraken said:
pablo said:
Aside from F1, who wants to watch amateurs racing ?
Eh? What does that refer to?(There’s loads out there- CTCRC have had their whole season covered on Freesports, for example. I’d quite happily sit and argue with anyone that watching two V8 supercars amongst a host of fast Fords and 500+hp shed builds battling it out for the win in the Thunder Saloons race at Silverstone this year was as entertaining as watching any bar the most frenetic professional motorsport).
Couldn't agree more- I was a sort of writer in residence for CSCC for a couple of years and they offered huge grids, massively diverse cars and very close racing . As for 'amateurs ' , that is such a silly charge - the bedrock of all motorsport has been people who do it for fun, amongst whose ranks are many very quick drivers. And so what if somebody isn't a pro in the making - a tiny, tiny number of racing drivers are pros . And ironically , 'names ' from the sports hierarchy are far from uncommon in CSCC grids - each one I've spoken to has been enjoying themselves , and there for their love of the sport .
If we are just talking about 'terrestrial tv' then most sports have less coverage than in the past. There's no day-long Grandstand or World of Sport on any more. You can, of course, watch other people watch football on 'Final Score' for the afternoon instead.
There's more than enough motorsport content if you search it out on obscure channels or online - but often it is hard to find even when you know there is a race taking place let alone just stumbling across it.
It is definitely getting more of a niche product, there was a time when half the F1 grid were household names, these days there are actual teams I didn't know existed.
There's more than enough motorsport content if you search it out on obscure channels or online - but often it is hard to find even when you know there is a race taking place let alone just stumbling across it.
It is definitely getting more of a niche product, there was a time when half the F1 grid were household names, these days there are actual teams I didn't know existed.
There was also a time before that when hardly anybody had heard of any racing driver apart from Moss , Hill and Clark . That era ended in the late Seventies, when all Grands Prix were televised . Beginning of the end really - far better in some ways than the current era , when some ill educated oik will insist on sharing his views on Hamilton's knighthood, despite said oik not having a bloody clue about the sport e , nor having ever been anywhere near a race circuit.
Do think there is a slight decline for sure but I wouldn't say it has ever been huge on TV etc. Suppose it is so niche and bloody expensive it puts a lot of people off. I used to go to Alton Park all the time as a kid and can remember the first time I watched cars racing live. Amazing and wish more people would feel that experience. Nothing more exciting than that sound.
Zander69 said:
Do think there is a slight decline for sure but I wouldn't say it has ever been huge on TV etc. Suppose it is so niche and bloody expensive it puts a lot of people off. I used to go to Alton Park all the time as a kid and can remember the first time I watched cars racing live. Amazing and wish more people would feel that experience. Nothing more exciting than that sound.
Expensive? I get a great day out at drag racing , autograss (bonkers, and seriously quick ) or speed hillclimbs for a tenner ... coppice said:
Expensive? I get a great day out at drag racing , autograss (bonkers, and seriously quick ) or speed hillclimbs for a tenner ...
Club racing at Oulton is only 12-15 quid on a normal weekend. The only 3 races that are more than that are BSB, BTCC and British GT's. And even the GT's are around 20 quid Indeed. As above, with tickets at around £20 per day or £30-40 for a weekend it is good value especially when you would pay £15-40 pounds to watch a 90 minute football match or a tenner for a 100 minute film at the cinema.
A couple of years ago I turned up a Curborough to watch a sprint and happily found out it was free. Treated myself to a bacon sandwich from the catering shed to celebrate
A couple of years ago I turned up a Curborough to watch a sprint and happily found out it was free. Treated myself to a bacon sandwich from the catering shed to celebrate
Speaking not that cynically, children are told today that car=bad, and it’s all climate change stuff, and motorsport is seen as a load of gammons who need to “get with the program”. I don’t see the interest in it from 25 year olds compared to when I was 25, 30- years ago.
I think more people would go to motor sport if they knew the actual cost. It’s really not that much. £10-15/adult and under 15 kids go free at most circuits. £20-30 for a family of 4, a full day’s entertainment. Take your own food/drinks etc.… and it’s a cheap day out. BTCC, DTM et al, maybe a different story.
As most here will know, there was a British F3/GT meeting scheduled at Donington Park which didn’t happen because of circuit alterations. It was later held at Silverstone in mid-June, and some kind souls decided it would be a free gate. Everyone told everyone else, the weather was great, so 23,000 came through the gate, usually about 4,000 tops. The place was heaving.
All the competitors, especially the clubby racers in the “lower formula” thought it was magic that a decent crowd was seen all the way round. The ice cream van near the scrutineering bay sold out early and went home… the shops sold out, bar nearly went dry etc… they should do this once every year.
I think more people would go to motor sport if they knew the actual cost. It’s really not that much. £10-15/adult and under 15 kids go free at most circuits. £20-30 for a family of 4, a full day’s entertainment. Take your own food/drinks etc.… and it’s a cheap day out. BTCC, DTM et al, maybe a different story.
As most here will know, there was a British F3/GT meeting scheduled at Donington Park which didn’t happen because of circuit alterations. It was later held at Silverstone in mid-June, and some kind souls decided it would be a free gate. Everyone told everyone else, the weather was great, so 23,000 came through the gate, usually about 4,000 tops. The place was heaving.
All the competitors, especially the clubby racers in the “lower formula” thought it was magic that a decent crowd was seen all the way round. The ice cream van near the scrutineering bay sold out early and went home… the shops sold out, bar nearly went dry etc… they should do this once every year.
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