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But TV for me is way more reliable and the way i prefer to watch - it simply works.
Only 21,600 attended? WOW.
TOSTE
I prefer the MX-Life subscription/PPV format. I know all the arguments against it, and it may not be perfect, but it is a lot less commercialized, and can be watched at any time, at any place that has an internet connection
Clearly network coverage isn't important to us.
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Sponsors look at impressions. The more impressions, the more attractive the sport or other activity is to a sponsor. Network TV just draws more numbers. Some cable/sat channels draw more than others. TV racks up far more impressions than live attendance and print media. The internet is starting to gain more traction in those calculations.
There are companies in motorsports (and other activities) that track the number of times a sponsor logo is seen and those figures, right or wrong, drive marketing decisions.
It matters to a teams trying to get sponsors, to a manufacturer deciding how much to support participation in a sport, and to the rider who wants to get a ride. It also matters to an event trying to get sponsorship. That is why bodies like NASCAR bought their own time when they got started and resold ads on the secondary market...and why MX is doing the same now.
The data shows that less than 100k are hard core fans, a base that can also erode since the coverages are a burden to watch.
Regarding the 300k extra viewers, we must precise that it could be just the beginning of an audience based on a program that is not yet fully complete, MX races are not made for live TV coverage so far, in comparison to supercross. In other words, this audience can increase if everything is made towards that direction.
Now the 300k extra viewers are potential customers, and even though 2 to 5% finally buy a bike, it would still do a 6 to 15% market increase. That what the sport needs each year
Look at golf. There probably isn't a less defensible activity out there in terms of waste and negative environmental impact, but a shitload of people play it (including many people in high places) so every podunk town in the country has at least one golf course.
I don't think there is a pro sport to watch on an internet feed without the TV foundation there to bring in team support.
The Saturday live airings of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship motocross races have emerged this month as an incredible complement to the UFC programming. On June 9, the FMF High Point National, the fourth stop of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, drew 214,000 total viewers and 105,000 men 18-49, ranking as the network’s second most-watched program ever and third in the target demographic. The following race on Saturday, June 16 was the network’s tenth most-viewed program ever with 141,000 total viewers.
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/06/28/fuel-tvs-ratings-bloom-in-j…
sucks to see the numbers drop to 29,000 this year when they were much higher last year at 214,000 and 141.000
Pit Row
I only brought up golf because it's a good example of people abandoning their so-called "principles" if there is sufficient demand ($) to push something through anyway. There are other examples of it too. Sometimes it even works the other way. People have been trying for decades to shut down the heavily used Oceano Dunes SVRA here in Central California. The local communities won't have it. They know who butters their bread...and it isn't the birdwatchers. If we had more cases like that on our side throughout the whole country, then maybe we would be getting somewhere. That's what I meant by strength in numbers.
As for TV, I do love being able to keep up these days. Compared to waiting by the mailbox for Cycle News, well, it isn't comparable......But, as a participant, I think it was better before the TV money was a priority. I'm thankful that my pro racing days were in the 80's. I am aware however, of the rose colored glasses many of us look through especially when we look at our pasts. And because of this there will never be a fair answer to the question.
Now as far as our sport becoming more popular: I went to my first SX this year since 1998. And I liked going alot better in the 90's than now. I do not go seeking autographs, I wanna see the bikes and talk to the mechanics. In the 90's I spent alot of time with Skip Norfolk when I went to the races, this year I could not even get a close up look at the bikes for the autograph line! Way to many people for my taste at a SX race now, but I am a small crowd type of guy. Used to be when I would go to the mall and I seen a No Fear, Fox, Thor, or other moto related cloths you knew the person rode. You could go up and talk Moto with them. Since the late 90's you can not depend on that. I walked up to a guy once in a Fox T shirt and said did you see that ride by McGrath and he asked with a dumb look on his face "who is McGrath". Knew then the sport was changing.
I have no desire to get in a pissing match about this but I can assure you that you are sorely mistaken.
The honest truth is that for these issues to improve, the sport needs greater exposure which will result in more money in the industry. The best vehicle to accomplish this is television. Frankly, I see television and greater exposure as a necessary vehicle to resolve the other issues that plague us. Yeah it is going to change the face of SX/MX, we are going to have to put up with banners blocking views, tracks that are TV friendly, stupid commercials in the middle of heated battles on the track & even some T&A reporter that knows nothing about the sport describing things to us. Yet for things to progress, this is probably the way it is going to have to be.
Alternatively, we could go "old school", see racing out of box vans and watch the events on Wide World of Sports months later when the results are rather meaningless. If we want the benefits of greater exposure, it is impossible to pick and choose the things that come along with it.
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