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So, is it NBC sports? Want to know so I can determine whether to subscribe to fox sports racing or the NBC gold app as I wnot give Cleeng any more of my money to watch the crap they put out last year.
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For every activity on social media (posting, commenting, like etc) there is a value you calculate, it also creates other values as chain reaction. It is the same principal as the more (real/active) followers you have, the higher value of your account.
People with more followers creates more buzz. If SX has more activity, it creates more buzz, which in the end attracts sponsors and drives the sport forward.
The fact that you bring up "buying a motorcycle" just shows you completely missed who the TOYOTA ADD was targeted for....
It was a TOYOTA ADD, not a SX/Motorcyle etc etc Add...
Im just guessing now, but we are probably tappt out on getting more riders and associated people into viewing SX (besides the regular fluctuations of geographical representation).
So what is increasing is conversion rate = For every rider/associated person in the industry there is a factor of sports interested persons or average joe that you want to convert into SX, and that is going up.
That is what Feld is addressing with all non-SX core stuff.
If you printed out the comments and did a blind test with individual lines between MXGP, SX, Nationals you would not be able to tell the difference. It is the same type of comments done +- occasional personal differences that happens 2-3 times per night.
My Wife knows I like Ralph and speak with him here and there and I've also shared with her some of the venom he gets, particularly on Vital. So I actually have had her watch a little bit of racing here and there to get her input on things. To get the casual viewer perspective. That way maybe I could offer some suggestions because complaints with no solutions are just futile.
She never really said much bad about Ralph or even Jeff. She did say that she liked the other guys better (I always watch tapes of Art and David) but hey, I agree there. But her observation, as a casual, was that the Twitter stuff is really dumb and that the segments aren't really informative or about racing. She hated the Toyota War thing and found the Makeup to Mud kinda offensive saying it was very stereotypical. Nothing earth shattering here but interesting to see that the choice of features and presentation not only irks the hardcore fans but also comes across amatuer-ish to casual fans. She also said that the College Gameday thing at MXDN was great and asked why they don't do that in SX like most sports do? I said that I wasn't sure but I agreed.
But it is interesting that, just like the MX gaming thing I rant on, that by trying to please everyone you generally please no one.
The guy knows nothing about the sport past 2000 or so, and barely knows anything about the current teams.
He had no idea what Hoosier tires were........after a team had been running them for a Full SX season and half of the MX season.
Ralph could tell you about a dirt track race in Marysville in 1975 when Sammy Swindell won the Sprint car classic 200 on Hoosiers.
Ralph has forgotten more than Blair knows. Anyone from this forum would be better. They have far more knowledge, past and current.
And, you should learn how to add, or learn the difference between an Ad, and Math.
The fact that you bring up "buying a motorcycle" just shows you completely missed who the TOYOTA ADD was targeted for.... It was a TOYOTA ADD, not a SX/Motorcyle etc etc Add.
Btw then, who is Ad or Math? Sorry but dont know them...
(adding: or you have something called auto complete that screw things up from time to time)
WARNING: Long post. Read if you have time. If not, it's cool.
1 Social media numbers are very important in society today but instead of the segment with Juliana showing pics of babies and bikes in living rooms just do the scrolling social comments like Outdoor MX does. Same result but no waste of time and less, well, embarrassing looking to both the hardcore fans and the new fans. Juliana is beautiful but the whole segment is not good.
2 Chill out on the constant images of fans acting like idiots when a camera hits them. Yes, we realize people are having fun but it's not necessary to shove it down our throats and show that "Look, we are having so much fun!!". It, again, comes off looking amateur like You don't see this in other sports except in cuts to commercials and it isn't nearly as emphasized.
3 I like Ralph and think he is a consummate pro. Jeff struggles at times but I, too, like him and am fine and happy with them. However, they need some help. Most sports have an info feeder for lack of a better term. Someone who has stats, info, tidbits who feeds the Tony Romos out there extra information in addition to their already excellent knowledge. Hire someone to do just that. It will help Ralph and Jeff. The old ESPN broadcasts were chock full of info about riders, what they did last week, their history, injury status and other details including good bike info. We don't get a lot of that now. Yes, ESPN was a post production but with someone really in the know feeding Ralph and jeff info it would help. (And yes, Weege would be perfect but again, I don't see them sharing help with MX).
4 Better camera work. Spider cam is cool but a bit overused. I miss the low ground shots of back in the day of ESPN. It was just better.
5 We generally have a female reporter track side. All good. Hopefully we get the intelligent yet still beautiful Kristen Beat to take over for our lovely Jenny. But let her do mechanic interviews in race like they used to do. Yes, this involves cooperation by the teams but this would be nice.
6 I'd like to see the running order moved back to the top of the screen. It's not terrible as it is but with the pics it is rather obtrusive. I could do without the pics but I get what they are trying to do. Bring back more stat and info overlays during the race. It can be brought to you by a sponsor which gets them their time but, most importantly, it adds to the race presentation.
7 Nothing beats Art Eckman and David Bailey. They are THE definitive voices of our sport, in my opinion. Period. With that out of the way, though, I have to say I also love Ralph and Jeff, almost like family as they have been doing this a long time. I think they get piled on unnecessarily but if they do decide to go in another direction I would like to see Todd Harris again. And yes, Weege Weege Weege but I don't see it happening. If it can, then cool. But Todd was excellent. Just please, no Robbie Floyd. Nice guy but just not a fan of his commentating, personally. DB125 would also be good on color as he is really good at this but I do wish he was a bit more informed about the sport prior to him racing in it. He seems a bit un-informed at times on anything pre his race days. Still, he is well spoken, informative and entertaining. And when he is done racing completely, I think the 800 will be a solid choice on color. But again, I'm cool with who we have but if they make changes then those are some suggestions.
8 Implement the College Gameday panel discussion. They could bring in DB, Holley from the RDL show for the night show or use RC or whoever to do the College Gameday feature. Have an occasional guest. Talk more to the fans of the sport. This format is especially needed for the Triple Crown races where there is a lot of dead air.
9 I realize sponsors pay the bills. However, look to the past. Back in the day we had sponsors providing segments but they were better. Honda Stopwatch, Honda Flashback were both great sponsor plugs that also ADDED to the presentation and broadcast and were race related. Happy Toyota is in the sport but man, their segments have sucked the last few years. I want them related to our sport. The War feature...ugh...and Makeup...yeah, mostly offroad riding which is cool but it had like nothing to do with Supercross, whatsoever. Just terrible.
10 Most importantly, treat it like a sport, not a show. Yes, it can be entertaining. Yes, I know Feld owns Disney on Ice. But Supercross fans are hard core and it is a niche sport. You can appeal to casuals by doing a great solid presentation. Do quality, informative and entertaining presentation and you will gain new fans. I'm not even much of a football fan but I love listening to Romo and his insight. Same can be said about Jim Fox on LA Kings hockey (which I do love). The sport of MX and SX has a very nice history. It can be made to entertain without dumbing it down and being disrespectful to it as a sport.
Pit Row
"Oops, the riders are jumping a "triple" better tell people what a triple is again".
Its absolute bullshit. Ralph and Jeff suck balls and never notice something happening on the track while the camera is on it, and they have like 5+ TV screens in front of them with the exact same video feed we watch..
Bring back Art and Bailey. STAT
Ditch Ricky as he is not good with a mic in his hand. Bring in other former pros like Windham, RV, etc more often.
Spend less time on the superficial stuff like makeup2mud, tweets, etc, and give us more time and interviews in the pits. Get behind the scenes. Go talk with mechanics, team managers, go talk with the riders.
I've never seen a sport do less interviewing with the actual performers then any other sport. I'm not talking about the podium interviews which in general are lame. Get more live behind the scenes interviews.
There is so much great content out there. The problem is that it takes a little bit of effort and creativity to go get it.
SX has been stale for over a decade now. Really longer.....the racing, the production, the whole package.
And if you want to improve the "on track racing" then you need to figure out a way to shake up the starts more. To much follow the leader going on.
I've been saying for years now, that you should pay some championship points in the qualifiers, and then for the main event invert the start order. So so many reasons this would hugely improve the on-track racing.
However, just listen to Main Event Moto. Then compare it to the Steve Matthes Show. I enjoy both but I never miss anything Matthes related because he is super smart about the sport, well spoken, funny and just seriously one of the best things about our sport. I like Blair's stuff but nowhere near as much.
Will never happen but I'm just saying.
They are pure GOLD together.
Completely worthless tv time. And no-name people who don't even race. How do all these chicks have brand new shit in every video? And new graphics on every new bike and new gear like a damn pro.
Why highlight women so much? The AMA pulled the Pro Women's Motocross series. Do they feel bad about that all of a sudden?
Bring back women's pro moto! Then you can actually give a shit about women riding. Hypocrites.
Give her better assignments and maybe she would flourish. Maybe she will fall on her face, but we can't judge her on the crap she is given to work with. That's unfair to her.
Now, if ya want to add someone to the production that is really good on the mic and knows what he’s taking about? Mike Alessi is pretty damn impressive.
Post a reply to: Steve's rant of the week on Pulp MX on the SX TV broadcast!