Davey Coombs Interview (Updated with Open Letter)

peltier626
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7/8/2022 9:08am
Maybe just maybe there is too much on one's plate. As they say, "can't see the forest for the trees". There are just too many possibilities and options to have the debacle that occurred with the viewing options available in the year 2022. Sometimes you have stand back and let the experts do their job. Evolve or die a slow death.
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7/8/2022 9:12am
It was a good interview and some hard questions were asked, and I appreciate DC's transparency.

Some MAJOR issues didn't get addressed though.

If you go back to the Pala broadcast and subsequent app and stream crashing issue, you'll see a major portion of the complaints were about the actual broadcast itself. We had commercials in the middle of the motos. We had planned features in the middle of the motos.

We were told maybe that was a mistake and the wrong broadcast was on the app, yet even at Red Budd we still had commercials in the middle of the motos if I remember correctly.

Can we get an answer on that, ML?
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ML512
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7/8/2022 9:12am
i appreciate the candor, and thanks for the interview, ML. My only criticism I've said since the beginning is that he SHOULD have gotten in front...
i appreciate the candor, and thanks for the interview, ML.

My only criticism I've said since the beginning is that he SHOULD have gotten in front of this earlier and publicly. He lost a lot of goodwill with the moto community, regardless if it was justified or not. He shoulda come out after week 1 and at least said SOMETHING about what was going on so that we could have seen that he was working hard to remedy things. Because his silence on everything just let people run rampant with their frustration as well as their confidence with the future of the series in general.

Regardless, that's why I don't run MX Sports and he does.
Having been in his position of being on the wrong side of something business related (albeit on a much smaller case), I can say you're not wrong but it's also hard to come forward without real answers. It's easy to come forward and spew nice words and bandaid things, without really having a solution for what was going on. In a matter of two to three weeks they went from woohoo new service, to holy crap it's a mess, to we've got this, to people being fired and looking for a new partner to move the stream to.

If Davey came out the first week and said it was going to all fixed (as he was told by MAVTV+), when it would've completely fallen apart and he would've had egg on his face and another false answer again.

It sucks we didn't get an answer earlier and it does make people feel like they've been lied to and deceived, but it would've truly made the community feel like they've been lied to and deceived to just come out make feel good statements, then have it all implode again.

Also, modern day media (social media, professional, etc) in general perplexes me. People are willing to say some nasty shit towards you without really knowing what's going on. I was raised to be fairly respectful in the way I speak to others and I'd expect if someone has something bad to say, they'd say it to my face. However, it seems like nowadays people are just willing to say things that would get their teeth knocked out in person but are okay with it because of the safety their keyboards or phones have gifted them.

I've been personally sent death threats, people finding my address out and sending it to me saying they know where I live and they're coming to get me, to being called a Liberal piece of shit and I should burn in hell...over something that was business related and has nothing to do with politics. And I'm conservative to top it! I can only imagine what's been sent to DC in the past few weeks, its got to be that times ten. Criticism is deserved for how this whole thing has gone over but trying to destroy someone's life over it is beyond going too far.
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Kyle978
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7/8/2022 9:13am
If I was Davey, I'd tell everyone on Vital to suck it.
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The Shop

captmoto
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7/8/2022 9:16am
I miss the old days when we could get all our results from 1-900-INF-MOTO.
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cloverdale
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7/8/2022 9:28am
captmoto wrote:
I miss the old days when we could get all our results from 1-900-INF-MOTO.
You win! This is the perfect response...ha!
mxracer816
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7/8/2022 9:33am
captmoto wrote:
I miss the old days when we could get all our results from 1-900-INF-MOTO.
Oh what I'd give to go back to those "good old days"! Life was way easier back then. No social media to eff everything up. Unfortunately the snowball started a long time ago, where it stops no one knows!
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Mit12
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7/8/2022 9:38am
Got to give it up to Davey for his efforts. I do believe that he is trying to do whats best for the sport. I do not agree with streaming but it is not my business it is Davey’s business. I am glad that MAVTV is still covering the races on cable and DirecTV.
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Magoofan
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Shadow Glen (for those who remember), CA US
7/8/2022 9:55am Edited Date/Time 7/8/2022 9:57am
Watched the interview last night and have had some time to think about it.

First off....Thank you Michael and Davey for taking the time....it was a very good interview that shed light on a lot of things the "average joe" doesn't see behind the scenes. .

Like others, It would have gone a long way with the pitchfork masses (myself included) if he stepped in earlier to say something about the mess . I understand that is difficult to do without all the answers....but still. We were left hanging. Support from MavTV to cancel or for issues was non-existent and we were 4 weeks in before a bandaid solution was discussed.

I totally disagree with him about production. There are issues across the board in SX and MX. The worst one being: How is it we are forever missing key passes? There are so many other issues we all know too well.

Don't know DC....but he seems like a genuine guy and his love for the sport is undeniable. Can't really lay all the blame on him if it's true that MAV severely underestimated (and were denied numbers) the bandwidth required.

I'm over it. ....but I won't be signing up for Flo. I'll watch YT or just highlights and hope next year is better.

I will continue to be vocal about a few things.

1. NO commercials during the actual racing
2. NO replays of the "holeshot" or last weeks race footage, or crashes that supercede the live racing action.
3. NO pre-recorded segments/interviews whatever during the racing.
4. Trackside commentators during the race: limit the blathering
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FreshTopEnd
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7/8/2022 10:00am
Folks on the "should have gotten out front camp" should maybe take into account that often it is not wise get out ahead of the resolution when two parties to a contract are trying to resolve one party's performance issues short of going into full breach mode.
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jeffro503
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7/8/2022 10:01am
I haven't read through the entire thread here , but as far as the interview goes , I thought it was great. ML pretty much asked everything ( plus some more ) and DC answered the best he could. What's done is done , and I see it being a lot better and more figured out this next season. I know DC is probably working his fingers to the bone to make that happen , and that is about all we can ask for.

On a side note : The audience was so big for this sport , that they didn't have the bandwidth to accommodate it......which is actually good news , knowing that more people watch this sport than what was expected. I think next year they will be a lot better prepared.
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c3011
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7/8/2022 10:01am
Is the app Flosports or Floracing? Thanks!
plowboy
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7/8/2022 10:07am
As most of you know, there is no way to please 100% of the people. If the coverage was flawless, with no commercials, and even free...folks would bitch about the announcers, the track, ugly graphics and gear, Roger, Barcia....anything and everything.

If you attend a national...do you go home thinking, "That sucked... dusty, dirty, loud, hot, crowded"...or do you just accept that in order to see just how fast a human can ride a dirt bike...those things are part of it?

I ain't saying that we should have to pay money to get screwed...but I'm pretty sure DC was getting screwed along with everyone else...while being bombarded with hate from many. Cheerful
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7/8/2022 10:15am
Folks on the "should have gotten out front camp" should maybe take into account that often it is not wise get out ahead of the resolution...
Folks on the "should have gotten out front camp" should maybe take into account that often it is not wise get out ahead of the resolution when two parties to a contract are trying to resolve one party's performance issues short of going into full breach mode.
Got to love the down vote on the post about legal obligations from the lawyer. This place is worse than high school sometimes.

I also think he should have said something earlier, but that's a pretty naive thing to want considering what info he did or didn't have.
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MyBobbym
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7/8/2022 10:22am
Bitch meet moan, fuck you guys are worse than a bunch of granny's playing bridge. Get a grip on yer selves for christ sakes.

Good job ML and DC.
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Johnny Ringo
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7/8/2022 10:26am Edited Date/Time 7/8/2022 10:26am
What is everyone’s thoughts on a tape delay for nationals? What if we had them aired Sunday? Four hour program cut down to two on TV, track previews not during racing, etc. my personally I can’t watch all 12 live because I’m busy in the summer. Air them at 9AM Sunday morning in a nice and tight package. Is that a step backwards? From 2018? maybe…from 2022? I’m not so sure

Like DC mentioned in the interview sponsors didn’t want a tape delay so maybe it isn’t an option.
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jambalaya
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7/8/2022 10:30am
To be fair to him, how poorly mavtv is performing is not his fault.

However, it was his decision to go with mav tv
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tingo
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7/8/2022 10:38am
Props to DC for taking it on the chin. Shit happens and sometimes it is messier than you expect. He owned it and continues to work to fix it. If everyone in the world handled themselves like this we'd be in a better place.
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davis224
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7/8/2022 10:38am
i appreciate the candor, and thanks for the interview, ML. My only criticism I've said since the beginning is that he SHOULD have gotten in front...
i appreciate the candor, and thanks for the interview, ML.

My only criticism I've said since the beginning is that he SHOULD have gotten in front of this earlier and publicly. He lost a lot of goodwill with the moto community, regardless if it was justified or not. He shoulda come out after week 1 and at least said SOMETHING about what was going on so that we could have seen that he was working hard to remedy things. Because his silence on everything just let people run rampant with their frustration as well as their confidence with the future of the series in general.

Regardless, that's why I don't run MX Sports and he does.
ML512 wrote:
Having been in his position of being on the wrong side of something business related (albeit on a much smaller case), I can say you're not...
Having been in his position of being on the wrong side of something business related (albeit on a much smaller case), I can say you're not wrong but it's also hard to come forward without real answers. It's easy to come forward and spew nice words and bandaid things, without really having a solution for what was going on. In a matter of two to three weeks they went from woohoo new service, to holy crap it's a mess, to we've got this, to people being fired and looking for a new partner to move the stream to.

If Davey came out the first week and said it was going to all fixed (as he was told by MAVTV+), when it would've completely fallen apart and he would've had egg on his face and another false answer again.

It sucks we didn't get an answer earlier and it does make people feel like they've been lied to and deceived, but it would've truly made the community feel like they've been lied to and deceived to just come out make feel good statements, then have it all implode again.

Also, modern day media (social media, professional, etc) in general perplexes me. People are willing to say some nasty shit towards you without really knowing what's going on. I was raised to be fairly respectful in the way I speak to others and I'd expect if someone has something bad to say, they'd say it to my face. However, it seems like nowadays people are just willing to say things that would get their teeth knocked out in person but are okay with it because of the safety their keyboards or phones have gifted them.

I've been personally sent death threats, people finding my address out and sending it to me saying they know where I live and they're coming to get me, to being called a Liberal piece of shit and I should burn in hell...over something that was business related and has nothing to do with politics. And I'm conservative to top it! I can only imagine what's been sent to DC in the past few weeks, its got to be that times ten. Criticism is deserved for how this whole thing has gone over but trying to destroy someone's life over it is beyond going too far.
This is why downvotes should stay anonymous. The small percentage of people who are willing to go that far over a disagreement on the internet.
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J. Sloan
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7/8/2022 10:54am
Kyle978 wrote:
If I was Davey, I'd tell everyone on Vital to suck it.
I’ve done it for him. The loser brigade can suck it.
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DC
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7/8/2022 10:54am
tingo wrote:
Props to DC for taking it on the chin. Shit happens and sometimes it is messier than you expect. He owned it and continues to work...
Props to DC for taking it on the chin. Shit happens and sometimes it is messier than you expect. He owned it and continues to work to fix it. If everyone in the world handled themselves like this we'd be in a better place.
Thank you guys, been a rough six weeks. And thanks Michael for reaching out (many times) and giving me a chance to explain and apologize.

See you at the races.

DC
Racer X

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AJR103
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7/8/2022 10:55am
tingo wrote:
Props to DC for taking it on the chin. Shit happens and sometimes it is messier than you expect. He owned it and continues to work...
Props to DC for taking it on the chin. Shit happens and sometimes it is messier than you expect. He owned it and continues to work to fix it. If everyone in the world handled themselves like this we'd be in a better place.
DC wrote:
Thank you guys, been a rough six weeks. And thanks Michael for reaching out (many times) and giving me a chance to explain and apologize. See...
Thank you guys, been a rough six weeks. And thanks Michael for reaching out (many times) and giving me a chance to explain and apologize.

See you at the races.

DC
Racer X

You the man!!!
Spooner
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7/8/2022 11:17am
We are lucky to have DC running the show. The guy is moto to the core and puts an insane amount of effort into trying to make all of us knuckleheads happy. Yeah it went a little sideways but he's making changes and he is being transparent with us.

Thanks DC, there are a LOT of us that truly appreciate the work you put in.
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7/8/2022 11:40am
What is everyone’s thoughts on a tape delay for nationals? What if we had them aired Sunday? Four hour program cut down to two on TV...
What is everyone’s thoughts on a tape delay for nationals? What if we had them aired Sunday? Four hour program cut down to two on TV, track previews not during racing, etc. my personally I can’t watch all 12 live because I’m busy in the summer. Air them at 9AM Sunday morning in a nice and tight package. Is that a step backwards? From 2018? maybe…from 2022? I’m not so sure

Like DC mentioned in the interview sponsors didn’t want a tape delay so maybe it isn’t an option.
What if we had the nationals run on Sundays again like they should be Cool Moving the nationals to Saturdays was the first mistake and they have gone down hill from there. Motorcycle shops are all open on Saturdays and that screwed the people who make the sport work because most cant attend the local national. Unfortunately the Nationals are in jeopardy as it is so maybe DC should take a step back to the roots of the sport and try to get back to the core of the sport, yes we know that the teams wanted to switch to Saturdays but it was at the expense of the fans. Same thing when Honda quit making 2 strokes, DC didnt want to penalize Honda because they quit making 2 strokes, it was their choice so why not think about the manufactures who still make 2 strokes. DC has done alot of great things too but maybe its time to go another direction before its too late.
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plowboy
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7/8/2022 11:44am
Glad to see you back in the Vital trenches DC. It'll be ok in the end....and if it's not ok...it's not the end. Wear your hat and sunscreen...duck the roostWink
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ACBraap
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Fantasy
7/8/2022 11:46am
This debacle is making it very easy to become a SX only fan. What a colossal step backwards for MX.
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Muddy Ice
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Bend, OR US
7/8/2022 12:02pm
SUPER STOKED on DC!
Great information!
Many thanks to him and his team!

Long live USA MX and looking forward to good streaming. This year and in the future. Now I understand that $30/ month for a month of SX or MX on the inter web is quite reasonable. Especially since I realized that I happily pay $70/ UFC fight on $60/ year ESPN2.

Cheers all and happy our sport is in good hands!

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yak651
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Appleton, WI US
Fantasy
7/8/2022 12:30pm
What is everyone’s thoughts on a tape delay for nationals? What if we had them aired Sunday? Four hour program cut down to two on TV...
What is everyone’s thoughts on a tape delay for nationals? What if we had them aired Sunday? Four hour program cut down to two on TV, track previews not during racing, etc. my personally I can’t watch all 12 live because I’m busy in the summer. Air them at 9AM Sunday morning in a nice and tight package. Is that a step backwards? From 2018? maybe…from 2022? I’m not so sure

Like DC mentioned in the interview sponsors didn’t want a tape delay so maybe it isn’t an option.
This isn’t a bad idea, but broadcast it Saturday night. Most of us are out riding or other activities Saturday afternoon, so not too difficult to not check social if you really want to have your viewing experience be a surprise. Waiting until Sunday is too long. As long as there is a streaming option to watch live this is an ideal solution IMO
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swe292
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Hartwell, GA US
7/8/2022 12:35pm
Who even has cable anymore? Just have a basic streaming package available worldwide and watch the money flow in. Should appease all the sponsors if they have their own in-house analytics, although they’d have to fork out quite a bit if money to get started…
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500 Mike
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7/8/2022 12:39pm
Just finished watching the entire video and appreciate Davey taking the time to do the interview with ML512. I feel like I know DC since I have raced at his families tracks since the early 70's (Appalachia Lake/Highlands, HP and Steel City) but I really don't. I grew up in District 5 and appreciate what he and his family have done for MX.... pro and amateur. I feel for him and what he's been through the past 6 weeks or so. Absolutely no fun.

Lot's of insight in there as to what really went on. He trusted some folks to take care of business and it didn't happen, sad to say. I'm sure lessons learned and will do better in the future. I found his comment about not having experience in recovering from problems (my words, not his) very interesting. He has always over delivered and was brought up that that is how you do business. Excellent and agree whole heartedly. My observation would be to try and get out ahead of the situation earlier next time as many have mentioned. Even though you don't have all the answers at that point, merely state We know we've got a problem, not quite sure how bad it is yet but we are working diligently to fix it. Hang in there with us, we'll keep you updated and then follow through with timely updates until a solution is found. This is how major companies do it. We've all seen it on TV. Easier said than done though.

Another point might be to bring someone on staff that has experience with getting these streaming deals worked out and administered. MX Sports has a lot of experience in promoting and running races but this deal is a bit out of their wheelhouse as DC admitted. It's easy for us Vitards to Monday morning QB this thing when we are not in the trenches and our necks aren't on the line though so throw this advice in the trash if you see fit.

DC.... keep after it. Keep improving. Mistakes will be made but it's how you recover from them is what tells the tale. Hang in there and don't let "the mob" here get you down Smile
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