[media-credit name=”NASCAR on TNT” align=”alignright” width=”300″]
[/media-credit]During Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma, the tweets were being submitted left and right concerning America’s number one motorsport.
In an age of social media, this has become the norm – fans, team members and media can all voice their opinions and get their word out and communicate with others who share the same passion they do during a NASCAR race.
Tweets typically vary around the actual racing, how one’s favorite driver is doing, how the race is unfolding and anything else a NASCAR fan can think of.
This past Sunday, the tweets were abundantly concerning not the on track racing product, but what delivers it.
With TNT covering the race for all the television viewers – as is the case for six Sprint Cup Series races each summer – fans and media slowly began to focus on the components of the telecast. As the race progressed, this focus became a main topic in the NASCAR Twitter world.
With long green flag runs, TNT found themselves in a sticky situation. With few cautions comes few breaks in the racing, meaning the order of commercials TNT had in store were forced to be used under green flag conditions.
NASCAR fans have always been accustomed to these commercial breaks, but the timing and the amount of commercials Sunday seemed to lead to a boiling point among many fans.
With the racing already questionable at the time among many, TNT seemed to have left many fans in the dark. With a pattern of only minutes of race coverage followed by minutes of commercials, fans were left out of the loop much of the day.
While some had the courtesy of social media and RaceBuddy to update them on the development of the race, others did not. Many fans were left in the dark, unaware of major details of the race that were only partly touched upon or never discussed at all.
Would these details have been brought to light if TNT wasn’t away promoting 5 Hour Energy and “The Great Escape?” Perhaps we will never know for sure, but it certainly does not help the fan in these situations.
In fact, the commercial aspect is just scratching the surface with this ongoing issue.
For years now, fans have always complained about the TV coverage that NASCAR has received. Whether it is with a lack of wide shots, a booth that lacks the excitement and the order to produce a good product or simply the post-race shows or lack thereof, fans have always connected to discuss these debatable issues through social media, blogs and other forms of communication through the internet.
While there are always those who have complained about TV, there have been many that have supported the TV partners and their coverage. In their defense, the past years have brought many unique and fascinating views of the sport, many of which were positive. However, despite these positives, could the so called “complainers” have a valid point?
Certainly, with a growing number of people jumping on this ship, it appears there is an issue. The push to point out TV flaws and suggest ways to correct them has continued to gain strength. On Sunday, it was perhaps at its greatest force.
[media-credit name=”Credit: By Robert Laberge, Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”245″]
[/media-credit]Over the weekend and into the hours after the race, the tweets were flowing. One called TNT’s Sonoma race coverage as “amateur,” while another described TNT’s work as “clueless.” Some even admitted to not watching the telecast at all and instead hooking up the radio broadcast and using Direct TV’s Hot Pass for information, rather than dealing with the unpleasant TNT program.
In one response concerning this matter, one fan tweeted, “They were more concerned with showing off their in-car camera placement than any actual track occurrences.”
Certainly, TNT was the head of this conversation last weekend, but the problems go far beyond just TNT. They reach across the whole board of partners.
Where were NASCAR’s TV partners when qualifying was taking place at Sonoma, along with multiple practice sessions? Why do fans who attend races say the event was exciting while those sitting in their living rooms say it was boring? Why can TV not provide the excitement MRN or PRN provides on a weekly basis? How is Indycar, less popular than NASCAR in the United States, leading the way in split screen commercials while NASCAR struggles to find its footing using this platform?
Anyone can discuss the flaws in this situation, but not anyone can fix it. Not one person can sit down and fix all the issues that currently exist, nor can they think of all the solutions. However it is important to note that the fans of NASCAR have one thing at the very least: a voice. With this voice continuing to grow louder and louder, it is now on the folks in the suits to make the next move. What is that move? It’s simple: listen.
Just listen.
The problem with NASCAR TV coverage may seem complicated, but the answer might be right in plain sight.
Fans and even media have complained about the same issues for years and years, yet very little progress is being made, it seems. Why is this? Is anyone really listening?
Only time will tell.
Will changes eventually be made to the NASCAR TV front? Will a revolution take place? Will it gain more strength?
No one has this answer, it appears. However, with TV contract negotiations heating up, this may be the best time yet to push for and create a change.
How about they have some people with knowledge about how to properly use cameras, and then use the MRN commentary? Sounds good to me.
It’s simple, whoever is broadcasting the race needs to do that with camera work and PXP people who can cover the entire event. Yes, we all know that commercials pay the bills, but a split screen is possible – unless it is used poorly, the way that Fox did it by showing the ad matched to the car who carries that sponsor. Plus we don’t need broadcasters who ARE the show, they are supposed to be support players, not the main event – that should be the race.
It’s up to NASCAR’s management to fix this issue — they are supposedly getting ready to re-negotiate the new deal so now is the time to get things right so that there are consequences to poor broadcasting.
I don’t care about any awards that Fox, TNT and ESPN have supposedly won – I want to see the race.
It’s real simple: get rid of all the bells and whistles (in car cameras, Inside Trax, crew chief cut away cars) and cover the race. Convey to the viewers what is happening on the track and show cars racing for position. I have no idea why TNT refuses to show us cars fighting for position.
The bottom line on this came from the mouth of the exalted chairman himself when he said, ” I’m not concerned with the complaints of the drivers or fans”. Gripe about things in the sport all you want but the great Brian France ain’t hearing it! He actually believes that sponsor dollars are far more important than fan dollars and it’s working for him, for now. He ignores things like empty seats, TV viewership down, he’s still counting the sponsor dollars. The problem with NASCAR is NASCAR itself.
I feel strongly and passionately that I would prefer more options as Better TV Coverage, and maybe even trying to stream the races without subscriber fees.