What NASCAR can do to make TV experience more exciting

ChexOrWrex

ChexOrWrex

Ya gotta wanna
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Lets be honest. Unless you are a diehard fan, the TV experience for NASCAR racing is pretty boring. Cars going around in a circle blah blah blah. The TV ratings show it. NASCAR makes enough changes, why not make some changes to help with TV ratings. Here are my suggestions:

1. Camera angles. The angles they use now, it looks like my grandma could get out there and participate. There is no essence of speed. They need to show how fast these cars are really going. Use more in car camera shots. Put some more cameras in the track like the digger cams. More views that show the brake rotors. More camera views on the hood of the car or under the car to emphasize the speed. That is the thrill of the sport.

2. The commentators. Dear god we need some more excitement in the booth. Half the time they are talking about things other thant the race. Listen to MRN and put those guy in the booth. The radio commentators are 100% more exciting to listen to compared to the TV guys.

3. More interactivity with smartphones and tablets, social media, etc... While youre watching the race on TV, you get updates from pit road to your phone or tablet. Get a full rundown of your favorite driver's strategy, car handling, etc... You can choose any camera view on your favorite driver with your phone or tablet. Etc...

Thats all I have for now.

What about yall?
 
I wish they'd have the in-car camera views/audio available for every driver online every week. That's a service I'd definitely pay for.
 
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Get rid of 3/4 of the commercials. My god there is absolutely nothing on tv with more commercials. Its ridiculous its seems like its 1/2 race coverage 1/2 commercials. And if I hear DW say digity digity digity one more time I'm gonna puke.
 
DWDawg said:
Get rid of 3/4 of the commercials. My god there is absolutely nothing on tv with more commercials. Its ridiculous its seems like its 1/2 race coverage 1/2 commercials. And if I hear DW say digity digity digity one more time I'm gonna puke.
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Boogity, boogity, boogity. Let's go racin', boys! :)
 
Sorry thats it Boogity boogity I was trying to erase it from my brain
 
I would enjoy the televised races a lot more if I knew there wasn't going to be some fabricated BS excitement Chase at the end of the year. A 5th place driver winning the 2014 "Championship" is going to make watching NASCAR that much more unexciting in 2015.
 
Attach machine guns to all cars and allow fans to control the guns. Douse the track in oil. Maybe throw some random burning junk on the track to make the drivers avoid them......

Okay seriously though,

Get the cars the way they use to be. Would fix the racing thus increasing viewership.

I could care less about camera angles except the car views like suspension, roof, brakes, etc. They for sure need to change around the commentators. Looking forward to NBC booth team though.
 
I'm opposite of Chex on this, as usual.

Tight shots that add effect completely take away from the viewing experience. I have a 32-inch high definition TV and can only see one or two cars at a time? And in-car cameras drive me nuts - especially on FOX. I don't mind them on occasion, especially when they add to the broadcast, but when FOX cuts to an in-car camera just because or you watch a lead change from someone's rear bumper camera, it has taken away from the broadcast.

The announcers are fine. Television doesn't need to be radio, you can see what's going on. The combination of PxP/driver or PxP/driver/CC is a formula that's been used for decades. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Television provides a lot of insight that radio doesn't.

While a better smartphone app would be nice, you can already get as much information as you need, if not more, via Twitter. I started using Twitter in 2009 and it changed the race broadcast experience for me -- especially when you have to rely on Twitter for information while TNT's at commercial for the 63rd time during the race.
 
BobbyFord said:
I would enjoy the televised races a lot more if I knew there wasn't going to be some fabricated BS excitement Chase at the end of the year. A 5th place driver winning the 2014 "Championship" is going to make watching NASCAR that much more unexciting in 2015.
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What about a 10th place 10-6 team beating an undefeated team in the Super Bowl to win the championship? Does that make the NFL less exciting? :lurk:
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
What about a 10th place 10-6 team beating an undefeated team in the Super Bowl to win the championship? Does that make the NFL less exciting? :lurk:
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As a Pats fan, I really hated when the Giants beat the undefeated Patriots.

The Pats are on course to have the best record in the NFL. Let's abolish the playoffs and just give them the Lombardi trophy.
 
Can't we get through a thread without comparisons to the NFL ? There is no comparison. Like there is no comparison to swimming . Do folks think that football fans can be tricked into watching Nascar playoffs then stay because they like it ? How stupid are those people ? How about " Nascar , Home Of The First Forward Pass " Try our playoffs .
 
DSquad48 said:
I wish they'd have the in-car camera views/audio available for every driver online every week. That's a service I'd definitely pay for.
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DirecTV offered this a while back although not for every driver. I think there were five drivers each week. It was great but it got little support and was eventually removed. It would be great to see this service offered online. I used to subscribe to RaceView on nascar.com thinking that it would eventually evolve into live video of my selected driver. That never happened so I dropped my subscription down to just the audio from the scanners. If they'd get that live video added for a driver of choice I'd subscribe in a heartbeat.

As far as the actual coverage goes, I like what I'm watching. I don't want to watch a bunch of Digger view and drive-bys of the track. I want to watch the racing. I'd like to see them do some split screens of the racing that's taking place. I'm not always interested in watching the two second lead over second place. Show me the race for 6th, 3rd, 23rd..... wherever the battles are taking place on the track. When I go to the race I don't sit there watching the leader, I watch the racing.

Commercials? Necessary evil of public television. Nobody likes them. That's a given. Give me a Season Pass commercial free channel that I can pay for and I'd write the check.
 
PushRodV8 said:
Attach machine guns to all cars and allow fans to control the guns. Douse the track in oil. Maybe throw some random burning junk on the track to make the drivers avoid them......

Okay seriously though,

Get the cars the way they use to be. Would fix the racing thus increasing viewership.

I could care less about camera angles except the car views like suspension, roof, brakes, etc. They for sure need to change around the commentators. Looking forward to NBC booth team though.
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The "oil race" at Watkins Glenn seemed to please most of the fans
 
The one complaint I have is the commercials and although they are a necessity they can be shown differently.
All the smaller commercials could be shown as a ticker across the bottom continually. ( they could sell more and cheaper this method.)The major commercials could be shown as a wider ticker with the voice. ( leaving the upper 2/5ths of the screen still showing the race. For the main sponsors, they could be shown full screen ASAP on a yellow. What happens in the pits could be shown once the race starts again. I know the commercials have to be planned for the affiliates but I am sure the extra work is worth it if the viewership is increased.

And PLEASE ( yes I yelled) stop the commercials that advertises the race we are watching. Just how lazy can those producers get.
 
Pete:Team Penske said:
The one complaint I have is the commercials and although they are a necessity they can be shown differently.
All the smaller commercials could be shown as a ticker across the bottom continually. ( they could sell more and cheaper this method.)The major commercials could be shown as a wider ticker with the voice. ( leaving the upper 2/5ths of the screen still showing the race. For the main sponsors, they could be shown full screen ASAP on a yellow. What happens in the pits could be shown once the race starts again. I know the commercials have to be planned for the affiliates but I am sure the extra work is worth it if the viewership is increased.

And PLEASE ( yes I yelled) stop the commercials that advertises the race we are watching. Just how lazy can those producers get.
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Not knowing what is in these contracts I'm only guessing that the problem is that those buying the spots probably don't want to share the screen.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Not knowing what is in these contracts I'm only guessing that the problem is that those buying the spots probably don't want to share the screen.
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They have to be educated. Full screen commercials are signals that it is time to use the john or raid the fridge and put the dog out.. The people who work at making commercials are behind the times in many cases.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I'm opposite of Chex on this, as usual.

Tight shots that add effect completely take away from the viewing experience. I have a 32-inch high definition TV and can only see one or two cars at a time? And in-car cameras drive me nuts - especially on FOX. I don't mind them on occasion, especially when they add to the broadcast, but when FOX cuts to an in-car camera just because or you watch a lead change from someone's rear bumper camera, it has taken away from the broadcast.

The announcers are fine. Television doesn't need to be radio, you can see what's going on. The combination of PxP/driver or PxP/driver/CC is a formula that's been used for decades. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Television provides a lot of insight that radio doesn't.

While a better smartphone app would be nice, you can already get as much information as you need, if not more, via Twitter. I started using Twitter in 2009 and it changed the race broadcast experience for me -- especially when you have to rely on Twitter for information while TNT's at commercial for the 63rd time during the race.
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I didnt say anything about tight shots. I said shots that would emphasize speed. New camera shots on the car, not of the car.

You dont mind the commentators? So all the complaining you did about everyone but NBC was hogwash? Im gonna come back to this thread every time dw drives you up a wall ;)

I use twitter as well during a race sometimes. But twitter doesnt give you lap by lap updates. Its like every 7-15 laps.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
As far as the actual coverage goes, I like what I'm watching. I don't want to watch a bunch of Digger view and drive-bys of the track. I want to watch the racing. I'd like to see them do some split screens of the racing that's taking place. I'm not always interested in watching the two second lead over second place. Show me the race for 6th, 3rd, 23rd..... wherever the battles are taking place on the track. When I go to the race I don't sit there watching the leader, I watch the racing.
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What if there was a thing on your computer or mobile device that would let you watch 6 or 8 battles for position at once? Put cameras on the track specifically to film ongoing battles for positions, aside from the normal cameras that are already there.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
What if there was a thing on your computer or mobile device that would let you watch 6 or 8 battles for position at once? Put cameras on the track specifically to film ongoing battles for positions, aside from the normal cameras that are already there.
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I like it. It would be like the NFL's 'Red Zone' channel in a way. :cool:

For those of you that hate the comparison to other sports. Yep, another comparison to another sport. It happens. :D
 
I think the faux debris cautions at the end of races need to go. It's pretty much saying to viewers "don't waste 3 hours of your day watching the first 95% of this race, we're just gonna bunch it up at the end anyway".
 
110,000% nothing they can do. You either get the sport or you don't. Just like football, baseball, etc. I was thinking about it the other day. I freakin' hate soccer with a passion. Dumbest ass sport I have ever seen--perhaps a niche sport like NASCAR. What could the MLS do to bring me in? Nothing. Don't even try. I hate it, and I am not coming no matter what. What the hell makes us think that we can change this sport to attract people who will never come?
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
What about a 10th place 10-6 team beating an undefeated team in the Super Bowl to win the championship? Does that make the NFL less exciting? :lurk:
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What makes football exciting for me is there is always action and endless possibilities as to what can happen. You get to see superb athletes like Odell Beckham and Darren Sproles and with NFL Sunday Ticket you can watch the match ups you want to see.
 
ted@economy said:
Can't we get through a thread without comparisons to the NFL ? There is no comparison. Like there is no comparison to swimming . Do folks think that football fans can be tricked into watching Nascar playoffs then stay because they like it ? How stupid are those people ? How about " Nascar , Home Of The First Forward Pass " Try our playoffs .
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People love to bring up the '07 Giants when justifying the new chase format, but the truth is that all sports' playoffs are configured differently for their own various reasons. Football needs a playoff because the teams only play 13 of the other 31 teams in a regular season. NASCAR doesn't "need" a playoff, but thought they could generate a little more interest by adding one.

On the flipside of that '07 Giants argument though, the Lions went 0-16 the next year, and I don't remember them being one of the final four teams in contention for the Lombardi Trophy.
 
The nature of many Nascar races is that drivers will settle in and just ride around. I don't know about you but watching cars ride around ain't exactly must see TV. There are also plenty of commercials and clean up for wrecks and other long yellow flag stretches. None of those things are pertinent to the race IMO. Back in the 90's I started recording the races via VHS and then I dvr'd them and then I stopped watching altogether. JMO but I think there is a huge benefit (and time saving) by recording the races and fast forwarding through the non essential stuff.

I don't think TV coverage is the worst Nascar problem. I blame the cookie cutter 1.5 mile tracks primarily as those suckers will put an insomniac to sleep. IMO Nascar needs more shorter tracks and tracks with meaningfully different configurations. I don't have much use for in car camera stuff or the side by side shots. Same with shots of brake rotors and brake and gas pedals. I would like more overhead shots to give perspective and more field snapshots.
 
Revman said:
110,000% nothing they can do. You either get the sport or you don't. Just like football, baseball, etc. I was thinking about it the other day. I freakin' hate soccer with a passion. Dumbest ass sport I have ever seen--perhaps a niche sport like NASCAR. What could the MLS do to bring me in? Nothing. Don't even try. I hate it, and I am not coming no matter what. What the hell makes us think that we can change this sport to attract people who will never come?
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One thing Nascar will have to do is lower their demographic as the last info I read say they have an old audience and that is not good. I also read where Nascar TV ratings tanked this year so if Nascar needs more fans and more younger fans.
 
I think also nascar needs to make the possibility of younger audiences attending races stronger. Younger demographics take road trips to music festivals, other pro sporting events and theme parks. Those are affordable for the most part.

The amount of money it takes to attend a nascar event is outrageous imo and the key to attracting a better TV audience is for people to see a live race and they are hooked.
 
One thing I would like to see them do is more of the incar camera shots that they use when the guys mount the camera on their helmet. That shot really gives a good sensation of speed and is just cool as heck.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
I think also nascar needs to make the possibility of younger audiences attending races stronger. Younger demographics take road trips to music festivals, other pro sporting events and theme parks. Those are affordable for the most part.

The amount of money it takes to attend a nascar event is outrageous imo and the key to attracting a better TV audience is for people to see a live race and they are hooked.
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I don't think there's a sport with a bigger gap between the live experience and the TV experience than NASCAR. Seeing a NASCAR race live, awesome. Watching a NASCAR race on TV, not so awesome. Taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of a live event vs. hearing TV commentators bloviate about "drama" between KFC commercials are two very different experiences.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
I think also nascar needs to make the possibility of younger audiences attending races stronger. Younger demographics take road trips to music festivals, other pro sporting events and theme parks. Those are affordable for the most part.

The amount of money it takes to attend a nascar event is outrageous imo and the key to attracting a better TV audience is for people to see a live race and they are hooked.
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Not sure how much NASCAR has control over the cost of attending the race outside of the ticket price and those are very much in line with other professional sports. I walk through the gate @ Martinsville for far cheaper than attending a Pittsburgh Steelers or Pittsburgh Penguins event.
 
if any big changes occur in tv coverage this yr.......figure it'll be nbc ......new crew ta tha show.
old crew at fox prolly set in their way of doin things.

both gonna push mobile tech use as time passes.
 
Commentators are never going to get better, people can't show excitement or personality anymore (well at least develope one in this day), they can't appeal to niche audiences either.

In think NBC will do fine, ESPN is just to saturated with stuff to do well, and they noticibly got lazy with their in car cameras and telemetry graphics.

Using more infield cameras and blimp coverage would be a nice addition. I think they will do a good job, they have to much money and effort invested in this to get off to a bad start.
 
ToyYoda said:
I don't think there's a sport with a bigger gap between the live experience and the TV experience than NASCAR. Seeing a NASCAR race live, awesome. Watching a NASCAR race on TV, not so awesome. Taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of a live event vs. hearing TV commentators bloviate about "drama" between KFC commercials are two very different experiences.
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I love Nascar on tv...and i like KFC chicken...so i'm good with the broadcasts. So, if there were just another 500 thousand fans just like me then everything would be great.:D
 
ChexOrWrex said:
I didnt say anything about tight shots. I said shots that would emphasize speed. New camera shots on the car, not of the car.
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The speed shots you mentioned are tight shots. They're cool at moments but we already have them, and they're overused. And too much of the race is already covered through in-car cameras. Fox is particularly terrible about this and has been for years.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Not knowing what is in these contracts I'm only guessing that the problem is that those buying the spots probably don't want to share the screen.
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That was part of what NASCAR claimed was the reasoning ESPN/ABC couldn't do side-by-side coverage. Then, one day, ESPN magically turned on "NASCAR Nonstop".
 
If people want to know how to make the television experience better for fans watching at home, watch NBCSN's coverage of the Verizon IndyCar Series. Hopefully, NBC's NASCAR coverage will look very similar to that.
 
Revman said:
110,000% nothing they can do. You either get the sport or you don't. Just like football, baseball, etc. I was thinking about it the other day. I freakin' hate soccer with a passion. Dumbest ass sport I have ever seen--perhaps a niche sport like NASCAR. What could the MLS do to bring me in? Nothing. Don't even try. I hate it, and I am not coming no matter what. What the hell makes us think that we can change this sport to attract people who will never come?
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I agree with you 100% on SOCCER, based solely on a personal note. Plus "Dumbest ass sport" pretty much sums it up.

But, when I think bigger picture, without promotion you have, well, no growth or at best excruciatingly slow growth.

Now to answer the thread question: Pay Per View, no commercials as an option for those willing to pay for it, this service would include up to 6 screens from 6 different cameras placed around most all current tracks. With the cameras placed in the right spots they would cascade the lap as it progresses. In the event of a caution or restart etc, main view of restart then to the mix of cameras.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
What makes football exciting for me is there is always action and endless possibilities as to what can happen. You get to see superb athletes like Odell Beckham and Darren Sproles and with NFL Sunday Ticket you can watch the match ups you want to see.
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Your joking of course, other than a couple of players on the field the rest jump and push for 15 seconds then stand around feeling each others ass for 5 min. until the next play. Stupidest game going. :owquitit:
 
sdj said:
I agree with you 100% on SOCCER, based solely on a personal note. Plus "Dumbest ass sport" pretty much sums it up.

But, when I think bigger picture, without promotion you have, well, no growth or at best excruciatingly slow growth.

Now to answer the thread question: Pay Per View, no commercials as an option for those willing to pay for it, this service would include up to 6 screens from 6 different cameras placed around most all current tracks. With the cameras placed in the right spots they would cascade the lap as it progresses. In the event of a caution or restart etc, main view of restart then to the mix of cameras.
Click to expand...

NASCAR has tried variations of PPV. Hell, they even gave NASCAR HotPass away for free. It was a miserable failure.
 
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