Yes, well, there I was busy researching the second – let’s call it the ‘show me the money’ – column on how Kiwi Indycar titan Scott Dixon got where he has…………….when bloody Sky TV dropped its’ ‘we-can’t-afford-to-buy-the-local-rights-fee-for-F1-so-we-won’t-be-screening-it-next-year’ bombshell.
That’s too big a hot potato not to comment on in real time, so in TV parlance, ‘we interrupt this programme on Scott Dixon to bring you……………….nothing, nada, zip!’ which when you think about it is a pretty shoddy, bloody state-of-affairs.
Imagine, for instance, if it was the organizers of the Olympic Games who, according to Sky, were demanding so much money that they (Sky) could no longer afford to buy and screen coverage here of the next one ?
There would be blood on the streets.
It would be the same if it was the Rugby League Grand Poobah (or whatever they call their annual shindig). With the ‘baying for blood’ led by the respective sport’s supposedly independent paid cheerleaders…sorry, journalists.
I note with disquiet-bordering-on-disgust the fact that in the NZ Herald, one of its rugby writers Patrick McKendry even somehow managed to turn Sky’s decision to effectively ‘pull out of the running for the rights to broadcast F1 in New Zealand into………………..another bloody story about ‘his’ chosen sport. To wit; Sky TV earlier in the year being outbid by a TVNZ/Spark consortium for the rights to the next Rugby World Cup!
Which in a nutshell confirms my assertions in previous columns that rather than a crisp, modern, low-fat/high-fibre diet of interesting ‘news’ on modern sports your average, everyday Kiwi sportsfan is actually being force-fed a high carb/low-protein gruel of rugby, rugby and more rugby by a bunch of rheumy-eyed old hacks who still think the New Zealand sporting landscape revolves around rugby, (horse) racing and beer!
The bad news, of course, is that those of us who are Sky Subscribers will no longer be able to sit, fascinated, as the various qualifying scenarios play themselves out, then catch a quick wrap of the race itself at home on Monday evening (My preferred viewing pattern)
As Sky correctly identified (and tried to use as an excuse for not being prepared to pony up for the rights) the days of me staying up watch F1 ‘live’ are long over. This year, like last and the year before that and the year before that etc etc) I have watched the Aussie GP live. But that is about it. That doesn’t mean I’m not interested though and F1 was (up until now anyway) one of the main reasons I grudgingly stumped up for a Sky sub each and every year.
The good news (or silver lining) here, of course, is that Sky’s decision to keep its hands in its pockets when the rights were up for grabs virtually assures our own Brendon Hartley of another year with Toro Rosso on the world’s premier motorsport stage.
Eh? I hear many of you say to yourself as you let that little nugget sink in.
Bizarre as it might seem, despite many Kiwis no longer able to enjoy watching a countryman battle with the world’s (other) best drivers, young Brendon’s very presence on the grid is probably the reason Sky has choked…..
You see, back when Bernie Ecclestone ran the sport (and owned both the TV broadcast rights an digital ‘narrow-cast ones AS WELL AS the production company which created the blanket coverage of each event) he set up a sliding scale of charges. Though New Zealand has a storied history – and therefore plenty of domestic interest – in F1, until Brendon’s surprise selection by the Toro Rosso team late last year, we hadn’t had a regular driver in F1 for more than a quarter of a century.
That meant that, though they always used to bleat and moan about it, Sky basically paid bugger-all (in relative terms anyway) for its F1 coverage, And, if the company had aggressively gone out and sold ad space around it (like TV1 used to do when Shell had a presence here) it could have even made money on the deal.
Instead it sat on its laurels, and was obviously totally unprepared when; 1) Brendon Hartley was signed to run this year, and 2) the cost of owning the local rights was ‘adjusted upwards’ to reflect the increased viewer interest that the rights holder naturally believes comes when ‘one of your own is on the grid.’
Exactly how much extra my spy tells me Sky would now have to pay with Brendon ‘in the show’ is obviously a closely-guarded commercial secret but my understanding it was easily more than twice and perhaps even as much as three times what the company was paying before.
Yet rather than see it as an opportunity the buggers gave up at the first hurdle. To which all I can say is nice one guys. To use an analogy you are probably more familiar with, you’ve really ‘dropped the ball’ on this one!
The silly thing here, too, is that Sky – in general – does a fairly decent job of covering motorsport, to the point where I have found myself watching more and more of its offerings.
Like? Like MotoGP. Like World Superbikes. Like British Superbikes. And like the splendid Monster Energy-backed Isle of Man TT coverage, plus the allied though not directly related programmes on the North-West 200 and Dundrod racing on Ireland’ narrow country roads.
Producer Chris Herd has also created an absolute gem of a bespoke weekly motorsport news ‘n views show in Sky Speed, a ‘product’ which could also morph easily into a Top Gear-style magazine programme if – again – someone on the commercial side of the business could wake up to the opportunity.
With such a large ‘demographic’ with a general interest in cars ‘n motorbikes, you’d have to wonder in fact, why in the face of subscriptions from ball’n stick fans in freefall, Sky TV didn’t set up a dedicated motorsport channel for the likes of you and I.
Imagine, for instance, a channel with blanket 24/7 motorsport. My mate, a TV sports producer of long standing, reckons that not only is the content there and waiting, much of it has already been paid for by the likes of Red Bull, Mobil and Lucas Oils.
When I am away covering events, for instance, I’ll usually get up early of a Sunday morning and check out the motel or hotel’s Sky (Sport) channels. Usually there is only Sport 1 & 2 and 99% of the time I turn them off in disgust as all they have on are repeats of the previous night’s rugby or league games, or Golf from some tournament in the US which means nothing to me.
Imagine, how much better your’s and my Sunday morning would start, if we could enjoy our bowl of cornflakes watching – let’s see – a repeat of the last King of the Hammers off-road race from the US, a doco on any Baja 1000 race from Mexico, or the coverage of the latest WEC round from Silverstone or Spa.
I’m sure there’d be viewer – and with it, advertiser – interest in the re-showing of recent local events, like the Burt Munro Challenge from Invercargill, the Battle of the Streets meeting from Wanganui, or the annual street race demo which is the Waimate 50.
Sure I can get most of the really big motorsport events I want to watch these days via Livestream on my smart phone. But I still believe there is a place for ‘broadcasting’ in the brave new world of media and until someone comes up with a better solution I think Sky TV has a place in my home.
What about in your’s though? Once again this is just my opinion. Agree or disagree, I’d like to hear your’s. Am I on the right track, or well off it?
And next week, back to Scott Dixon and dollars!
Comments