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So, F1 has been officially acquired by Liberty Media. I think it's good news, media options should get better and they will want to grow the US market (and they know more about how than CVC Partners, that was just a private equity firm).
We'll see, I think it could be good news for the sport.
They are apparently going to keep Bernie on to help with the transition. The team owners really want this.
I know that it's a tradition for many fans to hate and criticize Bernie, but he is the person who turned what was essentially a disorganized minority activity for enthusiasts into the most-watched global sport outside the Olympics and football's World Cup. As far as I'm concerned, most of these criticisms are of the “what have the Romans ever done for us” variety.
Sure, Bernie got rich...but he also made countless other people rich along the way.
They are apparently going to keep Bernie on to help with the transition. The team owners really want this.
I know that it's a tradition for many fans to hate and criticize Bernie, but he is the person who turned what was essentially a disorganized minority activity for enthusiasts into the most-watched global sport outside the Olympics and football's World Cup. As far as I'm concerned, most of these criticisms are of the “what have the Romans ever done for us” variety.
Sure, Bernie got rich...but he also made countless other people rich along the way.
And he actually asked the teams to pitch in and get a share of the business when he first got the TV rights... they said no... Bernie was the architect of F1's success and it's a good thing he'll advise during the transition.
That said, he also created/promoted a business model that screws the tracks (and fans, that have to pay a fortune) and private teams, and hopefully that will improve with time.
The #1 item in my wish list is live streaming... I'd pay a lot for that. I hate the ad-filled coverage with watered down commentary, so today I survive by using the commentary in the official app and streaming from questionable sites with some delay.
I had to laugh when they mentioned this on the broadcast. The six hours in custody probably means he tried to give the police a little “don't you know who I am?” guff – which doesn't work in Singapore.:
Certainly he must have known about Lee Kuan Yew's (the benevolent dictator) strict rules against things like this – so much has been written. He died last year but rules live after him.
Under Yew's strict 50 years of formal and informal rule, Singapore went from being a disease ridden Third World backwater with no natural resources to a spotlessly clean gleaming technopolis and the world’s third major financial hub after London and New York. A real miracle as you can see by watching the views of the city shown during the race.
Better a "disorganized minority activity for enthusiasts", which it never was anyway, than what we have today. I hate to break the news here, but it's this incessant focus on money rather than good racing that has ruined F-1 and many lives in general. Why does getting rich even enter into this conversation??? So someone has money. So what? That just means they get to hang out w/ some really creepy, self centered egomaniacs, and spend all their time worrying that someone may take it from them, or worrying that they may lose it. I personally have had lots of money, and have had little amounts, and I will take having a small amount any day, if only to have quality people around me. But again, what does making people rich have to do w/ F1?
I happened upon the coverage of the American Grand Prix on a US network on the weekend. Noticed that all three commentators were British. Does anyone really care about this in the US? Do some people tune out of the sport as a result?
[quote=Collective;45930556]Record attendance at Austin. ........./QUOTE]
.......because 80,000+ people came through the turnstiles only to see the Tailor Swift concert.
However, there were enough people who came to see the race to ensure it continues:
“I don’t know why anyone thinks the race in Austin could be in trouble. The great relationship that we set up with the state of Texas, as long as the state of Texas is willing to write a $10 or $15 or $20 million check, there will be a race here,” said Hellmund.
Hard to find US commentators with much F1 cred, since there isn't a lot of crossover - most F1 drivers follow a fairly set pattern pattern in gokarts and junior formulas, starting pretty young, and US drivers don't tend to head to Europe young. Also F1 drivers coming up the ranks tend to come in with heavy sponsorship money. So there isn't a pool of US native ex-F1 drivers/mechanics/designers to pull from for broadcast duties.
I like Hobbs and Matchett quite a bit and would hate to see them replaced (I am still somewhat annoyed that they got rid of Varsha, I'd take him back over Leigh Diffey). On the other hand, I have been following F1 for decades and I think any effort to bring in new younger viewers will start with "freshening up" the broadcast teams worldwide (not that F1 the organization controls any of the broadcast networks). Louder music, more emphasis on crowd noise and car noise, lots of emphasis on crashes and contact and faux team/driver drama and social media. I doubt that will bring in new younger viewers and I think it will succeed in driving away older ones.
As far as nationality of broadcasters, I don't particularly care.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,340 posts, read 54,462,599 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
I happened upon the coverage of the American Grand Prix on a US network on the weekend. Noticed that all three commentators were British. Does anyone really care about this in the US? Do some people tune out of the sport as a result?
I'm American born & bred and have been an F1 fan since learning about Phil Hill when I was 11. I used to have to suffer thru 1:50 of Sumo Wrestling, Tiddlywinks, and ads on Wide World of Sports to see 10 minutes of Monaco , today is soooooooooo much better.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,340 posts, read 54,462,599 times
Reputation: 40741
Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal
Hard to find US commentators with much F1 cred, since there isn't a lot of crossover - most F1 drivers follow a fairly set pattern pattern in gokarts and junior formulas, starting pretty young, and US drivers don't tend to head to Europe young. Also F1 drivers coming up the ranks tend to come in with heavy sponsorship money. So there isn't a pool of US native ex-F1 drivers/mechanics/designers to pull from for broadcast duties.
I like Hobbs and Matchett quite a bit and would hate to see them replaced (I am still somewhat annoyed that they got rid of Varsha, I'd take him back over Leigh Diffey). On the other hand, I have been following F1 for decades and I think any effort to bring in new younger viewers will start with "freshening up" the broadcast teams worldwide (not that F1 the organization controls any of the broadcast networks). Louder music, more emphasis on crowd noise and car noise, lots of emphasis on crashes and contact and faux team/driver drama and social media. I doubt that will bring in new younger viewers and I think it will succeed in driving away older ones.
As far as nationality of broadcasters, I don't particularly care.
I agree, I thought Varsha, Hobbs, and Matchett were a great team. Can't say that I really care about the glitterati in the paddock, I'd rather they use the time to highlight some technical aspect of the cars.
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, today is soooooooooo much better. 
