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The V8 Supercars Series languishes behind rugby league and AFL in the television ratings battle whenever there is a clash, and I think I’ve realised why after leafing through this weekend’s television guides.
I’ve never seen a more jumbled television broadcast schedule than I have for this weekend’s ITM 500 Auckland at Pukekhoke Raceway Park in New Zealand, and I’m sorry to report that this isn’t a one-off.
In Sydney, Anzac Day Friday’s racing took place on 7Mate. On Saturday morning, the not-exactly-appointment-viewing magazine format show V8 Xtra was live on 7Mate, before the first two hours of the day’s racing were on Channel Seven.
When the main channel went to Stakes Day horse racing, you would assume that the broadcast would continue over on 7Mate, right?
Wrong. Perhaps only to prove that they have three channels to use (and confuse fans with), the remainder of the day’s racing was on 7Two, including the myriad support categories and the second of the V8 Supercar Series races for the day, while 7Mate showed AFL.
It’s a mystery why the V8 Supercars head honchos are allowing this to happen. Yes, I know the current television deal was a much cheaper than the previous one, with the Seven Network being the only serious bidder, but the series has a duty to its fans to make it easy for fans to find the race. Switching various bits of programming across three channels is ridiculous.
Look at America, where you can tell with certainty on which channel the NASCAR Sprint Cup race is going to be on. It’s never shuffled to some backwater channel, and only in the event of rain does it (sometimes) switch to a different network, though always an easily accessible one. Fans know the schedule, and which broadcaster is broadcasting any given weekend’s race, so there’s no channel flipping.
Here in Australia, finding out where the V8 race is on can be a time-consuming process. I understand that AFL broadcast commitments trump V8 Supercars racing in Victoria and South Australia, so events are routinely shuffled to HD or digital channels which aren’t available to everyone – including, I suspect, a lot of folks in rural centres where the sport is particularly popular.
I can understand that if it’s a full broadcast on one channel, but what’s having chunks of the same broadcast spread across three channels is an insult to fans. I guess this is what happens when there’s no bidding war – the winner can slice and dice as it likes, and V8 Supercar can’t do a thing. Still, the head honchos must be peeved at being relegated to second-class citizens.
That, I suppose, is a product of bad ratings on the main channel, though the numbers would surely be better if there was a clear broadcast pattern. Only diehard fans are likely to go searching through their Electronic Program Guide fanatically, so you miss out on those eyeballs who might have tuned in because it was on the main channel and hung around to watch.
The real shame of this is that the actual coverage, particularly the commentary of Neil Crompton, is A-grade. Motorsports broadcasts around the world could learn a thing or two.
No wonder the V8 Supercars chose to sign with Foxtel and Channel Ten from 2015 onwards. Ten’s lack of football coverage means it can give the series a guarantee that races will be shown on the main channel.
Despite what the Seven Network spin doctors might say, channels like 7Mate aren’t the same as their mothership channels. The ratings, if you care to dig them up, confirm this. To have full brand exposure, you need to be on the main channel.
Channel Seven do promise full and live coverage of every race this season, but burying V8 Supercars on their secondary channels or shifting to a new channel seemingly every second hour, sends a clear message – they don’t regard V8 Supercars as a big-time sport, and they’re short-changing race fans.
If the rest of the season’s television scheduling proves to be as confusing, V8 Supercar officials will be counting down the days to the commencement of the new television contract.
At least, in 2015, we’ll know where we can find the races – an improvement over what we have now.
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