It's that time again, the 31st Annual Chili Bowl Nationals are taking place in Tulsa this week and of course the majority of us cannot be in Oklahoma so many of us have gone ahead and paid money to watch the Chili Bowl online.
Last night was night one of the event and already we have seen what can happen when it comes to watching live events online. There were three main points/problems I took away that groups providing this type of service should work on to not only help themselves but also help grow the sport. I don't want this to sound like I'm just complaining because I'm not. These are takeaways that even I myself am taking into consideration since we may just be stepping into the podcast realm this season.
#1 The Feed: This one is pretty foreseeable anytime you are watching something live online. For a bit last night, screens across the country, and around the world, went dark. This kind of thing is common when it comes to live video on the internet. Hell, it happens on live television at times. However, I have to think that for the group supplying us with the coverage this week, this has to be their biggest and most watched event of the year. If there is one event you want to get right, it has to be this one.
Across social media and online forums there were many angry customers claiming they didn't get to see any racing or the racing they did see was not streamed well. Personally I missed a half of a D-Main and both C-Mains. I'm not that mad about it but if that is going to be a trend this week I may change my thinking.
That said, the group got the problem fixed and I still got to see the grand finale last night. However, I do think this is a major problem for our sport. We do not get a lot of live television coverage so live streams over the internet need to be good in order to attract new fans and keep old ones. Problems will always arise but make sure when you are faced with a problem you have a quick solution.
#2 The Commentators: I went to school for communication so this one is a personal pet peeve for me.
Whenever you watch a sports event on ESPN, FS1, etc. do you ever notice how commentators seem to know every name, every number and random facts and stats about anyone and everyone? That's because those men and women do their research before the event. They study rosters and media guides so they at least can somewhat sound like they know what they're talking about when they are on the air.
If you are going to call an event then you should know about the cars and drivers in the event. Multiple times last night the commentators messed up names, hometowns, teams, numbers and so on. There were also endless uh's, um's and periods of awkward silence.
I get it, 350+ car numbers/teams/drivers is a lot for just one week of work but when you're messing up the names of well known drivers that have won in Tulsa before, that is a bit embarrassing.
Again, by sounding unprofessional you are not going to sell your product or help grow the sport.
#3 Camera Coverage: The final one is easily fixed by a good producer. If you're a fan of Sean Buckley's GoJackslash podcast then you may have listened to a recent show featuring Dan "DO" Laycock. Dan talked about his time working for ESPN when a common problem was the cameras following the leader when the real show was deeper in the pack.
Last night was a perfect example of that type coverage more times than not. At one point there was a three car battle for second place in one heat race and the cameras and announcers were fixated on Alex Bright who had checked out on the field by half a track.
If you're going to ask fans to pay $100 for an event then give them coverage that is worth the money.
Like I stated before, this is not a complaint against the group supplying the coverage this week or anyone else. But these points can certainly be improved on. The better the coverage is during these live PPV events, I'm willing to bet the happier the fans will be and probably the better your business will do. That goes for anyone whether it's The Cushion, Speed Shift, Dirt Vision, etc.
What I do on this blog is purely for the fans, I don't charge for it but still try to give visitors to the blog or the followers on social media accurate and timely information. Groups that charge money should definitely be providing good services. Not the mediocre type services I described above.
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