Fox Sports 1 Taking Over Speed Channel
8/5/13, 03:14 PM
#21
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As your link stated, this was the first time Monaco was broadcast on network tv - hence the better numbers. And it was Memorial Day Weekend. Non-broadcast tv races are on the same par as Speed. Of course most of those numbers need a boulder sized grain of salt like everything reported on "Newsless Broadcast Channel" and by hack's like Brian Williams.
"According to NBC" "NBC says" "NBC claimed"
F1 should have waited until NBCSp had a large enough reach in existing customer's network packages before they alienated so many (formerly) loyal fans by ditching Speed.
For the sake of convo, from a link off your link:
With F1 coverage migrating from Speed to NBC Sports, it has become mandatory that to enjoy the coverage, you have to enjoy British accents -- although lead anchor Leigh Diffey is Australian, you know what I mean. Color man David Hobbs is properly British, as are technical analyst Steve Matchett, and on-the-ground correspondentWill Buxton.
Diffey, of course, replaced Speed's Bob Varsha, the lone non-Brit on Speed's crew. Though certainly competent, Diffey is from central casting in the sense that he, as well as the other Brit- and Brit-sounding correspondents favored by motorsports, especially for sports-car racing, tend to get more excited about a sixth-place-to-fifth pass on lap four than many U.S. announcers do about a photo finish. Certainly such enthusiasm is infectious up to a point, but there is a Chicken Little sky-is-falling effect that, after an hour or so, makes you disregard the volume and exclamation points that accompany every pronouncement.
Fortunately, there's Hobbs, whose crankiness could be dismissed by the fact that he turns 74 in a couple of weeks, but veteran viewers know that Hobbs has been identically cranky for decades. Which is one of the things that makes him delightful to listen to -- no other motorsports broadcaster has gotten away with being so brutally honest about what he's watching and still had a career. Even if Hobbs is having an off day (and he wasn't at his best for the Monaco race), he's still valuable.
Overall, Monaco is never boring, and this race was no exception. Every pass on the tight track is either an act of brutality or a ballet move, and we saw both, as well as some uncomfortable carnage caused by the fact that Monaco leaves mediocre drivers with no place to hide.
As usual for foreign-soil races, and just as it was at Speed, the NBC Sports team is at the mercy of camera work performed by the on-site crew for its own market, meaning we likely would have seen plenty of coverage of Monaco's Nico Rosberg even if he wasn't winning, just as we'll see a lot of footage of Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, no matter where he's running. That the TV commentators can do as well as they do sitting in a studio thousands of miles from the action, essentially seeing it the same time we do, is commendable (though they were actually in Monaco for this particular race), and I know, having sat in on a middle-of-the-night production at Speed years ago. NBC Sports built Diffey, Hobbs and Matchett a brand-new studio to broadcast from, but as with Speed, it still comes down to the crew's ability to fly by the seat of their pants, and we are generally well-served by this trio.
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130527/F1/130529799
"According to NBC" "NBC says" "NBC claimed"
F1 should have waited until NBCSp had a large enough reach in existing customer's network packages before they alienated so many (formerly) loyal fans by ditching Speed.
For the sake of convo, from a link off your link:
With F1 coverage migrating from Speed to NBC Sports, it has become mandatory that to enjoy the coverage, you have to enjoy British accents -- although lead anchor Leigh Diffey is Australian, you know what I mean. Color man David Hobbs is properly British, as are technical analyst Steve Matchett, and on-the-ground correspondentWill Buxton.
Diffey, of course, replaced Speed's Bob Varsha, the lone non-Brit on Speed's crew. Though certainly competent, Diffey is from central casting in the sense that he, as well as the other Brit- and Brit-sounding correspondents favored by motorsports, especially for sports-car racing, tend to get more excited about a sixth-place-to-fifth pass on lap four than many U.S. announcers do about a photo finish. Certainly such enthusiasm is infectious up to a point, but there is a Chicken Little sky-is-falling effect that, after an hour or so, makes you disregard the volume and exclamation points that accompany every pronouncement.
Fortunately, there's Hobbs, whose crankiness could be dismissed by the fact that he turns 74 in a couple of weeks, but veteran viewers know that Hobbs has been identically cranky for decades. Which is one of the things that makes him delightful to listen to -- no other motorsports broadcaster has gotten away with being so brutally honest about what he's watching and still had a career. Even if Hobbs is having an off day (and he wasn't at his best for the Monaco race), he's still valuable.
Overall, Monaco is never boring, and this race was no exception. Every pass on the tight track is either an act of brutality or a ballet move, and we saw both, as well as some uncomfortable carnage caused by the fact that Monaco leaves mediocre drivers with no place to hide.
As usual for foreign-soil races, and just as it was at Speed, the NBC Sports team is at the mercy of camera work performed by the on-site crew for its own market, meaning we likely would have seen plenty of coverage of Monaco's Nico Rosberg even if he wasn't winning, just as we'll see a lot of footage of Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, no matter where he's running. That the TV commentators can do as well as they do sitting in a studio thousands of miles from the action, essentially seeing it the same time we do, is commendable (though they were actually in Monaco for this particular race), and I know, having sat in on a middle-of-the-night production at Speed years ago. NBC Sports built Diffey, Hobbs and Matchett a brand-new studio to broadcast from, but as with Speed, it still comes down to the crew's ability to fly by the seat of their pants, and we are generally well-served by this trio.
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130527/F1/130529799
Last edited by cdynaco; 8/5/13 at 03:15 PM.
8/5/13, 03:25 PM
#22
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F1 on Speed typically was a tape delayed qualifying, which meant I often knew the results before qualifying had finished, and a half hour warmup show before the race. That was pretty much it. You may have been able to see some of the post-race driver interviews if time permitted.
On NBC Sports they broadcast the practice sessions. Qualifying is broadcast live and they typically have a brief warmup and post qualifying commentary as well as more info between sessions (Fox just filled it with commercials). You'll get a pre-race show and a post-race show as well. The production value is higher and it really is a step above the red-headed stepchild treatment F1 got in Speed.
8/5/13, 03:30 PM
#23
Races broadcast on either NBC or Fox have always been horrible. They are taped delayed, and literally cut out everything right up to the start of the race. You rarely even get to see the formation lap.
F1 on Speed typically was a tape delayed qualifying, which meant I often knew the results before qualifying had finished, and a half hour warmup show before the race. That was pretty much it. You may have been able to see some of the post-race driver interviews if time permitted.
On NBC Sports they broadcast the practice sessions. Qualifying is broadcast live and they typically have a brief warmup and post qualifying commentary as well as more info between sessions (Fox just filled it with commercials). You'll get a pre-race show and a post-race show as well. The production value is higher and it really is a step above the red-headed stepchild treatment F1 got in Speed.
8/5/13, 03:36 PM
#24
Regardless, no racing broadcast on any network is flawless. I enjoy F1 the most since Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons where in the booth calling NASCAR races . . . Paul Page was good too covering CART back in the day.
Last edited by Evil_Capri; 8/5/13 at 04:10 PM.
8/5/13, 07:17 PM
#25
NTTAWWT
In my opinion the production level seems to have increased with the pre-race analysis. The in-studio segments are much better. Again, in my opinion. The race feed is the same so not much difference there, but they do seem to have Will more involved. However, I do miss Varsha . . . and still miss Peter Windsor as well.
I like the NBCSN coverage better.
8/5/13, 08:09 PM
#26
I know. Suppose I should have noted that, but I thought that information was known by SPEED/NBCSN F1 viewers hence my "feed is the same" statement.
Last edited by Evil_Capri; 8/5/13 at 08:10 PM.
8/6/13, 07:09 AM
#27
Gotta Have it Green Fanatic Official TMS Travel Guide
My understanding is that the new Fox Sports Network will be in direct competition with ESPN with 24/7 Sports. I'm all for that. ESPN has become nothing but a NY sports channel right down to all the political correctness stupidity. Female basketball, softball, soccer and everything that hetero males aren't interested in is shoved down our throats. I wish the best for the new Fox network as long as they stay true to being the opposite of ESPN. Starting off with about 8 hours of UFC is certainly a good start.
8/6/13, 10:31 AM
#28
legacy Tms Member
i had long wondered where my classic car and the tractor pulling stuff and the lucus oil on the edge shows had gone then recently i discovered mav tv .. all is well again .. speed can go away if they wish .. and when did poker and spelling bees become a sport ?
8/6/13, 07:20 PM
#29
NTTAWWT
My understanding is that the new Fox Sports Network will be in direct competition with ESPN with 24/7 Sports. I'm all for that. ESPN has become nothing but a NY sports channel right down to all the political correctness stupidity. Female basketball, softball, soccer and everything that hetero males aren't interested in is shoved down our throats. I wish the best for the new Fox network as long as they stay true to being the opposite of ESPN. Starting off with about 8 hours of UFC is certainly a good start.
8/6/13, 07:32 PM
#30
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