Dear Fox Sports Bean Counters,
I just read the Charlotte Business Journal article on Speedvision's
future plans. I was struck by two disparate points; both dealing with
your bottom line.
http://charlotte.bcentral.com/charlotte/stories/2001/10/15/story6.html
>"Fox acquired control of Speedvision this summer. Long known for
>emphasizing open-wheel racing and several lesser-known series,
>Speedvision plans an overhaul under its new ownership with an
>emphasis on NASCAR."
I watch Speedvision an average of about 16 hours a week, and sometimes as
much as 24 hours a day (Daytona and LeMans.) I have a TV tuner in my
computer, and a TV in my garage, both constantly on Speedvision. Most of
my friends who watch motorsports have Speedvision, many paying extra just
for the coverage of their favorite racing or historic series. None of us
watch NASCAR.
I live less than an hour from Mid-Ohio ( a sports car race course in
central Ohio) and love to see the coverage of SCCA Run-offs, Grand-Am,
Trans Am, ALMS, etc. right in my back yard. In fact, I've been on
Speedvision as I passed in front of the camera when Calvin Fish was
interviewing a driver or crew. I watch motorcycle racing, Formula 1, WRC,
and I absolutely love all the vintage racing and vintage race programming
(Legends of Motorsports, et al) on Speedvision. I don't watch NASCAR. In
fact, I just turned Speedvision off when NASCAR Tech came on at the end
of the SCCA Run-Off coverage.
We were talking about the possibility of Speedvision becoming 'The NASCAR
Channel' at the office, and every one of us who pay extra for Speedvision
would drop the channel if our favorite race series were gone. You see,
there are tens of thousands of us out here who don't give a hoot about
NASCAR, but can't stand the thought of not being able to watch, as you
put it "open-wheel racing and several lesser-known series." This would
effect your bottom line in subscribers. Would we be offset by new NASCAR
fans subscribing? Probably, but then, they already get NASCAR coverage on
your other networks, so why bother to pay extra for another channel.
Meanwhile, I will have lost the only motorsports channel that caters to
me, and my money won't be going to any of your other networks. Bottom
line: Lost revenue.
>"Speedvision became profitable last year. Industry experts estimate
>annual ad sales of $60 million to $75 million."
Here is the big potential loss for you. How much of this 60-75 million
dollars in advertising revenue came from Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, and
Pontiac? I sure don't remember seeing many ads for them. I remember lots
of Cadillac, BMW, Mazda, Subaru, Jaguar, Mecedes-Benz, and especially
Audi ads. In fact, we bought an Audi A6 (that's an expensive one, with
lots of advertising dollars spent on it), and my wife said she was
influenced by the Audi ads on Speedvision. We didn't buy a Chevy, Dodge,
or a Pontiac. I have a 1958 MG, my brother has a BMW Z3, and my father
has a Miata. All watch Speedvision regularly. None of us bought a Chevy
or a Pontiac, either. However, all of the NASCAR fans are dyed in the
wool Ford, Chevy, Dodge, or Pontiac owners. None of them would consider
buying a foreign car, so all those advertising dollars will leave
Speedvision.
Lastly, I've been trying for some time to get a Speedvision hat and golf
shirt, but the link on the web site doesn't work. Now I don't want one!
There goes another few bucks from the bottom line.
Go ahead and replace all those info-mercials with NASCAR races, I already
turn those off, but please continue full coverage of ALMS, F-1, Grand-AM,
Trans-AM, SCCA and all those "other lesser-known series." You're
continued receipt of some of my disposable income depends on it!
Thanks,
Steve
Steve Morris Avon, Ohio
1958 MGA 1500 Red/Black
NAMGAR #5987 BuckAyes Ohio Chapter
LoCo Brits <mailto: MGA1500@mac.com>
http://www.en.com/users/smorris/mga/
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