"Groagun" (groagun)
03/12/2015 at 22:28 • Filed to: None
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"Groagun" (groagun)
03/12/2015 at 22:28 • Filed to: None | 1
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Taken from this story posted on worldcarfans.com !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
I can see the reasoning behind this plan, it looks good on paper as all plans do; in reality however I think it will be a complete disaster.
My proof, take a look at the numbers Drive+ is getting compared to the 'free' Drive channel and what Drive first got when it launched initially.
Read the comments, it's a snap shot of the 'enthusiast' crowd, those true and rabid fans Mr Eccelstone is talking about. How many of them are paying for content? We are not many; yes I'm a subscriber.
Part of the difficulty is that the enthusiast crowd is small to begin with. Now he wants to slice that already small pie even further into smaller pieces.
The logic being that true F1 fans, the real 'core enthusiast' who's willing to pay each month is well healed and more than willing. In this I am totally skeptical.
Every sport, artistic endeavor or expressive activity that one can watch or participate in has a 'core base' of fans. The more elaborate, sophisticated and popular the sport, in this particular case, the more expensive it is just to be a fan. The other factor is heritage and history.
Get seasons tickets to the NY Nicks, Green Bay Packers, Toronto Maple Leafs or NY Yankees. Subsequently, get seasons tickets for the Bobcats, Jaguars, Panthers or the Rays; sorry to my friends in Florida.
Then take a look at the cost of being a fan, going to a game for less mainstream sports like soccer, lacrosse or even the Tudor Sports Car Series, formerly ALMS and you begin to, in part, understand my point.
While it is understood that F1 is the pinnacle of motor sport, I dispute that now as well, and that the cost to play is astronomical, I'm totally unconvinced that there are enough well healed 'core fans' willing to put up the cash each month to maintain or grow the game beyond what we have today.
The great unwashed middle, the casual fan is far more important than Mr Ecclestone believes or seems to know. He does live in a bubble of his own making and is surrounded by hand picked associates for far too long now.
The heights at which F1 has become accustomed to is thanks to fans and sponsors that come and go each season and fill in the gaps. Not only is this plan potentially turning off those fans and sponsors but the year in and year out stalwart fans and sponsors are clearly seeing this as a problem.
Like the article says, how is this a good plan for the likes of Red Bull or Santander? These companies need exposure to the widest audience possible, not further coverage of customers they already have.
It's time for new blood in the F1 stands and in front of screens everywhere, not just in the board room of F1 management.
You can count on your core fan base to be there and support you but it's the casual fan who appears when your game/sport is exciting and attention grabbing, that is the key to future revenue growth, just ask NASCAR.
What ever happened to this Bernie Ecclestone? The guy willing to take chances and work outside the box.
With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username
> Groagun
03/12/2015 at 22:38 |
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BERNIE: "Look, literally everyone I know has a half dozen Rolexes stashed in a sock drawer somewhere that are never going to get worn, so who's going to think that a grand or so per year is anything to worry about for the privilege of watching F1?"
turbojames
> Groagun
03/12/2015 at 22:42 |
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Can Bernie Ecclestone just kick the bucket already? Jeezus, for a damned long while the old coot's been too friggin old and out of his mind to actually do anything for the sport. Damage control after his death is gonna have to be fuckin swift and there's gonna be a lot of it to do, and if FOM doesn't get it's act together and isn't fully focused on the sport's future and expansion as a whole, we're gonna have a big problem on our hands.
Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
> Groagun
03/12/2015 at 22:58 |
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Bernie has shown plenty of times that he doesn't give a shit about F1 fans, unless they have very deep pockets he can dip his hand into.
Hey, Bernie, I've got a gift in my front pocket for you...
