Speed TV

[odduc]

FIM World Superbike Championship kicks off this weekend and Speed TV is showing, in it's place: BOBSLEDDING!!!!! Are you fucking kidding me?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

So, I sent them them some comments. I encourage any other motorcycle racing fans to do the same.

I sent this:
Motorcycle Roadracing and the lack thereof...
The FIM Superbike Championship kicks off this weekend and your programmers opt to show it on Tues, in the middle of the day when most of us are working. I continue to be confused at your networks complete lack of interest in promoting motorcycle racing and motorcycling in general. If you have no interest in providing such programming, please relinquish the rights to another network. Bobsledding??? this in place of motorcycle roadracing???
Is anyone there reading the comments of motorcycle fans??? Or, do you continue to ignore us???

I wonder if anyone will actually read it or simply delete.....

[Awesome]

rediculous.

If you can't see it I can Tivo it and burn it onto DVD for you.

[brewmaster]

Me too...me too. I don't have speedvision or tivo and I would dig a copy of the FIM races.

[cyberxen]

Me too! I'll even kick in a couple bucks for DVDs and whatnot (READ: beer )

[By-Tor]

Just sent them a message in the feedback section on www.speedtv.com

Is there any way that bobsledding could draw a larger viewing audience than motorcycle racing?

[odduc]

Yes, please burn me a copy, hessogood. I will be on vacation in FL, next week.

But, the really shitty thing about it is that we will already know the outcome of the races because, if you're as big a fan as I am, you read Roadracingworld.com everyday. I just can't get over the morons that run SpeedTV. I understand that their largest audience is the NASCRAP crowd, but how many times do we need to see the same edition of "NASCAR Today". What about a show dedicated to motorcycle racing for 30 min. every week, is that too much to ask. Greg's garage on Tues. is a fucking joke! Greg's interviewing style leaves much to be desired and they always end up showing some cruiser/Harley crap which takes up half of the show time. Then we only get little blurbs of the week's racing highlights.

Hey, howzabout we start our own network dedicated to sport bikes, motorcycle roadracing, Supermoto, Supercross and Motocross and some stunting thrown in????

[brewmaster]

Originally posted by cyberxen
(READ: beer )

Hey thats my line!

[cyberxen]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...155262661&rd=1

[Awesome]

yeah I read roadracingworld's daily news too.

Maybe we should be writing them a letter encouraging them to put together a short once a week program....at least we know it'd get done right!

[By-Tor]

The feedback team at Speed TV is really quick with their replies!

Here is my message that I sent them ........

"Who\'s bright idea was it to air Air Bobsledding instead of
the
kick off race of the 05\' FIM World Suberbike season? Bobsledding
can\'t
seriously garner higher ratings than motorcycle racing. Pretty soon I
will
run out of reasons to watch your network. Get a clue!"

Here is their reply ..................

"To be perfectly honest, yes, bobsledding consistently draws higher
ratings
than motorcycle racing.

However, in the case of this weekend's World Superbike events, we have
had
contractual commitments with those events that are scheduled this
Sunday in
place before the FIM announced their 2005 schedule. So as to not
breach
those agreements, we are forced to show the Qatar SBK races on Tuesday."

[odduc]

Bobsledding has higher viewer ratings that Motorcycle roadracing???? Do they think that we just fell off the turnip truck???? Now, I understand...they think that motorcycle racing fans are idiots!!!!!

Bobsledding, seriously, a higher viewing audience than motorcycle roadracing?????????
Are they trying to fool us, or themselves??? I, for one, am not convinced.

[mikeb]

i have a comment but i'm to pissed to type it i also work on tuesday nights so i guess i'll miss the whole season. fuckin wonderful

[SEVENSGT]

looks like Jay is burnin a lot of DVD's, I'll take one

[Graffix31]

i 2 would enjoy a copy

[Rye]

I posted about this very thing weeks ago. It's crap.

I have also been giving some thinking about who watches motorcycle racing. I honestly don't think it is the squid that hops on the hottest thing in the showroom. I feel that we are the only ones that watch it...real motorcycle racing enthusiasts. When you slice the motorcycling community down to its components, you see some distinctions. We are a very small minority. We look at it from a narrow perspective, thinking more people would be interested. In actuality, our choices to ride sportbikes is for the most part frowned upon by the majority. Look how many times Corbin's Ride-On, or Discovery's shows air. Imagine having that type of programming! Now I'm gonna hop off my soap box and watch Faster 2.

[By-Tor]

You've got a point there Rye.

Hey look! I'm a minority

[Lucky13]

I can't wait for two rail Tuesday. I love bobsledding.

[mikeb]

Originally posted by Rye
I posted about this very thing weeks ago. It's crap.

I have also been giving some thinking about who watches motorcycle racing. I honestly don't think it is the squid that hops on the hottest thing in the showroom. I feel that we are the only ones that watch it...real motorcycle racing enthusiasts. When you slice the motorcycling community down to its components, you see some distinctions. We are a very small minority. We look at it from a narrow perspective, thinking more people would be interested. In actuality, our choices to ride sportbikes is for the most part frowned upon by the majority. Look how many times Corbin's Ride-On, or Discovery's shows air. Imagine having that type of programming! Now I'm gonna hop off my soap box and watch Faster 2.

hhmmm very good point. i'll admit i never had much interest untill i started riding. now i can watch with alot more understanding of bike and rider. i've often thought this about nascar and its popularity. you see everybody drives a car so they think they can relate to what nascar drivers are doing and that on some level they could do the same. were they look at sportbike racing and don't have a clue. now take sportbike riders, weed out the posers, and there's not really alot of us. so maybe there is low viewership? as far as bobsledding i just don't get it. maybe its becouse we all went sledding as kids and think we could do that too?

[mikeb]

Originally posted by Lucky13
I can't wait for two rail Tuesday. I love bobsledding.

[odduc]

I see the point, Rye. I am incredibly passionate about roadracing, therefore everyone else should be too(j/K). Hell, as far as I'm concerned, roadracing is the greatest, most exciting sport on the planet. MILLIONS of people in Europe, Japan and Australia are fans of it. Unfortunately, not many people here in the USA have enough of an appreciation for it. And, admittely there are far more squids on sportbikes than enthusiasts.

Hey, now I know what it's like to be a minority...


HELP, I'm being opressed!!!!!!!!!!!

[By-Tor]

Originally posted by lrrs167
I see the point, Rye. I am incredibly passionate about roadracing, therefore everyone else should be too(j/K). Hell, as far as I'm concerned, roadracing is the greatest, most exciting sport on the planet. MILLIONS of people in Europe, Japan and Australia are fans of it. Unfortunately, not many people here in the USA have enough of an appreciation for it. And, admittely there are far more squids on sportbikes than enthusiasts.

Hey, now I know what it's like to be a minority...


HELP, I'm being opressed!!!!!!!!!!!

Now when you look at this from the Nascar point of view that blackvfr had, you can note that while in the USA the car is our primary means of transportation, the motorcycle is a major means of transportation in Europe, Japan, and Australia. This would explain the Nascar-like passion for motorcycle racing we see overseas.

[cbrf41999]

You think since they own the rights to the WSBK race they could relinquish it over to another Network. Like Spike or something, someone who is not really Speeds competition, and they would air something like that. And Speed gets to keep there little logo in the corner while Spike broadcasts. More people would get to see it. And maybe more people would subscribe to speed. But thats way to simple for our very complex business world.

[SEVENSGT]

Fuck that it should be a law if you ride, you need to watch racing, I'm calling my congressman

[odduc]

You think since they own the rights to the WSBK race they could relinquish it over to another Network. Like Spike or something, someone who is not really Speeds competition, and they would air something like that. And Speed gets to keep there little logo in the corner while Spike broadcasts. More people would get to see it. And maybe more people would subscribe to speed. But thats way to simple for our very complex business world.

Good idea! Too bad the people at SpeedTV are either too dumb or too stubborn to do it. It certainly makes good sense for all involved.

[brewmaster]

My wife is one of "those" European types (French OK hold the comments) and she loves motorcycle racing and F1 racing. Neither of which get any air time in this country! It seems with the increasing popularity of motorcycling that the ratings would go up to justify the scheduling of the races. I mean hey if you can watch bobsledding or Golf or bowling or figure skating etc. on tv, it seems like top end, exciting racing being sponsored by big name companys would fly. Last time I was in France they had a 3 hour motorcycle race coverage live without commercials on their national public station during the day. Not bad for those wine drinking baggette eating Frenchy's.