Post by WI8SecFan on Apr 19, 2007 21:25:04 GMT -5
I think most of us understand that the PBR cannot dictate to VS the time of the schedule or the exact format of the show however, it would seem that some current practices are negatively affecting BOTH interested parties. For VS it is a numbers game, pure and simple how to get the most people possible watching their station. Putting aside the recent change to the schedule due to hockey (I will get to that later) VS has devoted a considerable amount of their primetime weekend schedule to the PBR. For this, they should be recognized. Many of us can remember subsisting on an hour broadcast that aired at wacky times a few years ago. One only needs to look at other associations to see what a struggle and accomplishment this was.
So what is going wrong? Simply put they are showing the WRONG things in the time devoted. VS has recently devoted large portions of the broadcast to following riders behind the chutes, repetitive interviews, inconsequential rides and the same story lines each week. As a result, the content has become stale and more of the “action” is being missed. They focus only on approximately six riders consistently and let’s face it those top six can only be interesting and fresh for so long. They seem to have forgotten that the world loves the underdog! Instead of asking Justin his strategy for staying on bulls for the 50th time, (I think we all know he just goes out there, tries to stay in the center, and does not really try to over think things). Let us hear about the guy that has just hit 15 ET and CT events in an attempt to regain his spot on tour. Or the guy in the 35th spot that is trying to avoid the cut so he has been trying to do as many BFTS and CT/ET events as he can get to. Or instead of watching a guy drag his rope back to the locker room (honestly people not that exciting) lets talk to the guy in the 25th spot that just rode his bull or got stepped on. If it is human interest that they want, they need to start looking beyond the top 10. The fan vote for riders to go to Hawaii should have been a wake up call that the fans are watching for more then the top ten riders.
So let’s assume that VS cannot show every ride since they need to show commercials. Therefore, the question I would hope VS would ask is how do we decide what to show. The logical answer seems to be those that influence the results of the event or future events. So putting on my program director hat here is my proposed priority:
1. Show the qualified rides first - how many times have you seen someone in the short go and wondered how they got there, if a guy rides he deserves TV time!
2. Show the wrecks, near wrecks and the injuries – there are many people that watch for the wrecks. The possibility of a wreck adds to the excitement of the sport. This will also keep us from wondering why someone is not on the draw and on crutches the next time we see them!
3. Show the top riders/bulls-They earned their spot in the top and we want to see how they do.
4. The great bulls/rides that don’t meet one of the above qualifications. An athletic bull has a great out and makes and amazing move out of the chutes turfing his rider quickly, the 7.8-second close rides.
5. All other rides the 5.4-second rides that were nothing spectacular.
So now that we determined the rides that are shown lets move on to the personal angle. First, use the commentators more to tell us the stories. A great example of this is the story that was told about Cord McCoy last week (that has been talked about more then the why did you buck off the bull interviews!). Use them not just for play-by-play but also to fill in the gaps of the personal stories. Secondly, if you interviewed them last week you are not allowed to ask the same question this week. In fact, unless there has been a status change or they have won something try skipping a week interviewing them. Third, each event split the top 45 into three tiers based on their ranking. Make sure that one guy is interviewed from each tier each week. This will ensure some fresh faces and fresh stories. Finally, do not follow any rider beyond the chute area. If they are just behind the chutes, fine follow them…if they enter the hallway stop! Only injury updates should be given from that area.
So why should VS or the PBR follow these recommendations? Simply put increased sales and marketing opportunities. Besides an increase in viewer ship due to fresh content, they open new marketing doors. The riders, the PBR and VS survive on sponsorships. Simply put show more riders give more exposure for more sponsors. This increases the value of a rider sponsorship and a companies marketing stake in the PBR as a whole. Recently surveys were done on sponsor recognition; there is no better way to increase the exposure then showing the arena and riders more. If twenty minutes are devoted to Justin and Adriano every show we see only their sponsors for twenty minutes. Say you take just 5 minutes of that time showing the arena and rides. You have just dramatically increased the volume of sponsors shown and the exposure of your primary sponsors that have arena signage. Take another 5 minutes to interview two extra riders and suddenly you have extra rider sponsors with exposure. Sponsoring a rider outside of the top ten is now a much better marketing value for medium sized companies who will see a higher exposure rate. You still have 10 minutes to devote to Justin and Adriano. Finally, you have also increased the ambassadors for the sport. Fans will have a wider group of favorites. This increases fan loyalty and provides more individuals to do marketing for the PBR.
Finally, even on the networks sport finals preempt other programming so it is logical that hockey would do the same. However, hockey has been one of the least fan friendly sports. Remember these are the “athletes” that went on strike and almost killed their own sport. Their treatment of “fans” is despicable compared to what the PBR athletes give back. When was the last time you saw a hockey player spend several hours in their hotel lobby after a game meeting fans and signing autographs?
So there is my rant for the week! Besides reactions to my thoughts, I pose this question:
What riders or stories that are not being covered would you like to see VS interview, talk about, show etc over the next few events? Let us help them find their next story!
So what is going wrong? Simply put they are showing the WRONG things in the time devoted. VS has recently devoted large portions of the broadcast to following riders behind the chutes, repetitive interviews, inconsequential rides and the same story lines each week. As a result, the content has become stale and more of the “action” is being missed. They focus only on approximately six riders consistently and let’s face it those top six can only be interesting and fresh for so long. They seem to have forgotten that the world loves the underdog! Instead of asking Justin his strategy for staying on bulls for the 50th time, (I think we all know he just goes out there, tries to stay in the center, and does not really try to over think things). Let us hear about the guy that has just hit 15 ET and CT events in an attempt to regain his spot on tour. Or the guy in the 35th spot that is trying to avoid the cut so he has been trying to do as many BFTS and CT/ET events as he can get to. Or instead of watching a guy drag his rope back to the locker room (honestly people not that exciting) lets talk to the guy in the 25th spot that just rode his bull or got stepped on. If it is human interest that they want, they need to start looking beyond the top 10. The fan vote for riders to go to Hawaii should have been a wake up call that the fans are watching for more then the top ten riders.
So let’s assume that VS cannot show every ride since they need to show commercials. Therefore, the question I would hope VS would ask is how do we decide what to show. The logical answer seems to be those that influence the results of the event or future events. So putting on my program director hat here is my proposed priority:
1. Show the qualified rides first - how many times have you seen someone in the short go and wondered how they got there, if a guy rides he deserves TV time!
2. Show the wrecks, near wrecks and the injuries – there are many people that watch for the wrecks. The possibility of a wreck adds to the excitement of the sport. This will also keep us from wondering why someone is not on the draw and on crutches the next time we see them!
3. Show the top riders/bulls-They earned their spot in the top and we want to see how they do.
4. The great bulls/rides that don’t meet one of the above qualifications. An athletic bull has a great out and makes and amazing move out of the chutes turfing his rider quickly, the 7.8-second close rides.
5. All other rides the 5.4-second rides that were nothing spectacular.
So now that we determined the rides that are shown lets move on to the personal angle. First, use the commentators more to tell us the stories. A great example of this is the story that was told about Cord McCoy last week (that has been talked about more then the why did you buck off the bull interviews!). Use them not just for play-by-play but also to fill in the gaps of the personal stories. Secondly, if you interviewed them last week you are not allowed to ask the same question this week. In fact, unless there has been a status change or they have won something try skipping a week interviewing them. Third, each event split the top 45 into three tiers based on their ranking. Make sure that one guy is interviewed from each tier each week. This will ensure some fresh faces and fresh stories. Finally, do not follow any rider beyond the chute area. If they are just behind the chutes, fine follow them…if they enter the hallway stop! Only injury updates should be given from that area.
So why should VS or the PBR follow these recommendations? Simply put increased sales and marketing opportunities. Besides an increase in viewer ship due to fresh content, they open new marketing doors. The riders, the PBR and VS survive on sponsorships. Simply put show more riders give more exposure for more sponsors. This increases the value of a rider sponsorship and a companies marketing stake in the PBR as a whole. Recently surveys were done on sponsor recognition; there is no better way to increase the exposure then showing the arena and riders more. If twenty minutes are devoted to Justin and Adriano every show we see only their sponsors for twenty minutes. Say you take just 5 minutes of that time showing the arena and rides. You have just dramatically increased the volume of sponsors shown and the exposure of your primary sponsors that have arena signage. Take another 5 minutes to interview two extra riders and suddenly you have extra rider sponsors with exposure. Sponsoring a rider outside of the top ten is now a much better marketing value for medium sized companies who will see a higher exposure rate. You still have 10 minutes to devote to Justin and Adriano. Finally, you have also increased the ambassadors for the sport. Fans will have a wider group of favorites. This increases fan loyalty and provides more individuals to do marketing for the PBR.
Finally, even on the networks sport finals preempt other programming so it is logical that hockey would do the same. However, hockey has been one of the least fan friendly sports. Remember these are the “athletes” that went on strike and almost killed their own sport. Their treatment of “fans” is despicable compared to what the PBR athletes give back. When was the last time you saw a hockey player spend several hours in their hotel lobby after a game meeting fans and signing autographs?
So there is my rant for the week! Besides reactions to my thoughts, I pose this question:
What riders or stories that are not being covered would you like to see VS interview, talk about, show etc over the next few events? Let us help them find their next story!