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Sprint Cup
CUP: FOX, SPEED To Focus More On Drivers
Former driver and TV analyst Darrell Waltrip will talk more about what a driver goes through during a race, FOX Sports Chairman David Hill says...
Darrell Waltrip (Right), pictured here with driver Brian Vickers, is now an analyst for SPEED and NASCAR on FOX. (Photo: Getty Images)
FOX Sports Chairman David Hill wants his own networks to focus more on the sport’s drivers this year and wants NASCAR to emphasize winning in its new points system and consider running shorter races.
With Sprint Cup ratings on FOX – the first 13 races of the season – having dropped 6 percent in 2010 compared with 2009, Hill said the personalities in the sport need to take center stage on his network’s race telecasts as well as the programming on the Fox-owned Speed channel.
“What this sport is all about is the driver,” Hill said Monday during the Sprint Media Tour. “Everything else in NASCAR is an afterthought. People follow the sport because the drivers are heroes. … The story of the heroes – that’s what the fans want to hear, the superheroes that can do things that very, very few people can or will.”
SPEED’s emphasis will center on stories of the drivers, Hill said. Former driver and TV analyst Darrell Waltrip will talk more about what motivates a driver and try to relay to fans what a driver goes through during a race, Hill said.
“There were two things that people fell in love with: The heroes that drove these cars at breakneck speed and risked death for glory, and the car they drove their kids to school and to church in,” Hill said. “They were a Ford man or a GM man. They followed these drivers, who were prepared to risk all for glory.
“There was wonderful emotion that still resonates with people. There has been so much discussion about the car and this and that, that the whole issue has been confused. What SPEED will do this coming season is put the emphasis right back where it belongs, which is on the drivers.”
Hill said that when the new car was introduced in 2007, too much attention was placed on the car.
“What’s happened, unintentionally probably, is the emphasis – and you guys [in the media] are to blame just as much as anyone else – has moved the emphasis away from the driver,” Hill said. “The car of tomorrow became the greatest red herring in the history of this sport. It took the emphasis away form the heroes.
“What we’re trying to do with our programming is move them back. … What we’re going to be doing on FOX and what we’re going to be doing on SPEED is showing the stories of drivers. We’re moving our emphasis well away from the mechanical and putting it on the human.”
In a 25-minute briefing with reporters on a wide range of topics, Hill said the 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. Eastern start times worked well for FOX, although he suggested that Chase for the Sprint Cup races on ESPN/ABC should be run on Saturday nights to avoid a conflict with football.
He said FOX would like to have three-hour races, which would give it about 40 minutes of prerace and 20 minutes of postrace.
“Right now there are more opportunities for stuff [for viewers] than anytime in man’s history,” Hill said. “I think a lot of the races are too long. I think probably three hours would be ideal.”
He also suggested that when NASCAR announces its new points system Wednesday, it should place a heavy emphasis on winning. NASCAR is considering a 43-to-1, first-to-last system that would include a bonus – likely two or three points – for a win.
“I think the points didn’t emphasize winning enough,” Hill said. “I’ve been covering auto sports and the hero was the one who won, not three points here, seven points there, take a number you first thought of and if you’re a Sagittarius, that means you’re in the fourth sector and whatever.
“Sports is about winning.”
As far as FOX’s current contract with NASCAR, Hill said it’s too soon to tell how aggressively FOX will pursue a new deal. The current TV contract ends after the 2014 season. He said he would not negotiate the deal “in the public.”
“[The business] is not as good as it was. … On a personal level, I am interested in continuing the relationship,” Hill said. “On a business level, [in] three years is something we’d look at.”
On the topic of online coverage, Hill said he is not willing to stream coverage of FOX races online because he doesn’t want to impact the ratings for affiliates, and he also doesn’t believe that watching races on mobile devices has much appeal.
“I think on HD with 5.1 surround sound, I think the experience we give to the home viewer is absolutely sensational,” Hill said. “Watching it on portable devices, I don’t know if that’s got that much appeal. … You’ve got these little pins running around [on the phone].”
Hill also stressed that he felt NASCAR is working on its issues.
“I really think they’re trying,” Hill said. “I know them so well. I know Brian and Lesa [France] and Mike [Helton]. I love them all, and they’re fantastic. Over the last 10 years, I’ve become very close with them. They do have problems, and they’re all trying very hard. … It’s tough.
“Often there’s areas that none of us really know what’s going on, so it’s impossible [to say what to do]. Everyone would love a magic wand and it all gets back to what it was. It’s going to be a slow haul.”
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With Sprint Cup ratings on FOX – the first 13 races of the season – having dropped 6 percent in 2010 compared with 2009, Hill said the personalities in the sport need to take center stage on his network’s race telecasts as well as the programming on the Fox-owned Speed channel.
“What this sport is all about is the driver,” Hill said Monday during the Sprint Media Tour. “Everything else in NASCAR is an afterthought. People follow the sport because the drivers are heroes. … The story of the heroes – that’s what the fans want to hear, the superheroes that can do things that very, very few people can or will.”
SPEED’s emphasis will center on stories of the drivers, Hill said. Former driver and TV analyst Darrell Waltrip will talk more about what motivates a driver and try to relay to fans what a driver goes through during a race, Hill said.
“There were two things that people fell in love with: The heroes that drove these cars at breakneck speed and risked death for glory, and the car they drove their kids to school and to church in,” Hill said. “They were a Ford man or a GM man. They followed these drivers, who were prepared to risk all for glory.
“There was wonderful emotion that still resonates with people. There has been so much discussion about the car and this and that, that the whole issue has been confused. What SPEED will do this coming season is put the emphasis right back where it belongs, which is on the drivers.”
Hill said that when the new car was introduced in 2007, too much attention was placed on the car.
“What’s happened, unintentionally probably, is the emphasis – and you guys [in the media] are to blame just as much as anyone else – has moved the emphasis away from the driver,” Hill said. “The car of tomorrow became the greatest red herring in the history of this sport. It took the emphasis away form the heroes.
“What we’re trying to do with our programming is move them back. … What we’re going to be doing on FOX and what we’re going to be doing on SPEED is showing the stories of drivers. We’re moving our emphasis well away from the mechanical and putting it on the human.”
In a 25-minute briefing with reporters on a wide range of topics, Hill said the 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. Eastern start times worked well for FOX, although he suggested that Chase for the Sprint Cup races on ESPN/ABC should be run on Saturday nights to avoid a conflict with football.
He said FOX would like to have three-hour races, which would give it about 40 minutes of prerace and 20 minutes of postrace.
“Right now there are more opportunities for stuff [for viewers] than anytime in man’s history,” Hill said. “I think a lot of the races are too long. I think probably three hours would be ideal.”
He also suggested that when NASCAR announces its new points system Wednesday, it should place a heavy emphasis on winning. NASCAR is considering a 43-to-1, first-to-last system that would include a bonus – likely two or three points – for a win.
“I think the points didn’t emphasize winning enough,” Hill said. “I’ve been covering auto sports and the hero was the one who won, not three points here, seven points there, take a number you first thought of and if you’re a Sagittarius, that means you’re in the fourth sector and whatever.
“Sports is about winning.”
As far as FOX’s current contract with NASCAR, Hill said it’s too soon to tell how aggressively FOX will pursue a new deal. The current TV contract ends after the 2014 season. He said he would not negotiate the deal “in the public.”
“[The business] is not as good as it was. … On a personal level, I am interested in continuing the relationship,” Hill said. “On a business level, [in] three years is something we’d look at.”
On the topic of online coverage, Hill said he is not willing to stream coverage of FOX races online because he doesn’t want to impact the ratings for affiliates, and he also doesn’t believe that watching races on mobile devices has much appeal.
“I think on HD with 5.1 surround sound, I think the experience we give to the home viewer is absolutely sensational,” Hill said. “Watching it on portable devices, I don’t know if that’s got that much appeal. … You’ve got these little pins running around [on the phone].”
Hill also stressed that he felt NASCAR is working on its issues.
“I really think they’re trying,” Hill said. “I know them so well. I know Brian and Lesa [France] and Mike [Helton]. I love them all, and they’re fantastic. Over the last 10 years, I’ve become very close with them. They do have problems, and they’re all trying very hard. … It’s tough.
“Often there’s areas that none of us really know what’s going on, so it’s impossible [to say what to do]. Everyone would love a magic wand and it all gets back to what it was. It’s going to be a slow haul.”
SceneDaily.com • Stanley to share space with DeWalt on Marcos Ambrose car
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