Speedvision Sold, Future of Bike Programming?

What's up w/ that? Are there really only a couple of us out there who watch every Sunday and Tuesday night? There is some really incredible racing going on out there and no one cares?

How is watching a bunch of tide-box-looking-cars go around in circles better than Roadracing? At least bikes change direction and people love to watch things crash. What better crashing than with bikes? I mean, the guys turn into rag dolls and the bikes blow up. I'm thinking like 'Joe-six pack' here folks, I don't enjoy watching guys wad their bikes. I've been the rag-doll and it sux. Well, I guess it is kind of fun to watch.

Anyway, it would seem that groups like the AMA and Dorna have failed the sport. What have they done to promote for us and get us more air time? Why would they turn people away from the sport by not sharing information or news? As if they own the f'n news about the sport or something. Money grubbing trolls, I'm sure.

Is is that people in the cages are just so affraid of bikes that they just can't relate and don't care? I guess every mini-van soccer mom can at least relate to cars whereas bikes are too scarry and in their minds kill their children if they ever take an interest in them.

I really don't care about text coverage of racing.

The print coverage is ok, if I get a slow moment, but I don't even really care about that. The online coverage doesn't even have pics, so who cares at all. But I love to watch it. I watched every single race that was on speedvision. But the issue isn't percentages. If you want the kind of niche success speedvision's had, you have to be good. You have to at least care a little about quality. Speedvision wouldn't have gotten rid of motorcycles because they knew that would be stupid, they're channel would be lower quality. Stats are short term, name and brand value come from quality. Someone who has a clue has to say "we need motorcycles and mc racing if we want to call ourselves 'speedvision' and not have it be a joke", then stick to that because they know it's right. Ultimately this will build brand value, because any real motorsports fans that don't even primarily watch it for mc, recognize the value of mc racing, and recognize the value of the channel. Fox doesn't understand that because they don't know or care anything about quality. Fox sucks, and so does NASCAR. NASCAR doesn't even belong on speed vision because it gets too much coverage everywhere else. Oh well, at least their changing the name.

Dag nammit! I really hope they don't cancel the MC racing coverage. It's the only reason I watch Speedvision.



I figure the MC racing can't be that much of a bummer for them... they put it on at a pretty good time slot (8pm Sunday), or maybe that was just part of their deal.



I can sort of understand the difficulty dealing with Dorna, since MC racing in the US is peanuts compared to Spain, Italy, and the rest of Europe, (and probably Japan and other parts of Asia, too).



But the difficulty dealing with the AMA baffles me. You would think that they'd be bending over backwards to make it as easy as possible to publicize their roadracing events with results and such. Or maybe I'm mistaken in assuming that they want to increase their fan base...

Re: Petition to keep speedvision

I've already signed that...

The problem is: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Can you FATHOM how much money NASCAR brings in? Do you see those superspeedways packed to the gunwales with Joe-bub and Joe-mama?

Think of it...tickets are at LEAST 50 bucks a head and then, people aren't allowed to bring much in with them...so they have to go buy beer, pop, food, water, bathroom rights -P) from the vendors!

Then, we get nothing but "money shots" of the cars coming right at the camera on TV with the huge corporate sponsor names lathered grotesquely across their facades! We're talking BEAU COUP BUCKS @ Nascar!!!

So, please, for goodness sake! Go sign it...just don't be surprised when Fox takes it and wipes off their better side with it...

I've been a car guy since I was three years old, forty (gulp) years ago. I watched car races every chance I got (though I've always favored road courses over ovals). This year, I got into bikes for the second time, and started watching bike racing for the first time. And you know what? It's the best dang motor racing, of any kind, that I've seen in many years. Especially 500 GP and Superbike (World and AMA). I mean, wow! Close competition! Lots of passing! Significant fractions of the field finishing on the lead lap, or even in sight of the leader! It just doesn't get any better. If they could just get some of the gearheads out there to give it a try, they'd be hooked!



I think NASCAR is oversaturated already, and will soon start losing its audience. But the biggest mistake, IMHO, is changing the name! They've spend years building up the Speedvision brand name, and now Fox wants to throw that away and start over? What kind of idiots are running that network?



I signed up for my cable company's extra-cost "digital cable" offering just to get Speedvision. I watch all the bike shows, even "American Thunder" (if only to laugh at Michele Smith's "acting"). If Speedvision, er excuse me, Speed Channel, dumps bikes, maybe I'll dump digital cable. That might be a message they'd understand.

Fox has a better side?

I'm not just talking about the motorcycle races, I'm talking about F1. I know mc racing is tiny here 'cause people suck, but to do speedvision right, you gotta have a little of all of it. So mc racing HAS to ride in on F1, SCCA and rally coattails. Fox isn't just tossing out mc racing, they're tossing out all motorsports except for that stock car crap. Since speedvision viewers in general are not NASCAR viewers, they're throwing out a whole market, and they're throwing away money. Of course, that money just happens to be pennies compared to the NASCAR money, so they just don't care. But a whole new NASCAR channel wouldn't interfere with speedvision at all, and it would technically be more money. Just more initial investment. I don't know why they had to buy speedvision anyway, if those viewers aren't enough to care about, why does speedvision have any value? Do they really just think because it's racing related, and technically NASCAR is racing, that they're gonna pick up some of the old audience? Did they buy it just because it was the cheapest, and the racing angle just happens to be a coincidence? Why couldn't they just buy any other channel, they all have about as much to do with NASCAR as speedvision does. Like the food channel, or hell, TNN. You wouldn't even notice the change.