ESPN Dumps Direct NASCAR Link On Website Front Page

Things are certainly getting interesting where the new ESPN.com homepage is concerned. The redesigned version of this top sports website has caused quite a backlash across the Internet.

Where TDP is concerned, one change really stands out. The company that telecasts the entire Nationwide Series, the final 17 Sprint Cup races and offers the only daily NASCAR show on TV has eliminated NASCAR as a direct link on the frontpage of their website.

ESPN.com users no longer see the word NASCAR on the front page and have to click on the "All Sports" tab to open a menu box and then find the sport. Poker and High School sports are also on the same menu. The curious part of this switch is that the National Hockey League remains as a direct link while NASCAR does not.

When you load the new ESPN.com front page, you suddenly find yourself immersed in a commercial environment that puts your ability to navigate on hold until all the advertising is complete.

Here is an excerpt from Venture Beat that talks about the specifics:

ESPN launched its new site design today and all I can say is “wow.” And it’s not a good “wow,” it’s a horrified “wow.” I can’t separate those advertisements from the content, and so I’ll never visit this site again.

It’s sad, because ESPN does have great content when it comes to sports. In fact, I don’t think it’s any stretch to say that it has the best content out there. But with this redesign it’s crossed a line that I expect other sites may try to cross as advertising revenues dip in the weak economy.

First of all, when you load up espn.com, you’re greeted with a huge overlay that includes not just a giant static ad, but also a video that auto-plays! It was annoying enough when ESPN had a little video in the corner that played when you loaded the site previously, but at least with that you could see other content too. Now you’re forced to sit through this overlay or click out of it. It doesn’t run every time you visit the site, but more than enough to make it so I won’t go back.

Secondly, the site itself is still just a giant ad disguised as a sports site. I’m looking at the site right now and I can’t tell if I’m at a site about sports or the website about the Ford F-150. I hope I don’t accidentally click anywhere because I must have a 50 percent chance of hitting one of these ads.

You can read the entire Venture Beat article by clicking here.

Mr. Siegler goes on to talk about content issues. Other than the opinions offered by the ESPN writers, most of the other sports information, including NASCAR news, is available from a wide variety of Internet sources. This puts the ESPN NASCAR writers in a tough situation where getting new Internet readers is concerned.

Arriving at the NASCAR page, the positive change in the ESPN redesign is apparent. The NASCAR videos do not auto-play when the user arrives, so folks do not have to continually grab the volume controls. The page itself has gone minimalist.

Two of the key elements on the front page are from the ESPN-owned Jayski.com website. A podcast that has a great quick play feature uses Jayski's business partner Mark Garrow as the announcer for an informative update on the NASCAR happenings.

The direct link to Jayski.com has been moved to the right-hand column and continues to feature headlines from that site. It is unfortunate that when a user clicks on an ESPN.com NASCAR story, the Jayski link does not travel to the next page.

It should be interesting to see if once again the ESPN TV coverage of NASCAR, including the daily NASCAR Now program, can go through a third season without ever mentioning the ESPN-owned Jayski.com on the air.

This culture clash between North Carolina and Connecticut continues to be very strange, with many NASCAR fans going to Jayski for information long before ESPN returned to the sport. Integrating Jayski into the NASCAR Now program for 2009 would be a tremendously smart move for the "New England gang."

From the NASCAR page on ESPN.com, it appears that David Newton, Terry Blount, Marty Smith, Ed Hinton and Ryan McGee will be the ones providing the reporting and opinion for this season. Each is featured with their own section and archives.

The ESPN.com direct link to NASCAR used to be the small tip of the NASCAR news and information iceberg that was visible above the water to everyone. Now, it has sunk just below the surface.

That first click makes all the difference in the Internet business. Getting mainstream stick-and-ball sports fans to read about NASCAR was greatly influenced by that one little word that used to be on the website's front page.

Yahoo! Sports matches ESPN.com in head-to-head users, often trading the "unique visitors" lead on a monthly basis. Yahoo! continues to make a NASCAR direct link available on the sports front page.

With millions of sports fans of all types surfing over to ESPN.com every day, losing NASCAR as a "one click" in these troubled times is not a very positive step for the sport.

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TV News And Notes

Here are some end-of-the-week updates on TV-related topics:

Ryan Burr - Many fans asked what was going to happen to the former co-host of NASCAR Now since ESPN announced he will not be returning to that position for 2009.

Burr passes along that he is doing great at ESPN and is currently an in-studio host for college basketball games. He also has his own show called Midnight Madness on ESPN2 that recaps the day in college hoops.

Burr joined ESPN in 2005 from FSN's regional sports network in Pittsburgh, PA. He worked very hard to help ESPN recover from the disaster of Erik Kuselias and Doug Banks who were the original hosts of NASCAR Now back in 2007.

Even though it was clear that NASCAR was not a sport he knew well, Burr maintained a professional news approach during the programs and was part of the team that turned the once laughable series into a credible one for ESPN2.

Burr was also a regular reader of TDP and enjoyed your comments, both good and bad. Good luck to Ryan as he leaves ESPN's NASCAR coverage.

Nicole Manske - Congratulation to Manske for a big change in her life during this off-season break. Here is the story from the Associated Press:

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe and ESPN host Nicole Manske are engaged to be married.

The 27-year-old Briscoe, who won three races and finished fifth in the IRL standings last season, popped the question during a vacation with Manske in his native Australia over the holidays. The engagement was announced Wednesday by Team Penske.

The couple is planning a wedding next December in Hawaii, a location chosen because it is halfway between their families' homes in Sydney, Australia, and Roscoe, Ill.

Manske will return along with Mike Massaro and Allen Bestwick as one of the three co-hosts of NASCAR Now on ESPN2 in 2009. Bestwick will host the Monday one-hour roundtable shows while Massaro and Manske will alternate between reporting from the field and hosting duties in the studio.

Mike Massaro - Click here for a great article by the Hartford Courant's Shawn Courchesne about Mike Massaro. Courchesne points out that Massaro is a Connecticut native from the Manchester area and has both an educational and work history in the area. His transition to ESPN's headquarters should be a smooth one.

It does not take very long for NASCAR fans to drum-up memories of Massaro during the time that ESPN was on the outs with NASCAR. Standing outside the tracks, along the roadways and even at the airports, Massaro was a picture of determination as he single-handedly kept the NASCAR profile alive on ESPN during a very tough period. Good luck to Mike on his new assignment.

The SPEED Report - TDP wants to make sure fans understand the recent story about this TV series. SPEED was actually planning to be on-the-air this Sunday at 7PM with the first show from the new SPEED studios all along.

TDP got information from both the SPEEDtv.com website and one other source indicating the first live show should have been this past week. What was listed on the SPEED website as a live show was actually a rehearsal.

So, thanks to SPEED for helping to clear things up and we look forward to Bob Varsha, Leigh Diffey and Fox's Jeff Hammond live at 7PM ET this Sunday from the new SPEED studios with the first show.

TDP is working on getting photos of the news studio and control rooms. We will pass them along as soon as they arrive.

SPEED HD - TDP is working with SPEED to get a handle on the transition by the cable systems to SPEED in High Definition. We will have a full update next week.

Thanks again for stopping by, we invite your comments on the topics mentioned above. Just click on the COMMENTS button below. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Have a great weekend.

Homemade Soup Always Tastes The Best

It's easy to buy the soup that is on sale at the supermarket and simply stick it in the cabinet. Red labels line my shelf and promise exactly the same taste over-and-over again. Consistency trumps quality when convenience is the goal.

Wednesday afternoon, the folks at The NASCAR Media Group (NMG) used the SPEED network to remind us of one simple fact. Despite the ease of buying off the shelf, nothing tastes better than homemade soup.

Using all the ingredients left over from 2008, NMG took three hours to deliver just the kind of TV lunch that creates a great memory.

Like the tastes of the past that come to mind when homemade soup is on the menu, the NASCAR pictures and sound flashing by in the first episode of NASCAR 39/10 were just flat-out good for the soul.

These are tough times and watching the memories of Daytona and California allowed for three hours of relief from reality. Storylines jumped off the screen as images of the Shootout flashed by mixed with honest comments and familiar faces.

NMG pulled from all the 2008 NASCAR footage and allowed the story to wander from high-speed racing to the slow and steady pace of the late T. Taylor Warren as he captured the action. Announcers from both the TV and radio broadcasts combined to deliver a fascinating mix of commentary styles.

Inserting interview footage right in the middle of the action as it happened is a trademark of the glossy TV style of NMG. Seeing the calm face of Ryan Newman commenting on his Daytona 500 win seconds after watching his car cross the line is just tremendously effective.

The closing review of California was a reminder of the weather struggles for the series last season. Even with the kind words of SPEED's John Roberts as he talked about the history of the facility, the real world struggle of the racetrack was well chronicled. One look at the grandstands confirmed that issue.

As a lead-in to the season, this first episode set a very strong tone in terms of quality and satisfaction. The challenge for NMG is going to be keeping this honest and upfront approach as the season hits the speedbumps that both the COT and Goodyear experienced in the stretch run.

The second episode of NASCAR 39/10 airs on Thursday, January 8th from noon to 3PM Eastern Time. The rest of the series continues on Wednesdays and Thursdays in that same timeslot for four more weeks. 30 hours of NASCAR action is not a bad kick-off to the 2009 season.

For those expecting a warmed-up re-hash of the past, finding a nice mix of ingredients in NASCAR 39/10 will certainly serve to invite fans back again to see what's on the lunch menu for Thursday.

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