Sunday TV Showdown Looming

It's that time of the year again for NASCAR. Sunday afternoon, the Sprint Cup Series will go head-to-head with the NFL for TV ratings. It's a moment of choice for fans of both sports.

While the action from the Saturday night race in Richmond was certainly an attention-getter, the NFL also had a memorable opening weekend. This is the time of the season when ESPN is alone in presenting the Sprint Cup Series races.

It's a tad ironic that ESPN just unveiled a massive new NFL TV package. It has already resulted in new programming on multiple ESPN networks and substantial expansion of existing series. ESPN and the NFL have cemented a relationship that will exist for a very long time.

This was also the week that ESPN2's NASCAR Now, the only NASCAR-themed program on any ESPN network, was relegated to the 3PM Eastern timeslot. Even the later airing for West Coast viewers was cancelled. Since 2007 this series has aired on weekdays at 5PM ET.

Last year we had this discussion and found many NASCAR fans to be upset. While the Chase for the Championship format was designed to counter NFL interest, it was not the Chase fans disliked. Instead, it was the way ESPN covered the final ten races of the Sprint Cup Series season.

Fans of drivers outside of the Chase found no TV coverage of those teams, unless the car was leading the race. Literally from the time the green flag fell there would be four hours without a full field recap, any reference to non-Chase teams or even updates on how non-Chase drivers got to where they were running on the track.

Often, drivers would seemingly appear from nowhere to win the races. It was a fundamental disconnect between a TV network covering a Chase and fans who were watching a race. Nothing could shake ESPN from focusing on the top Chasers for the entire telecast.

One basic truth about the NASCAR fan base was seemingly missed by the ESPN production team. Fans do not change driver favorites when the Chase starts. That group of fans wearing Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle or Mark Martin gear wants to be provided the same amount of information about those teams as they have been all season.

The argument that the Chase drivers deserve the lion's share of the TV coverage has been proven wrong by the disastrous TV ratings and negative fan response over the last four years. Time and time again, it's been suggested that ESPN take the Chase races and simply produce them as events, letting the scoring ticker and the pit reporters handle the Chase point updates.

One new wrinkle brought to the table by ESPN this season is the side-by-side commercial format. Branded as NASCAR Nonstop, the new format will be used for the second half of each Chase race. The first half of each race will feature full-screen commercials as usual.

This is at least a bow to one of the biggest problems TV has with the sport. In order to pay for the races, the Sprint Cup Series networks have to hammer commercial breaks into live events without being able to stop the action. NASCAR Nonstop is at least a first step that will hopefully convince ESPN to use this format full time for 2012.

The other big advantage for ESPN is the presence of Allen Bestwick. Love him or hate him, Bestwick is superb at directing traffic on the air and working to keep fans updated on the information about the race. This will be his first time trying to walk the tricky line of the race vs. the Chase.

It really helps to have someone in the lap-by-lap announcer position who has direct experience in the role. That is something Dr. Jerry Punch and Marty Reid did not. It was a bold move by ESPN just days before the network's Sprint Cup Series coverage began to move Bestwick into the TV booth. We will see on Sunday if it pays off.

What is your mindset as you try to make the decision about Sunday TV viewing? Putting aside the usual complaints about the Chase, Brian France and Junior how about sharing with us what you will be watching on Sunday and why.

To add your opinion on this topic, just click the comments button below. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

Last Minute Deal Brings NASCAR Content Online

Since 2007 we have been describing the stand-off between Turner Sports, the online rights holder for NASCAR, and two of the sport's key media partners, ESPN and FOX.

Veteran reporter Dustin Long of Landmark Newspapers is reporting that Turner and ESPN have made a last minute deal to settle most of those differences. Basically, the agreement involves some good old fashioned horse trading. Click here to read Long's complete story.

ESPN has an online service called Watch ESPN. This allows existing cable customers of Time Warner, Bright House and Verizon FiOS access to the ESPN networks online. It gives devices like laptops, iPads and smart phones streaming of all things ESPN.

What the Watch ESPN app did not have was NASCAR. Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series and the daily NASCAR Now program were all blacked-out because Turner held the online rights. Those shows could be watched on TV, but not online.

Meanwhile, Turner has been working hard to expand the RaceBuddy franchise as a part of the online package of goodies that the NASCAR.com website can offer. This year RaceBuddy was available for the six TNT Sprint Cup Series races, all of the truck series races and several non-points events carried by SPEED.

Since 2007 ESPN has been enforcing the TV exclusivity that prohibits Turner from using any live racetrack footage online. ESPN paid a pretty penny for the final 17 Sprint Cup Series races and the door has been tightly shut to allowing any of that content destined for TV to be used for RaceBuddy.

As Long reported, in the agreement scheduled to be announced Wednesday, both Turner and ESPN have made moves that ultimately benefit their own agendas. NASCAR fans just happen to benefit as well.

Turner allows ESPN to stream Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Now show on the Watch ESPN service. ESPN allows Turner to use live race video and audio in a Sprint Cup Series version of RaceBuddy. Ultimately, both sides walk away happy.

NASCAR fans might need a second to sort all this out. Those with existing Watch ESPN service will now get to see that NASCAR content online. Folks who have Comcast or other major cable companies who do not offer Watch ESPN are still out of luck. The Charlotte race is on ABC and is not in this package, just the other nine races.

Meanwhile anyone with online access can get the RaceBuddy application through the NASCAR.com website. The new version will have two mosaic (mix) video boxes with four windows each for a total of eight video sources. Whatever in-car cameras are chosen will also have the team scanner.

This version of RaceBuddy will have a live leaderboard, social media chatting and Raceview's position tracker. It will be similar to the layout used for the TNT races this year. RaceBuddy is a great way to see live video when the race is in commercial break and watch different coverage angles for more track views.

What RaceBuddy does not provide is actual streaming of the finished race program that ESPN viewers will be seeing. None of the eight video sources is the actual "race." This protects ESPN by forcing those without the Watch ESPN service back to the TV set.

In the end, fans do win because more access is great. RaceBuddy is a solid online race companion and Watch ESPN will allow folks nationwide to catch the live video on any kind of handheld device or tablet. Hopefully, positive feedback from both these developments will lead to some additional online content sharing and development between these two parties in the future.

While the timing of this deal may seem strange, it's really not. NASCAR, ESPN and Turner are all standing on the beach and seeing the same thing. There is a huge wave approaching and it is timed to hit on Sunday afternoon. The NFL is back and NASCAR is poised to take a huge hit in the TV ratings.

One glance at NFL Sunday Ticket, NFL Red Zone, NFL Mobile and the NFL Network coming straight at NASCAR's ten little races is pretty good motivation to make something happen. The NFL seems poised for its strongest TV ratings in history.

It's been a long road to these changes. Thanks to all the TDP readers who have consistently made their voices heard on these issues. While there are some additional online and production issues to solve, this is a nice present for a tired fan base watching NASCAR since February.

If any additional details are made public, this post will be updated on Wednesday throughout the day.

We invite your comments on this topic. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thank you for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

Repost: Puzzling TV Changes At SPEED

Update: Monday night brought lots of email and social media messages about the changes to the RaceHub program on SPEED. This is a repost of the story describing those changes from last week.

A trio of announcements from SPEED has made for some interesting reading and some head scratching moments. Let's take the items one at a time.

The young lady pictured above, Marianela Pereyra, is joining Trackside as a reporter for the next four programs. As we know, SPEED has been working to revamp the series and began by eliminating Larry McReynolds from the program this season.

Trackside has also been searching for a new host since Steve Byrnes moved into the network's RaceHub studios to host that series. It appears for the moment that Rutledge Wood has been given the role, at least for the next several programs.

Wood will host Kyle Petty and Jeff Hammond on the show this weekend from Atlanta with Joey Logano and David Ragan as guests. Trackside's new reporter goes simply by Marianela and is a TV veteran of music, poker and sports programs.

It should be interesting to see what this new format has in store for viewers and what role Marianela will be filling working among NASCAR fans in a program taped live outside. More fan interaction with the guests, perhaps?

We have been asking SPEED to offer the Victory Lane show after Saturday night Sprint Cup Series races for years. Now, the network has taken that idea even one step further. Victory Lane starting at Richmond will now air immediately after ESPN goes off the air with Sprint Cup Series post-race coverage.

That means fans can literally switch over to SPEED for an extended post-race show in the Victory Lane format. This program offers John Roberts, Kyle Petty and Kenny Wallace on a small set right in the actual Victory Lane area of the track. The idea is to capture the moments and also interview the winning driver, crew chief and owner. Bob Dillner reports for the show and highlights are also included.

This is a wonderful change for both the Saturday and Sunday races. The network deserves credit for moving to this flexible air time format to capitalize on the Sprint Cup Series TV audience that watched the live race.

Victory Lane will also keep it's Monday morning re-air. WindTunnel with Dave Despain will move to 8PM on Sundays to fill that now vacant timeslot.

The final news item is the head scratcher. It has already resulted in some rather upset NASCAR fans immediately after the announcement was made. SPEED's Monday through Thursday RaceHub show is being moved from 7PM to 6PM Eastern Time beginning September 12.

This move puts RaceHub squarely up against local TV station and broadcast TV network newscasts from Florida to Maine. The sacred 6PM hour of news is an East Coast institution. Even more interesting is the fact that for September, SPEED is airing two repeat episodes of the Pass Time drag racing game show in the 7PM hour. In September, the show continues to re-air at 11PM Pacific Time.

We asked for an explanation of the RaceHub move, but did not get a response from SPEED.

As always, we want your comments on these topics. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. Thank you for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.