CUT! ABC BUTCHERS BELMONT RACE COVERAGE
By Ray Paulick
Is it that difficult to show a race on television so that it both reflects the power and excitement of the Thoroughbred horse and yet still allows viewers to know what’s going on in the race? Apparently so, especially if you happened to be the person in charge of televising Saturday’s Belmont Stakes on ABC Sports/ESPN.
The actual race coverage of this year’s Belmont may be the worst I have ever seen in more than three decades of watching horse racing on television. From the ridiculous start, where a camera on the outside rail seemed so distant you could barely distinguish one horse from another, to the constant camera cuts throughout the race (there were 11 changes, by my count), to the inaudible call by Tom Durkin, it was just plain awful.
I am not a proponent of sticking with the racetrack feed that shows a single pan shot of the race. But the ABC/ESPN coverage of Drosselmeyer’s win was so bad I had to watch the feed of the Belmont Park replay to get a better idea of how the race was run.
The coverage started with a distant ground-level shot, made worse when some fan stuck his shoulder in front of the camera, then switched to a head-on as the horses were approaching the first turn. We then jumped to an overhead blimpshot as they rounded the turn, a tight pan shot for a few second, then back to the blimp show, back to the pan shot, back to the blimp, and then back to the pan shot. And the horses hadn’t even reached the far turn yet.
When the field hit that stage of the sweeping Belmont course, the ABC/ESPN director switched to a distant pan shot that made the entire field look like miniature horses, then zoomed in to a more sensible distance. But no sooner had he done that than he went back to a tight shot before finally switching again to a longer pan shot for the final furlong.
ABC/ESPN must be so embarrassed with their coverage that even they have the Belmont Park track feed as the replay at ESPN.com (click here to view).
If, like me, you were subjected to ABC/ESPN’s amateurish race broadcast, compare it with how today’s Prix du Jockey-Club (French Derby) was televised in France. Fewer than half as many camera cuts were required, and even though the French may rely too much on that stationary camera on the rail that shows the field of Thoroughbreds charging past (it was shown twice), it was vastly superior to what the ABC/ESPN braintrust did.
I wish American television directors would try to learn a bit from how the French televise a horse race. Click here to watch the French Derby.
There are some positive things about the ABC/ESPN racing telecasts, particularly analysts Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey. But the entire broadcast was tarnished by the poor race coverage.
It was also tarnished by ABC’s decision not to show the Manhattan Stakes, where favored Gio Ponti got nipped by stablemate Winchester at the wire. ABC/ESPN held the exclusive rights to the race and kept anyone else from showing it live, yet missed out on the opportunity to show a terrific horse race, and one with implications on the Breeders’ Cup that was so heavily promoted throughout the broadcast. Many fans were furious that they were unable to see the race.
This is the final year of ABC/ESPN’s contract for the Belmont Stakes (NBC’s contract for the Kentucky Derby and Preakness also has expired). Let’s hope all three races land on the same network, and the wish here would be for that network to be NBC.
Copyright © 2010, Ray Paulick
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Tags: abc sports, belmont, belmont park, belmont stakes, espn, France Galop, horse racing on TV, kentucky derby, nbc sports, Paulick Report, preakness, Prix du Jockey-Club, Ray Paulick, televised sports
June 6th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
I’m glad you mentioned the inaudible race call. i thought there was something wrong with my speakers. We turned it up all the way and could still barely hear it. Very tin canny sounding too. Wasn’t crazy about the constantly changing camera angles either.
June 6th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Ray, you sound like my grandpa…my great grandpa. The exact same team won the Eclipse Award last year…..for the Belmont. The same team also was nominated for a Sports Emmy for their Breeders’ cup coverage. Maybe an off day? Not sure but longing for NBC - all the time is very safe but very, very old.
I give your review one * however I do agree that he Manhattan should have been aired.
btw, we were better off the call was was inaudible. Again, an off day. It seemed to be an off day for most in the racing world.
June 6th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Hopefully Belmont’s ill advised experiment to break up the Triple Crown coverage will be reversed by the abortion ABC/ESPN put on the air yesterday.
ITS NOT MTV. OR THE X-GAMES.
June 6th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
ABC/ESPN did a lousy job and I was pissed off that they did not show the Manhattan. i kept clicking form ABC, ESPN, HRTV and TVG and could not figure out how I missed the race. HRTV and TVG need to get High-definition.
June 6th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Outside of that terrible shot at the start, and the head on afterward, it was basically the same way they showed every other race that day. I like the effort, yes, you not going to be able to do trip notes off of it, but these days aren’t just for us either.
Didn’t NBC not show the Dixie either? I figured Ray would like the extra time about changing the triple crown.
And what about Durkin blowing 2 of the last 6 triple crown calls, yesterday and last years Derby? Tom, when the race is close worry about calling the horses, not finding a catch line for your ego.
June 6th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
What good is TVG and HRTV in HD when most of the track feeds are in SD, and no one has the $ to switch?
June 6th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I have not seen a good North American racing show in years. I realize the networks face a difficult task shaping a show for fans and also for people who don’t know which end of a horse eats. Randy Moss is the best broadcaster but he sometimes forgets that there are many novices watching. The packaged features are usually horrible. The networks would be better served by explaining the shape of a race and what to watch for. I love the way hockey is covered for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The announcers are very aware that their audience doesn’t know much about hockey and they explain things in such a manner that they don’t lose their regulars. The golf majors are similar. I would say the NTRA should have taken over the coverage years ago but knowing how they do things, no one would be watching by now.
June 6th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
I was fatalistic about coverage of the Manhattan. While I appreciate Kenny Mayne’s enthusiasm for horse racing (he stands alone among the ESPN crowd) I am sick of the supposedly funny spots featuring Kenny. That deli thing yesterday-placed during the running of the Manhattan-was awful and like many comedies today at the multi-plex boorish. Hope the crown finds a home on one network with build-up over five weeks-longer if NBC gets the series with its Derby prep coverage this year. Of course, what’s in it for ESPN to do a Belmont Day buildup if they don’t have the big race? (I know they’ve done Derby day build up to an NBC telecast, but that’s the Derby). I read ABC has picked up Haskell coverage; hope the Travers has a national broadcast. It’s always tough coverage down here; the Columbia S.C. NBC affiliate always pre-empted the Breeders Cup for football. The CBS affiliate here would probably boot the Belmont.
June 6th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
“Ray, you sound like my grandpa…my great grandpa.”
Truer words were never spoken. And next year, the Belmont coverage will be handled by the five year-olds, since age alone should be the golden criteria of broadcasting standards of ability.
June 6th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Good News: Racing is on network TV
Bad News: Racing is on network TV
Network TV has been butchering race coverage for as long as I can remember. They are all the same. I was forced to watch the NBC coverage for the Preakness and they were doing an interview as the DIXIE was running in the background. At least ABC didn’t tease you, they just went to a commercial during the MANHATTAN. 12 camera angle changes during the race. 15 minutes until the prices were shown, again and improvement over NBC, which took over 25 minutes to show the Preakness prices…
Why are they afraid to talk about gambling?? That is what runs the sport. The talent is always great…surprised they didn’t even mention other races.
Maybe this is a plan to make people get so disgusted with the TV coverage, they go to the track. It works for me.
June 6th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
It wasn’t all bad, they managed to cut to commercial after 30 seconds of lip-syncing.
June 6th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Seriously, Ray, you’re wasting your time writing these candid indictments of incompetence, however much they are appreciated. Television in America has been hijacked by barbarians. Network & cable stations have been transformed into permanent, festering garbage cans.
Save your sanity. If you’re not at the track, try what we do, at home: Just before the race starts, go outside and enjoy the fresh air. When it’s over, come back in and wait for a replay to be aired (w/ the sound off; Durkin’s inaudibility was a positive). You won’t miss anything important, take my word for it.
June 6th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
The same NBC that also decided not to show the Dixie Stakes despite its exclusive rights to the race?
June 6th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
It was a great day of racing what with my girls Champayne d’Oro and Proviso doing great and I’m glad Drosselmeyer won the Belmont. He is a gorgeous animal and very talented. I’m glad he had a good arena in which to show it. But, yes I agree with you the coverage was not the best and I also thought there was something wrong with my TV sound. But, what drove me crazy was the Manhattan. That race was more important to me than the Belmont because I adore Gio Ponti and could not wait to see him back. Then, I can’t find the race anywhere. Idiots!! This is what happens when the network stations get involve in anything. Just leave horce racing to people who know which races are important and how to film a race.
June 6th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
ABC’s coverage of the Belmont was abysmal. The ABC coverage featured segments previously shown during their coverage on ESPN. Some of it was totally irrelevant (really, do we need to hear about how big Belmont’s infield is not once, but twice in a day on two different stations?). Then, the most important part of their program, was completely and utterly butchered. It was as if they were showing off how many different camera angles they had as if we’re supposed to be impressed by it. To be honest, you couldn’t really see much from most of those angles anyway. NBC might not be as hip as ESPN claims to be, but I’ll tell you, their approach to their major races is spot on.
If NYRA, Churchill Downs and Pimlico are smart, they’ll all sign on with NBC next year. Such a prestigious series of sporting events as the Triple Crown should be dignified in its coverage.
June 6th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
I agree totally Ray. I had to go back and watch the race on Youbet to find out where Ice Box was. I love the Espn shot where they show the back of the gate to start the race. Next big race day, I’m either going to the OTB or watching it live on Youbet.
June 6th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Also, when was the last time Hank Goldberg actually picked a winner? What keeps him on the broadcast, his sparkling good looks or his charming personality?
June 6th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Another example of race management. If it was not for the horses this game would be over. So they cut out the Manhattan to air Jack asses ! I don’t care who covers the race just leave it on the race channels so I can watch my horse run second (dammit) and not have to wait for the results on Twin Spires.
June 6th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Yes it was brutal and painful to watch, the commentators with the exception of Moss, Privman and Bailey are very unprofessional in their questions and ability to think and speak at the same time. The producer/director needs to have a person from within the industry as a consultant to guide him along so that we don’t have skits like that inane “Deli” piece or absurd comments from Tessitore regarding Eclipse Awards and “best horse training in America”. ESPN is an extremely arrogroant outfit catering to the lowest common denominator of intellect so don’t expect much to change when they cover the Haskell.
June 6th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Not showing the Manhattan is inexcusable!
June 6th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
And so is not letting anyone else show the Manhattan!
June 6th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
While I agree some of the camera angles were a little ambitious….I don’t mind seeing things different. As far as the announce team - are you kidding me….Gary Stevens is a fumbling/stumbling buffoon that can’t complete a sentence. I think ESPN blows them out of the water (minus Hank Goldberg). And Kenny Mayne is a breath of fresh air in a rather boring and stale sport. I thought they had very compelling features and TONS of great handicapping information and insight from Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey. Give me a break on this board…everybody LOVES to be a critic. Of course, it doesn’t really matter because pretty soon there will be no horse racing on tv…so just keep trashing it.
June 6th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
Same old story: Hotshot network director dizzies viewers instead of dazzling with multiple cuts during the race. Fans have complained for decades about this, but the network guys continue to show disregard and arrogance toward its viewers. We give up.
Same old story II: Tom Durkin tries so hard to be clever that he forgets why he’s in the booth in the first place. The idea, Tom, is to provide concise and accurate information to the spectators and viewers alike. Not to prove that you read Chaucer and have books in your oven.
June 6th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Television coverage of racing has been lousy for decades. For those of us with long memories, coverage really was better in the 1960s. There was actually greater focus on the horses, and less of the silly material that is supposed to convince the casual viewer that the sport is interesting.
Foreign tv knows how to cover races. Go to Youtube and check out some of the uploaded video of foreign coverage. The sad thing is, some of this kind of quality was possible years ago, but nobody here does it.
There was one interesting thing that could have been covered yesterday, but wasn’t–the running of the Epsom Derby. Even more interesting is that the winner lowered the race record by 0.98 seconds, and ran 1 1/2 miles faster on an undulating turf course than Drosselmeyer won on dry, flat dirt. In fact, Lammtarra set the previous record in 1995–lowering the 1967 record by a second. So much for the Thoroughbred reaching a genetic plateau for speed–both Drosselmeyer and Workforce are male line descent great grandsons of Mr Prospector out of Northern Dancer line mares, with other lines to Tom Rolfe and Hail to Reason in common as well.
June 6th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Ray - the “FAN” isnt sticking his shoulder in the shot, the shot was made that way by the ABC/ESPN camera person.
June 6th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
I’m just glad they went to a commercial during the karaoke singer who was tone deaf.What a ridiculous song!
June 6th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Debate over ABC/ESPN’s rights to air the Manhattan are one thing, but they made it clear to ALL they were not going to air the Manhattan. Even the Paulick Report’s own “Where to Watch Weekend Stakes” races (or whatever that Friday is called) indicated that race was to be aired on HRTV and TVG only.
Come on man, bashing ABC for not airing something you knew wasn’t going to aired? Seriously?
As for “Hammering” Hank being still on the air that defies everything possible about television. The man has the looks for radio yet couldn’t speak in a coherent delivery if he had to. Even then when he does have the mic his value is zero. People may have disliked the late Jimmy “The Greek” but the guy knew his stuff when it came to horse wagering.
June 6th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Do something to help the industry. Make a deal between TVG and HRTV so both can show the race and undercard and take bets. If one the networks want to buy the race it would be non exclusive. If that’s not good enough for them, so what, there coverage stinks
June 6th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
ABC and ESPN have been the worst things to happen to racing other than Frank Stronach in recent years. Pukable constant camera switches lead to decreasing ratings and coverage, yet they will take no reponsibility for their contributions to this and persist despite overwhelming criticism. Saturday’s broadcast seemed as if a child were at the switcher punching at the board ramdomly. Just a complete disgrace from a directing and technical directing standpoint with no continuity whatsoever.
June 6th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
To be fair, ESPN and ABC are completely separate entities that had completely separate broadcasts. I only watched ESPN, not wanting to watch what I thought would be dull ABC coverage, and I thought they did a very good job, making the right interviews, providing reasonably good analysis, and showing every single race they were entitled to, even before the graded stakes racing, and giving analysis for those as well (especially Trappe Shot’s allowance race). Also, I noticed nothing more than ordinary track footage for ESPN’s races, without any silly jump cuts. To throw in ESPN’s coverage with what I presume was an awful ABC telecast seems to me to be quite insulting.
Additionally, FWIW, I tallied no more than about five minutes of Hank coverage the entire time, which is much less than usual. Kenny Mayne was cynical and kind of mean throughout the broadcast, but very clearly enthusiastic, (all of) which I thought was a nice touch.
QR being the best horse in America is something that many people believe and is purely an opinion, which is the entire point of sports commentating.
Interestingly, I believe that ESPN picked up HRTV for a relatively non-important card a while back and showed it on ESPN3, which is more than I can remember them doing ever, so I think there is some amount of commitment to the sport from them.
June 7th, 2010 at 5:18 am
If anyone has yet to see the Epsom Derby, and how to broadcast a horse race, see here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESX3OKVsfRg
You can also watch highlights of the whole day here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00sp6wt/The_Derby_2010_Highlights/
June 7th, 2010 at 5:24 am
Domestic horse racing doesn’t have many chances to be captured by a national telecast anymore because of many failures involved in the promotion of the events and the lack of input by the race tracks themselves! Not so many years ago tracks had input into the productions; they attended postmortems following the events. We don’t have that talent or ingenuity any more because there is little knowledge left for what it is that they are trying to do. Backing into the French Derby by comparison is helpful but inconsistent. The whole British and European coverage is well meant, understood and has a purpose. ABC, which has covered the Indy 500 extremely well for years has lost their understanding of horse racing and are attempting to use slapstick humor and wagering as a prop. Neither one are conducive to the history and pageantry of the events This is just another calamity to befall horse racing because of human frailty and stupidity. One redeeming feature here is the fact that we have some knowledgeable people that are arm-chair critics and that stay at home to watch! What a pity that producers struggle over one race. Should they get a chance to try it with 12?
June 7th, 2010 at 5:45 am
The Manhattan has not been shown for years. That doesn’t make it right, but it is nothing new. I’m surprised so many people seem to have expected it to be shown.
Several years ago I called the network producer and asked why it wasn’t shown. Her answer was surprise they owned the rights, saying she’s find out and get back to me. She never did, and several follow up calls to speak to her again were never returned.
NYRA could insist the contract to show the Belmont include coverage of the Manhattan. If they’ve made any attempt, it has been half-hearted at best. The same year I called the producer I talked to then-senior NYRA VP Bill Nader about it, and his response was a shrug of the shoulders, as if NYRA was so grateful for the coverage of the Belmont it wasn’t going to make waves about the Manhattan, which is often the best race on the entire day’s card.
June 7th, 2010 at 7:59 am
I’d rather listen to the race on the radio than have to endure ABC/ESPN’s coverage, a high school AV team could do better. Worst for me…. the shot of Dale Roman’s wife grabbing his ass, I’m still tasting bile after seeing that.
June 7th, 2010 at 8:25 am
I agree with most everyone here. The race coverage was unprofessional, detached and inane. Personally, I don’t care for remarks that describe a perceived social status such as, ‘elite’, and ‘lowly groom’…I don’t think ABC should subject us to snobbery and hog the airwaves at the same time.
Adding to the insult, the call of the race itself was, in my opinion was kind of ‘twerpy’…”powerful furlong after powerful furlong”…I mean, really, good grief. I couldn’t see how the race was shaping up coming out of the second turn, and the calling of the race was more like tacky prose.
Visually, the race coverage was pathetic, and the information relayed during the race was even more so.
ESPN was better off without ABC. A network solely dedicated to sports, they had perfected the timing, information, classic clips/history and passion. They seemed to do their homework, and have a better flow during broadcast…ABC, with its’ superficial junk will just tarnish their reputation and drag them down over time.
Unfortunately, the horse racing industry will pay the price for the media’s incompetence.
June 7th, 2010 at 8:26 am
ABC and ESPN are one and the same, and the coverage was one and the same. Actually it isn’t even branded ABC Sports anymore, all coverage on ABC is branded ESPN.
Kenny Mayne has been doing that stuff for years, even Sunday on the NFL show he has a ’story’ like that. Some work, some don’t. I thought this one worked. ESPN did the same things on Sat that they do for all sports throughout the year.
Bottom line is that these broadcasts are not for the players, its for the person who doesn’t think about horse racing but a few times a year. If it was on more it would be geared to the hard core fan more, but its not, so we should just deal with it and hope somebody likes it enough to follow it more.
As for NBC/ABC, I think ABC does the whole production better. At least there wasn’t a cooking segment on ABC.
June 7th, 2010 at 10:08 am
Oh…They ran a race…There was more blah blah blah than race coverage. How long ago did Hank Goldberg pass away? Better question, who long has it been since Hank Goldberg pick one that won.
And as always NYRA had it right. Good choice to replace New York, New York with New York Out My Mind and whose kid was that singing?
June 7th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Showing the start of the Acorn from behind the gate was an interesting angle. Maybe someone can tell me why #2 Tanda broke so bad. She wasn’t even on the screen.
June 7th, 2010 at 11:50 am
Ask yourself this question: which is broadcast better, bowling or horse racing?
ABC treats horse races as if they are covering the bobsled. And all the human interest stories — Roone Arledge is long gone from ABC.
I’d do away with Kenny Mayne and Hank Goldberg. In fact, I would even think of something new and different for the live call. Why not have a “color man” like Jerry Bailey provide input during the actual running of the race? Could Jerry have offered anything like who was running well just off the pace and anyone with his experience could have chimed in to say, “Ice Box has not chance of coming close to the leaders.”
The countless cuts and various angles are overkill. Jeanine Edwards comments are mostly rehearsed.
As for racing in HD, well, that is the only good thing we’ve seen over the past five-plus weeks. It’s a shame that the major tracks, such as NYRA and then the channels of HRTV and TVG do not broadcast their races in HD. After seeing the quality of the product on Belmont Day, in all seriousness there needs to be a significant reduction in races and racing days in NY. There should be no claiming races on any Saturday.
June 7th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
All the haters and critics. I didn’t look, but were there the same criticisms here when NBC skipped the Dixie - like they do every year in their Preakness coverage?
Those of you who knock the cuts because you “can’t follow your horse” are full of crap. You can’t see the numbers. You are conditioned to watching races from the same angle on outdated cameras and you rely on saddle towels to tell whose who. You say you couldn’t find Ice Box - with dark maroon and bright yellow shoulders - in HD? I was watching both feeds (full disclosure - that’s my job). The director made a concerted effort to keep Ice Box in as many shots because he was the favorite. If you couldn’t find him, you must not follow the game enough to recognize Bob Lapenta’s colors. NYRA never showed him.
This same team - as someone noted above - won the Eclipse Award for this show last year AND honorable mention for the Breeders’ Cup telecasts.
As for foreign coverage of racing, broadcasters can use steady-cam and truck cameras that follow the pack…and often that pack is much more concentrated because of European running styles. Truck-cam shots of the scattered Dubai World Cup or Melbourne Cup are very jarring. They also can use those trucks on roads built alongside the tracks for that purpose, especially since the course layouts could take the horses literally a mile from a steady pan camera (eg. Newmarket). In America, we have ovals that often have turf courses inside them. Tracks have rarely grant permission to use them for fear of damaging the course. Go back to the 2007 Belmont, with it’s slow pace (slower than Saturday) and smaller group of horses framed by a truck-cam. That’s riveting HDTV.
This was a dog of a race, at an anachronistic distance with a stone-closing favorite over the biggest and most unique track in America. You can not expect it to be covered like the 5th on Thursday at Philly, Lone Star or Hollywood.
June 7th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Tuned in to HRTV early for Epsom Derby. As soon as I saw Gary Stevens, I knew I was in trouble. My companion asked how long it might be until Gary would be talking about, not one of the horses in the Epsom Derby or Belmont, but some horse he once rode. Before he could get the question out, Gary was talking about Thunder Gulch. Yes, Gary, we know you won the race three times, but can we please talk about today’s race??? Bailey was a little better and I only heard him mention Empire Maker 4-5 times. Of course, I wasn’t watching 100% of the coverage because I was switching channels or going to another room to watch the races live on Twinspires.com. Durkin is Durkin. Nothing more, nothing less. He’s lucky if he gets the winner’s name out. Forget about second and third, he won’t name them during the live call, you bettors can just wait until you see it on the screen.
June 7th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Agree with Nick Kling, the Manhattan is usually the best race on the Belmont card, including the Belmont itself. And the Dixie is a great race as well. I didn’t expect it to be shown, but that doesn’t make me any less mad that it wasn’t.
Rolly,
Can you provide any insight into why ABC refuses to show the Manhattan, or allow the race to be shown on TVG, HRTV, or via online streaming video?
June 7th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
NYRA needs to do more to bolster the Belmont Stakes undercard to guarantee that more fans will show up at the track and millions more tune in at their homes and sports bars even when no Triple Crown is on the line. They should turn the card into something akin to the unofficial “start” of Breeders’ Cup season. It should have six or seven Grade 1 races along with the Belmont Stakes with inflated purses to draw the most horses and give the fans more of a reason to pay attention and watch.
But none of these changes would mean anything if the network covering it doesn’t know what the heck they’re doing. ABC/ESPN have go to go. They should never be allowed to broadcast another horse race (sadly, they have the Breeders’ Cup– thanks a lot, racing honchos). NBC or CBS can do a far better job of showing the race and telling the stories around the race. I’d even give them the undercards for all three Triple Crown events (and the Kentucky Oaks) for their cable networks. Take it all away from ABC/ESPN, which is an utter embarrassment.
June 7th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
Steve M:
We are all horse racing fans here, right? I don’t know how much attention you pay to auto racing. If you are a big Nascar fan I apologize in advance. Have you noticed there are numerous other races and race related events that go on at a Nascar track in the days leading up to something like the Daytona 500? As a viewer who might tune into the end of the Daytona 500 just to know this year’s winner, I really don’t care who won the ARCA races, or Saturday’s Nationwide race. They may be off-the-charts exciting, perhaps better than the 500. I just don’t follow it enough to care. I’ve got the cable channel Speed if I ever want to become interested.
The Belmont did a 3.0 rating. If the Manhattan were shown as a TV race on ESPN another weekend, it might do a 0.3. So the millions in the 2.7 rating difference don’t care about the Manhattan. They are like me when it comes to Daytona. The push instead is to get those millions focused on the main race…develop those storylines, entertain, and deliver an exciting television experience.
As for why ABC (or NBC for that matter) doesn’t allow the Manhattan to be shown elsewhere, isn’t that obvious? It’s hard enough to deliver a large audience with OTBs and tracks offering what is essentially competition for viewers. ESPN pays for the rights to the Belmont. They are not in the business of sending their viewers elsewhere. Blackout rules exist in all sports. If your local football team doesn’t sell out, you can’t watch them. If Fox has a national baseball game, you’d better hope your local club is in that game or is playing at a different time. And if the Yankees are on YES and ESPN, there’s no way you’re watching the ESPN broadcast in NY.
And Robb, you must live out west because you’re clearly not aware NBC has had the Kentucky Oaks on Bravo for the last two years. You must live out west because Bravo didn’t show the race live in those time zones. So I’m assuming you were either dazzled by their accomplished storytelling to not notice the race wasn’t in real time, or you missed the race in your local listings.
June 12th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
belmont stakes theme song was terrible! bring back franksinatra’s NEW YORK, NEW YORK!