2014 WEC Livestream

FxL · 16 Apr 2014, 20:15 (Ref:3393487)

Sorry if already posted - on Twitter there are rumours that the 2014 WEC Livestream will be £3.70 per race (excluding LM). Is someone aware of further details?

airbusA346 · 16 Apr 2014, 20:17 (Ref:3393491)

Quote:

Originally Posted by FML

Sorry if already posted - on Twitter there are rumours that the 2014 WEC Livestream will be £3.70 per race (excluding LM). Is someone aware of further details?

FIA WEC Website says:

Premium Season Pack (excluding the 24 Hours of Le Mans) €19,99
Premium Race Pack (excluding the 24 Hours of Le Mans) €4,49

http://www.fiawec.com/live.html

**Adam43** · 16 Apr 2014, 20:34 (Ref:3393498)

I thought important enough to have its own thread.

GT3.14 · 16 Apr 2014, 20:37 (Ref:3393502)

I am pretty sure I paid 20 euro for my two day ticket to Spa last year. Five to watch it online doesn't quite offer the same kind of value does it?

**Adam43** · 16 Apr 2014, 20:40 (Ref:3393503)

Did you drive miles to get there, or even fly? Take time off work?

Last year, it was free, by I was impressed by the streaming. It was better quality than Eurosport "HD".

Livininthinair · 16 Apr 2014, 20:42 (Ref:3393505)

Sorry if I am late to the game but just noticed this. So no further free stream of the WEC races? With only a few days until the first race of the season - that I bet we are all eager to see...
Does this get you a password to see the stream? I guess since it has yet to happen none of us can say if the quality, sound or commentary is going to be any better than last year.

Bandicoot17 · 16 Apr 2014, 20:51 (Ref:3393509)

The only faint glimmer of hope is the 'premium' wording. That'd suggest there could be a non premium version.

Ok.
I'm clutching at straws.

isynge · 16 Apr 2014, 20:54 (Ref:3393513)

Initial reaction was to bridle and challenge "how dare they!", but then settled back and thought about it a little.

The price point seems perfectly reasonable, back in 2001 I spent that sort of money for incredibly flakey streaming for Le Mans (basically proving that a 56k modem wasn't ever going to do live video) and was happy with it.

It will cost them casual passing viewers, but it's still going to have a conventional TV package (Eurosport, Motors etc) right? Compared to a Sky Sports F1 subscription, or BT Sports, it's pretty reasonable.

Ultimately I guess we have to appreciate that things have to be paid for, either directly or indirectly.

TF110 · 16 Apr 2014, 20:55 (Ref:3393515)

Wow. What about those of us overseas? I wont pay for this.

Speed-King · 16 Apr 2014, 20:57 (Ref:3393517)

A big question is: will other series follow?

While 20€ doesn't sound much, it could add up quickly... 20 for WEC, 15 for ELMS, 20 for Blancpain, etc... and before you know it you've spent a hundred €...

Simmi · 16 Apr 2014, 21:00 (Ref:3393523)

It's a tough sell when you've got series who do stream for free. Even though Blancpain have been tying themselves in knots a bit with their efforts at Monza.

What they have to be careful of is making sure it works. A lot of anger is directed at streams even when they are free.

If I didn't have Motors I'd pay for it. It says RLM will feature which is good news. I assume they can still air the audio free online.

I wonder whether there will also be an archiving service again in case you can't watch it live. Do you still have to pay to watch a two-day old race - if indeed you even can?

isynge · 16 Apr 2014, 21:08 (Ref:3393529)

The era of everything being "free" on the web is rapidly coming to a close, and probably rightly so.

Granularity in what you pay for is actually hugely empowering. I don't have a BT Sport subscription because despite wanting to watch IndyCar and possibly DTM I don't want to pay for football. Split out the different sports on a streaming package and suddenly it gets a lot more appealing.

It also makes you pause and think about what it is you really value - and makes you, as a customer, a stakeholder with a legitimate voice in what the series does. If it's worth watching it's probably worth paying a fair amount for, if it's not, then stopping paying is an option - and that sends a message too.

J Jay · 16 Apr 2014, 21:08 (Ref:3393530)

A particular issue here is that from what I remember last year, the WEC streaming was both free and very good. I don't think many people will be willing to pay to receive the same (high) level of service.

That is rather steep too, I was content to pay for ALMS streaming when it was on Speed which I think was £7 for a season. £16 is the most I've heard of for any live streaming motorsport. I suspect I will be paying though; this is the "right" season to adopt a subscription model with the irresistible battles on offer.

Livininthinair · 16 Apr 2014, 21:12 (Ref:3393532)

Its not the price I am thinking about, it's if there is still a free service avail. at all... If this is a "premium" service the what the hell, why not, but is it the (only) service. If its HD quality picture and sound along with radio lemans comentary then I think its a good idea.

Anyone signed up yet? Is it just a password that you are given when you sign up? It also states that LM24 is not part of the coverage...

and is it archived? I live in Colorado and watched alot of the races in the middle of the night last year...

isynge · 16 Apr 2014, 21:13 (Ref:3393533)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simmi

It's a tough sell when you've got series who do stream for free. Even though Blancpain have been tying themselves in knots a bit with their efforts at Monza.

What they have to be careful of is making sure it works. A lot of anger is directed at streams even when they are free.

If I didn't have Motors I'd pay for it. It says RLM will feature which is good news. I assume they can still air the audio free online.

I wonder whether there will also be an archiving service again in case you can't watch it live. Do you still have to pay to watch a two-day old race - if indeed you even can?

Archiving would be a big incentive to subscribe - and would offer some nice options in terms of tiering offerings.

Something along the lines of
a) Race by race pricing
b) Season long subscription (advance payment, but lower payment per race)
c) Premium subscription (like b, but with archive on demand access)

Pitched along those lines, and critically at the right price point, and I can see it being perfectly persuasive, especially if they can ensure the quality of the stream holds up (and by limiting numbers through pricing they obviously boost their chances of doing so).

We happily pay for lots of things that make us happy (fine wine, good food, live music), why should sportscar racing be any different?

Bandicoot17 · 16 Apr 2014, 21:17 (Ref:3393536)

The season pack is £16.60

GT3.14 · 16 Apr 2014, 21:18 (Ref:3393537)

I don't get it. Webber and Porsche brought a lot of publicity to the series over the last year and then the WEC goes and does this...

How many viewers were we seeing on the Dailymotion streams last year? I remember it being between 5k-10k a race. If half of the 10k viewers actually pay the 5 euros (its actually 4,49) they get 25k euros at the most. A sponsor could take care of that easily. And whatever they get in streaming revenue they could lose in sponsor revenue ten fold.

Ginaro Zukovsky · 16 Apr 2014, 21:25 (Ref:3393540)

I'm not going to be paying for a live timing service which doesn't even include sector times...

Also, I can watch over 6 hours of action from the BTCC at Donington with live timing that includes sector times, no ad breaks in the races, all for free.

deggis · 16 Apr 2014, 21:29 (Ref:3393545)

Quote:

Originally Posted by GT3.14

How many viewers were we seeing on the Dailymotion streams last year? I remember it being between 5k-10k a race.

This is what I thought too. This seems like a quick cash attempt and not beneficial to the series long term. Altough by your calculation not even the cash attempt makes much sense.

I think I'm going to say no to this. Especially as LM24 is excluded.

TF110 · 16 Apr 2014, 21:30 (Ref:3393546)

I dont know about anyone else, but when I click the image for the stream, I get sent to a non-existent page. So how are you suppose to find out information on it if you can't even go to a working page?

deggis · 16 Apr 2014, 21:37 (Ref:3393551)

Quote:

Originally Posted by TF110

I dont know about anyone else, but when I click the image for the stream, I get sent to a non-existent page. So how are you suppose to find out information on it if you can't even go to a working page?

Indeed: http://www.fiawec.com/LiveConnect/

Error page does not exactly raise trust in this. It's not ready or just a mistake somewhere, but either way really amateurish.

Livininthinair · 16 Apr 2014, 21:38 (Ref:3393554)

Quote:

Originally Posted by TF110

I dont know about anyone else, but when I click the image for the stream, I get sent to a non-existent page. So how are you suppose to find out information on it if you can't even go to a working page?

Same here, I wanted to see if it took you to another page with further information - goes to no page at all...

Speed-King · 16 Apr 2014, 21:38 (Ref:3393555)

One area where this could be especially damaging is younger fans... in my experience, most people get hooked on sportscar racing in their teens, a time when you usually have neither access to a credit card nor particularly much money to spare.

Just a bad move all around for what seems like a very small gain.

Rodger Davies · 16 Apr 2014, 21:45 (Ref:3393561)

Wow, this seems like a poorly thought out idea.

I would be happy to pay, BUT this sort of thing should be announced a long way before the season starts and not just casually mentioned before the opening race. As it is, I'm not going to pay that unless I am assured that the race will be available to watch afterwards on demand. Last year, their archiving was terrible and most races weren't available weeks after the event and I have no idea what I'll be doing on the weekends when the championship proper actually starts in Autumn (and I definitely can't catch Spa live).

I noticed John Hindhaugh having a dig at the SRO on twitter for its Free Practice session not being available in the UK, wonder what RLM think of this?

Badly thought out and poorly communicated. Can understand doing it, but not the way it's been done.

J Jay · 16 Apr 2014, 21:48 (Ref:3393562)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodger Davies

I noticed John Hindhaugh having a dig at the SRO on twitter for its Free Practice session not being available in the UK, wonder what RLM think of this?

Given RLM's affiliation with the WEC, I suspect they won't be too critical

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