An Email To Audi, Porsche and Toyota

[zere]

*This is a Mail sent to the participating WEC works teams Audi, Porsche and Toyota*
*This was sent on Friday, April 10th, 2015, approx. 22:40 CEST.*

Dear Audi, Porsche, and Toyota team,
I have been a fan of the World Endurance Championship for several years now. I very much appreciate the technology involved in any of your competing cars, the high level of racing you provide to the world's audience and the competitiveness involved within it. Paired with the friendly sportsmanship between your teams, and, especially, your drivers, the WEC is, to me, the most exciting racing series to watch, and I, personally, consider it to be the 'pinnacle of motorsport' at this time.

Last year, in 2014, the WEC scrapped the free online livestream of the WEC races and introduced a 'paywall' instead. While I, as a fan, was not too happy about that (as I could have watched the WEC on Eurosport for free), I could understand the reasoning behind that. Then again, knowledgable motorsport-racing online communities brought up some rumours that the works teams (you!) were not too happy about that, since it reduced your stream presence.

Now, in 2015, we are on the verge of the 6hours of Silverstone. It is Friday night, and the 1st and 2nd practice sessions are already done. I would love to watch the Qualifying tomorrow; I would love to watch the race on Sunday.

But I can't.

I would love to buy the 2015 season package of coverage for the World Endurance Championship, and watch your racing teams go head-to-head for victory.

But I can't, because the WEC won't let me.

Please, understand, I want to give my money to the WEC for a livetiming and a livestream of all the race action, but it won't let me.

You want to see your brands represented.
And I want to see you race.
I want to watch your brands race and I am willing to pay for this, but the WEC is preventing this, it seems, on purpose.

The official WEC website, www.fiawec.com, is not offering anything in regards to this. In fact, the information about how to watch the WEC is non-existent; the WEC's information politics is abysmally bad.

I am writing to you, the works teams, now, in a glimpse of hope to watch the fantastic show which you all will, no doubt, provide, because I do not know what to do any more. Pressure needs to be set on the WEC, now.

By you.

Because, else, all I will be able to take note of the WEC race is Monday's 10-line article in my local newspaper, telling me who won in Silverstone. If I'm lucky.

Please, take this matter up to Gérard Neveu and his WEC-team, and make him act upon it. Because a news entry ( http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/the-we...-you_3013.html ) that claims that I will be be able to "watch the World Endurance Championship on TV or online around the world", without telling me how to do so, and actually trying to prevent me from subscribing by hiding any information, is just going to drive me away from this series.

Best regards,
Holger from Germany

[Ephaeton]

I considered this as well, but thought it more productive to send feedback to the WEC directly, so that the issues might be fixed sooner. Nonetheless, I think all bases need to be covered, the WEC's presentation and publishing of the action is far from good enough, and the involved manufacturers actually have a first hand interest in the best presentation possible.

Here's to you, Holger:

[CTD]

Did you contact the WEC webmaster before sending this email, or do any investigation on the subject?
Sadly the login and payment option opens up late, usually with quite a few bugs. This was the same this year, where I needed to contact the webmaster twice with two different issues.
But it works now, and I have just watched the WEC qualifying in what appeared to be HD quality.
I can therefor not support your email, and feel it is rushing to conclusions.

[GTfour]

Originally Posted by CTD

I can therefor not support your email, and feel it is rushing to conclusions.

Usually, coverage of this race by livestreams is mostly bad. Shocking and stuttering images, regular black outs and such.
For me there's all the reason to support Holger for he is adressing the abysmally bad way the FIA is presenting the WEC. The fact that one has to pay to watch it, reeks of the twisted and moneysucking F1 world.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by GTfour

Usually, coverage of this race by livestreams is mostly bad. Shocking and stuttering images, regular black outs and such.
For me there's all the reason to support Holger for he is adressing the abysmally bad way the FIA is presenting the WEC. The fact that one has to pay to watch it, reeks of the twisted and moneysucking F1 world.

That wasn't the case in 2014. The official stream worked perfectly most of the time, suppling high quality video.

This has already been heavily discussed last year, but since when is it twisted and money sucking to pay for a service? €20 for a season pass without Le Mans is very cheap compared to buying Eurosport!
It is not free to run a streaming service, so a small payment is perfectly fine.

Another point against the free stream, how many tv station would pay for the TV rights when there is a free stream that all fans can watch?

I agree that ACO/FIA has a lot of work to do with improving the service and bug fixing, but the price is good, and so is the quality.

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by CTD

But it works now, and I have just watched the WEC qualifying in what appeared to be HD quality.
I can therefor not support your email, and feel it is rushing to conclusions.

Agreed, this all seems overly dramatic to me.

I signed up, paid and was watching a perfect stream within 2-3 minutes.

Yes, it's not free but in return the WEC offers what is pretty much the best live stream in all of racing. Not only is the picture quality superb but it also comes with fantastic commentary.

[Ephaeton]

When I tried to sign up, the link wasn't there. I could dig up the right, direct link from my history, and then I could get the process halfway done. When validated, not even the live timing was working. This is an abysmal rollout (speaking as a software engineer, with both my engineering and my marketing/user experience glasses on), and not acceptable for such a highly visible platform IMHO. The manufacturers should be furious with the amateur, fumbling way the WEC web dev team is acting.

[Bubak]

Sorry guys, but I have to agree with all of the complainants. I have experienced thus everything and was watching even in dark times livestream, when it was actually pretty too dangerous. But simply, this is unacceptable. In general, I can say that every year, which begins WEC, there is a very unpleasant surprise. Last year it was info about stream (OK, it was OK, but why the hell they said and announced only few days before it happened and start a season?) Actually, I have fallen out very well because my payment was not acceptable (do not know about live somewhere in the backcountry or what, or do not like me and my money this year, it will not solve it sorry, have no time for this kind of stuff). Simply, ALL came too late. As always.

A very similar story as Ephaeton described . I would add that I tried today and very interesting released that password must be 6 alphanumeric characters with a capital letter (interestingly, the possibility of add there numbers supplied only recently). What a hell and ****? You can there I entered whatever you want. This is simply useless. Another thing, automatic https? (I have to add it and after all it was under AES_256). And really, why cancel last year's bills? Well, well, that's just sustenance, but the payment did not pass and I admit, I do not have power to deal with.

Last year, honestly, I have long wondered whether I'll be watching the FIA ​​WEC or not and I finally decided to continue. However, this to me again lifted my bile as we used to say here and begins to assume that just after Le Mans simply stop watching WEC if nothing changed. ELMS is great, but just this. Anyhow, I try to be fairly critical, and just starting to feel really sorry and that ILMC 2011 was simply the best season without....this.

As for the livestream from manufacturer. Does anybody remember here the Peugeot Sport Web TV? This was the best interface and solution ever!

///BTW I apologize, but I am ****ed off a bit.

[chernaudi]

Audi TV/Audi Sport used to stream the races (granted, it was onboards from only their cars with RLM commentary), but with the ACO/FIA paywall stuff, even Audi were hampered from doing a whole lot last year with live streaming--I think that they got a deal for LM only, and that was about it.

[CTD]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Audi TV/Audi Sport used to stream the races (granted, it was onboards from only their cars with RLM commentary), but with the ACO/FIA paywall stuff, even Audi were hampered from doing a whole lot last year with live streaming--I think that they got a deal for LM only, and that was about it.

ACO/FIA cannot ban Audi from streaming their onboard footage and making an agreement with Radio Le Mans.

The FIA/ACO stream service is cheap and good quality. Yes, there are a lot of bugs and issues with reaching the service, but this is most likely linked to the streaming service not getting a big enough budget to develop and test the solutions.
Which is the problem, if nobody wants to pay for the service and instead goes for illegal streaming, there won't be any body to pay for the development of the stream. (Freeloading is a destructive parasite)
Besides, writing the issues here won't fix them, emailing the webmaster might, so let's start there.

Again, I agree that there is a lot of issues with the service, but the core product is good. So let all of us passionate fans, who love this sport, help it become as good as we wan't it to be, by paying for what we love to watch, and report the issues we meet so they can be taken care of.

[chernaudi]

I don't use any of the streaming stuff, and there's little incentive to with the races being broadcast on Fox this year. I was just mentioning that teams like Audi and Peugeot streaming races on their motorsports sites in the past. We know why Peugeot no longer do it (IE, they're not active in the WEC/LM24), but Audi basically stopped doing their own streaming aside from LM after the end of 2013.

Other than being discouraged by the ACO/FIA, I can't figure out the reason, aside from the ACO having their own stuff making the Audi stream redundant, or Audi are focusing on using it for the really big prestige races, like the LM24, Spa 24 and N24.

[porsche91722]

To pay or not to pay! The debate goes on.
I signed up again this year, paid my 30 Euro's and hopefully will get as good as what we got last year, after a shaky start. We'll soon see.
I don't mind the figure involved, as long as it is a good quality. We get all the races including LM24 for the 30 euro. That's 66 hours of actual racing, plus quals on top. That's not bad, plus no ads and the RLM guys doing comms. Foxtel can stick their coverage where the sun don't shine.

[deggis]

If manufacturers cared enough, they would have done something (i.e. sponsor free streaming) during the off season.

[chunder]

One of the reasons why I continue to be baffled by motorsport fans from all disciplines.

Dont be so easger to give them money, Audi and the like couldnt care less if you pay WEC, they dont receive any of that money, their money comes from being mass manufactureres and product sponsors, all they wnat you to do is go to the French race, buy merch and go home again, you are not important.

There are plenty of places you could watch this race (God knows why) if you so wished and have the resources to do it.

Don't pay, never pay. You simply do not have to pay for any sport if you do not want to.

The people running these stations do not give two hoots as clearly demonstrated and there is also clearly no resource there to cope with any kind of customer, let alone some who want to watch.

If none of you pay, they will drop it and go FTA somewhere else. Simple. Time to learn people.

[maximus]

Except that football boxing and even a lot of golf live isn't free either?