Paying for TV Coverage

[mel tyres]

Why dont people get their facts right before they make a fool of themselves,
The so called BIG LOSER is not the sport but Bob himself, why have all this shambles printed in a top class paper when it could have been resolved in house. I feel that Motorsport News are well out of order as they dont know the full story, Someone said last week how good it was that BRDA and ROC were putting on a joint meeting well Bob you dont help !!!!!

[fullcircle]

But this is just YOUR opinion Mel

[BertMk2]

Errr.... What?

Seriously I have no idea what this is about - can anyone fill in the blanks for me here?

[EvilPumpkin]

I don't know either but if there isn't a good explanation by 12pm, then into the bin it goes.

[silver bullet]

It's about an article in this weeks MN.
Apparently, Bob refused to pay the TV surcharge at some of last years BRDA meetings as he thought the TV company were focusing on certain drivers and not filming everyone equally.
It seems it has come to a head now, as the BRDA are wanting him to pay up. So Bob withdrew from the last Pembrey meeting.
Somebody has informed MN they have done an article about it, and once again British Rallycross washes it's dirty laundry in public.

[sihorton]

Normally i would just read this and move onto the next thread, but i heard about this a while back and never took it seriously.

Been honest, all brda competitors (stocks and juniors inc) payed tv funds, not just supercar super modified classes.

I personally didn't get much tv coverage last year either, but i'm not complaining! It's a fact, if i wasn't fast enough to get noticed or provided entertaining racing then i can't expect too much coverage, the viewer doesn't want to watch you just for the sake of it. It's exactly the same right from the top of motorsport, do you think force india or torro rosso chuck the teddies out the pram because they don't get as much coverage as ferrari / maclaren? It's exactly the same in touring cars or WRC, if your not at the top few, then your coverage will be minimal and thats the reality of it.

I'm not having a personally dig at Bob and i would love everyone to have the same amount of coverage, and indeed i'm soon going to be in supercars myself so i have this to come too, but if your not at the front then you can't expect too much coverage, thats just the way it is.

Si

[Minicross424]

Depends how much you are having to pay.
Motorsport news says that Supercar drivers were paying £250 per round last year and now that Kumho sponsors things its £150.
So we can assume give or take its geting on for a 100 quid per driver.
I would not pay that.
I also think you find that theres more that meets the eye to this.

[mig]

I think that we will find out more very soon and I have to agree with you Tris I would not pay extra on the off chance that you might get a few seconds on TV motorsport is expensive enough the cheaper entry fee will always win.I thought that circuit racing was political but this is more like a soap opera

[StockHatch782]

I never had a problem with paying the TV fees, why should we get annoyed about it if we don't get on TV because we're not fast enough? As Si says, the chance is there to be on the telly if you want your name in lights, but you have to earn it by being fast/entertaining/worth putting on the screen.

Again, I'm not having a dig at anyone personally, but if you're racing in a proper championship against proper drivers with proper cars, you shouldn't take being on the telly for granted.

Anyway, who'd want hard evidence that they'd been to Wales? I'd prefer no-one could ever prove I'd been there myself...

[Rallycross Fan]

mel what are the facts ???????

[Bob Gooding]

There seems to be some controversy surrounding the recent article in the Motorsport News about my withdrawal from the BRDA Pembrey Event. Can I say first of all that MSN did not explain fully the reasons for my not racing that weekend - it was not just about the TV levy. More about a question of loyalty. I was asked to make certain guarantees which, had I agreed to, would have implied that I was guilty of accusations made by the Powers that Be.

I've posted the facts on my website, so if anybody's interested, they can read more about it there.

www.bobgoodingmotorsport.com

I did not throw my toys out of the pram, as somebody suggested. I feel I acted in not only my best interests, but for the interests of my fellow competitors in our sport.

Bob.

[golfvanman]

i dont have a problem paying the TV fee's and i dont always make it onto the coverage.
Sorry Bob but you cant expect to be on the Tv if your not in the race for the win, and as for your comment about " the interests of my fellow competitors in our sport " i dont agree.

next time you enter any other event try telling them that your not willing to pay the full entry fee baecause you dont agree with them and see what there response is... then please post us all there reply and i will keep looking for you in the results

Michael

[silver bullet]

As a humble Stockhatch driver I also had to pay The TV levy knowing full well that a snowflake had more chance of surviving in hell, than me getting on the telly

The question of paying for TV coverage seems to me to have several parts to it.
Do we want/need TV coverage?
Why should we pay for it? & Who should pay for it?
FWIW here are my thoughts.

If you have no sponsors, you are just in the sport for a bit of fun, and you have no qualms about leaving rallycross to try another type of motorsport, then whether the sport gets any form of media coverage at all probably doesn't bother you and that's fair enough.
If on the other hand you have sponsors (especially major ones) surely if you can show them the chance to see their name on the TV & the potential world wide viewing figures, it will give them more incentive to carry on sponsoring you. Also increased TV coverage my make other company's look at rallycross sponsorship as a viable way to advertise their business.
Even if you have no sponsors, but you love rallycross you shouldn't mind paying a TV levy, if it is going to raise the profile of the sport. Rallycross was made for TV, it works well on TV, people love watching it. The more we get the sport on TV the more people will see it, the more people will come to the meetings, the more people will want to get involved.
I myself got into rallycross through seeing it on Grandstand & World Of Sport. As soon as I was old enough to drive I started going to spectate, first at Croft then further afield. Now I compete, all because I fell in love with the sport when I saw it on the telly.


The contentious question is who should pay for the TV filming.
We would all love for a broadcasting company to come with a large wedge of cash to pay for the rights to film rallycross, but that's not going to happen, at least not yet.
So to get the ball rolling we have to foot the bill ourselves, firstly as part of the entry fee, or a TV levy.
If that is a success then maybe there will be a sponsor come forward and pay for the filming, providing they get there name flashed across the screen several times through the programme.
Then if that is a success then a production company will approach us and do the filming for nothing providing they have the broadcast rights or the concessions for selling DVD's etc.
Finally it may even get to the stage where different companys are fighting for the rights and even offering to pay us money for the privilege.

[StockHatch782]

Well said, Silver Bullet.

If we're in the sport becuse we love it, surely the TV levy is a small price to pay for raising the profile of rallycross, particularly in relation to all the other costs in motorport.

Rallycross is still one of the least expensive and most exciting ways to race a car (whether it's more towards cheap or exciting depends on what level you're racing at, of course), so refusing the small extra outlay for increasing the profile of the sport seems short-sighted to me - if the sport becomes more popular and successful, that benefits the competitors a lot more than saving a few pounds on a TV levy.

I know that, for individuals, there is a lot more to the issue reported in MN, but I would not like to comment on these issues until we've at least had both sides of the story. However, the issue of the TV levy has clearly not resolved itself, so it seem worth discussing.

[PhilChicken]

Who had the bright idea of itemizing the entry fee anyway?
As far as I am aware the fee is "X" do you want to race or not?

[mig]

Reading Bobs web site it seems to me that the tv fee was only a small part of the problem but there were also managment problems

[mig]

Originally Posted by PhilChicken

Who had the bright idea of itemizing the entry fee anyway?

Apparently John Horton and the BRDA comitee

[Minicross424]

Rallycross is still one of the least expensive and most exciting ways to race a car (whether it's more towards cheap or exciting depends on what level you're racing at, of course), so refusing the small extra outlay for increasing the profile of the sport seems short-sighted to me.

Im not getting in to a whole Rallycross v Circuit racing thing here but my circuit racing works out cheaper than the Rallycross ever was as im not paying to get the mini straightened back out after being beat to death by other heavy handed drivers!

For £160 I get 15 minutes qualifying and two races of approx 15 minutes and far, far less in fighting and disputes.

[StockHatch782]

Originally Posted by Minicross424

Im not getting in to a whole Rallycross v Circuit racing thing here

You are, actually:

Originally Posted by Minicross424

my circuit racing works out cheaper than the Rallycross ever was as im not paying to get the mini straightened back out after being beat to death by other heavy handed drivers!

There are plenty of racing series comparable to rallycross where the body damage is also high, for example some of the 750mc stock hatch races.

And I'm not claiming it to be the cheapest ever form of motorsport, just that, for the excitement level, it's not among the most expensive e.g. rallying, touring cars etc.


Anyway, this is all rather off-topic now. Will there be a resolution to this clash in the near future? It looks difficult, since it seems to be a case of one side says one thing, the other side says the opposite.

Perhaps the easiest way would be for all parties to simply put it behind them: Bob to pay the TV levies and the BRDA to drop their suggestions regarding discouraging other drivers - regardless of who's right or wrong in either instance, it might be better for rallycross as a whole if sacrifices and compromises were made on both sides.

[bucko]

cant see an issue here ! the entree fees cheaper now than last year unless i am wrong and if someone has not paid the same as everyone else than why was he let to race last year , last year problem not now ,MOVE ON !!
sure Bob Can handle all his own issues if there is something else that needs attending too , he has a issue on how he is treated then it is his right to say how he feels and it should be treated in an fair way all sides to be listened to treated in a fair manor
i was against high entree fees but i paid the same as everyone else if you cant afford it then go to clubman's round , i did or had too !

[chunder]

Just a typical rallycross argument really

I do have some sympathy with a driver who doesnt agree to paying TV fees.

I think this was got round years ago by a group of guys paying most of the money, much like I imagine George is trying to do with the ERC rounds.

All these talks end up being one group defending the sport to the hilt and another trying to see past the bubble.

I have never thought tv coverage is the be all and end all. IN my chosen form of racing we dont get any at all, and it doesnt make the blindest bit of difference to entry fees etc, Labour take the blame for that one.

For me, unless the coverage is good quality and there is enough action to warrant a show, why bother?

I think the coeverage is fine, but often its too easy to tell that the entry is sparse and the crowds are thin, not the best advert.

But with the ever increasing number of channels available... why not?

[HrRACING]

Originally Posted by StockHatch782

Will there be a resolution to this clash in the near future? It looks difficult

David, if your talking about the argument between rallycross and circuit racing I want a resolution. I will challenge a Formula Renault round the rallycross circuit at croft in a stockhatch!

[daz2202]

just watching the pembrey meeting on the box. and they just showed the stockhatch a final and repeated lap 1 as lap 2 then jumped to lap 3.

[mel tyres]

Hey Hal my money would be on the formula Renault against one of your cars !!!!!!!!!!! joke.

[Rallycross Fan]

i have just seen british rallycross from pembrey rounds 2/3 i can see where bob gooding is coming from same old names and faces give some of the other guys some tv time.