North American Sportscar Media Thread

[carbsmith]

If you feel that the sports car media (and fandom) has gotten more ranty and divided lately, I would suggest it's a reflection of the current state of the sport. There was a cultural difference between IMSA and GARRA or ACO and SRO, but for the most part those ideologies had wildly different scope and were kept pretty separate so it was only a bit more than a minor annoyance that this or that historic race happened to be in one championship. But now those differences are being fought over in pretty much every championship on Earth and a large amount of people feel pretty threatened that what they love about sports car racing may not even exist in a few years, so of course everyone is on edge and desperate to make their point.

10 years ago when you got those stories about some vaporware ALMS entry trying to prop up the series nobody much cared. Now stories of vaporware DPi entries feel like a deep ideological attack against open competition and anything that makes LMP1 seem like a viable class is trying to shut out America. We're pretty much in a middle to late CART/IRL split situation but nobody quite knows it.

[MaskedRacer]

The PC race from the Roar is on IMSA's youtube channel now, but there is a big concern I have. It is the abbreviated NBC broadcast.

I hope that the Weathertech series replays will still be the full IMSA TV version. Someone relive my fears if you know something that I don't.

[CyberMotor]

I hope the Roku library keeps growing. Only way it could be better is if there was live streaming.

[Akrapovic]

https://sportscar365.fm/

John and his team are really doubling down on the podcast from. S365 has launched S365.fm. Daily shows (!), integration with Alexa and Google Home, and a Patreon page for more premium content.

https://sportscar365.com/news/sports...cated-network/

Creating a network of channels and shows? Where have we seen this before? Competition might force sides to raise their game, rather than taking pot shots at each other.

[MaskedRacer]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

https://sportscar365.fm/

John and his team are really doubling down on the podcast from. S365 has launched S365.fm. Daily shows (!), integration with Alexa and Google Home, and a Patreon page for more premium content.

https://sportscar365.com/news/sports...cated-network/

Creating a network of channels and shows? Where have we seen this before? Competition might force sides to raise their game, rather than taking pot shots at each other.

It will work if they offer lots of analysis. Especially after race weekends. Just repeating what they post on the web site won't be appealing.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by MaskedRacer

It will work if they offer lots of analysis. Especially after race weekends. Just repeating what they post on the web site won't be appealing.

It may work for certain audiences. For example, I consume most of my tech news in my commute to work in podcasts. I drive for 2 hours a day. If I can consume sportscar news in that time then that would work better for me than reading articles. This is a market that RLM has largely cornered, but with MP/GG and now S365FM, that may open it up more. Choice is good for customers.

It also opens the door to S365 offering other services. Such as TV and Radio. The bigger picture here is quite an interesting thought.

[MaskedRacer]

Daytona is one of those weekends where competing media personalities could bump into each other. I wonder how those go down. Arguing, awkward "hellos", burying the hatchet conversations. Will we ever know?

[fieldodreams79]

So if you're watching at work like I am or using a computer, this is the live NBCSN link:
http://stream.nbcsports.com/nbcsn/?referrer=

If you have a cable package that includes NBCSN, then you should be able to access the stream through the NBCSN app or through the online stream. This of course if you live in the lower 48 or US.

Anyone else having any luck elsewhere?

[MaskedRacer]

Marshall Pruett and Graham Goodwin took more shots at sportscar365 near the end of their podcast today...the one with Juan Pablo Montoya as a guest.

[MaskedRacer]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

So if you're watching at work like I am or using a computer, this is the live NBCSN link:
http://stream.nbcsports.com/nbcsn/?referrer=

If you have a cable package that includes NBCSN, then you should be able to access the stream through the NBCSN app or through the online stream. This of course if you live in the lower 48 or US.

Anyone else having any luck elsewhere?

What matters most to me is that the youtube replays are still from the Imsa Radio production. If its the NBC one then we won't get everything, and then I'll complain very loudly.

[kbeech]

I hope IMSA will continue to upload all the races onto it's Youtube site (in their entirety). Its about the only way I can watch. I have a crazy work schedule. Hardly get to watch any event live.

[Akrapovic]

So D24 has finished. Some thoughts on the coverage.

The IMSA site once again died a spectacular death half an hour before the race. This is now a tradition for Daytona, Sebring and Petit. Meanwhile, the Radio Le Mans Site (which isn't fast or stable at the best of times) provided a link...which also didn't work. Given that YouTube supports Geoblocking, it'd be nice to just put the race on YouTube. WEC is just as bad at this - the technical side of things is a decade behind the rest of the world. We need websites and services that don't fall over at the start of any given event.

Coverage-wise, it was nice to not have Continental trying to tell us how amazing the tyres are whilst we watch them be terrible. Michelin feels more subtle in their marketing. And I guess there has been a separation of RLM/DSC. We usually get to hear GG in the booth when he's on site, but he and DSC were not mentioned. But S365 was mentioned, which is becoming more common. It will be interesting to see how S365.fm and RLM cross over in the future...

Other positives were how well the red flags were filled by IMSA radio. Commentating is hard. Commentating on nothing is harder. They did rather well filling the long gaps.

From a personal point of view, I haven't enjoyed watching racing for about a year (since I started my own project...) and I made the conscious decision to not bother covering anything for 2019 and I enjoyed Daytona a LOT more than any race in 2018. My own project really killed my enjoyment of motorsport. So I think that can be considered dead, lol.

[Adam43]

For me the IMSA app worked well. I watched the race on that, or the website and both worked great. As did live timing. Admittedly due to other commitments I didn’t watch the whole thing, but when I did it worked.

Commentary was decent. Apart from the usual suspects.

I didn’t read any of the websites discussed in this thread. I believe that helped my enjoyment of the race.

[joeb]

I flipped between NBCSN and their app as the coverage dictated. The app ran flawlessly in HD for me the whole time and i got a clean stream via chromecast to the tv. I mostly did the IMSA radio for commentary but occasionally put on the NBC guys.

RLM team did great, and i thought it was very cool to hear some old racers in the booth. Especially Derek Bell and Graham Duxbury (if i remember that name correctly). Very good insight on how racing is both the same and has changed since their time. Even Johnny OConnel had some ok moments. He at least helped pass the time in the red flags.

[NaBUru38]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndAho_l2PZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YqXthd2tv8

[MaskedRacer]

https://marshallpruett.podbean.com/e...raham-goodwin/

The podcast is very interesting this week, they get heavy into the future and state of GTLM and LMP2.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Adam43

For me the IMSA app worked well. I watched the race on that, or the website and both worked great. As did live timing. Admittedly due to other commitments I didn’t watch the whole thing, but when I did it worked.

Commentary was decent. Apart from the usual suspects.

I didn’t read any of the websites discussed in this thread. I believe that helped my enjoyment of the race.

I'll dig this one back up....

Are you an Android user or IOS with the app? I've had no luck using an Android with it...

[Maelochs]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndAho_l2PZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YqXthd2tv8

I will give them another try but none of the segments worked for even four hours for me---big chunks of the race were not there.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

I'll dig this one back up....

Are you an Android user or IOS with the app? I've had no luck using an Android with it...

IOS. The app isn’t great, but it was reliable.

I don’t know if it helped I was watching across the pond?

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Adam43

IOS. The app isn’t great, but it was reliable.



I don’t know if it helped I was watching across the pond?

IOS is usable stateside as well. Google play store has told me for three years the app isn't optimized for my devices and is utterly useless on my phone and tablet. Not sure why they seem to refuse to work this out...

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

IOS is usable stateside as well. Google play store has told me for three years the app isn't optimized for my devices and is utterly useless on my phone and tablet. Not sure why they seem to refuse to work this out...

There aren't any alerts about compatibility on my phone but NOTHING at all loads. It's just the blank white screen with the banner so I've deleted it every time I've tried it.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

There aren't any alerts about compatibility on my phone but NOTHING at all loads. It's just the blank white screen with the banner so I've deleted it every time I've tried it.

See note below. Same not does not appear on my phone's play store.
4 year old tablet where I can stream from NBCSN but can't even load a timing screen? I'm sure the National Broadcasting Corporation's tech budget is a wee bit higher than IMSA's

[Adam43]

It isn’t good enough. It must be quite a popular way of watching.

[Akrapovic]

iOS app has generally been fine for me. Back in the day, they had a Windows Mobile app. They were proud of having one because nobody made Windows Mobile apps. But it was dreadful and didn't work at all, so might as well not have been there.

[CyberMotor]

I gave up on the IMSA app years ago. Don't have cable so relied upon in-car cameras and RLM for following races.

The best of all mediums so far has been Roku replaying all 24 hours of Daytona. I've seen the first 18 hours about three times. I can't wait to find out who wins!

The camera work and direction seemed much better this race, especially, the synchronization of the distant camera following a couple of cars jostling for position and then switching to the in-car cameras in the middle of the action. Good stuff.

Interesting to see where RLM had their broadcast booth. They were right where one of my favorite photo spots used to be down at the end of the paddocks next to that telephone phone at Turn One. There used to be just enough room to squeeze in between the pole and fence to get close to the action as the cars hard braked off the banks into the flat turn.