Indiana Open Wheel - View Single Post - What's your take on this Robert Ballou rant?

JakeCroxton · 5/5/22, 10:29 AM

Think about this...NASCAR model...sign a big billion dollar TV deal...the $$$ trickles down to the sanction, the tracks and the teams - not all at the same percentage of course. IndyCar model...signs a smaller dollar $$ TV deal due to demand (or whatever reason you want to insert)...same idea and type of split.

Streaming $...buy a per race or monthly subscription. Chet shared money with the tracks when he had SpeedShift - that's why he was more popular around here - his business model shared something. Many of the early adopters on the streaming side DIDN'T SHARE A DIME. Some still don't. Wonder where Barry at XR came from? He was IMCA.tv - when we were watching sprint cars, he was selling subscriptions to the mothers, brothers, and cousins of all the racers that go to the Boone Nationals that we don't pay any mind to (I know you're sprint car people - google it and see how many mothers, brothers, and cousins you could sell to in that market and multiply it by $40 or $50).

Flo shares some but it'll never be enough of course. They have 15+ other sports that they deal with. We're only a smaller piece of their pie but they still only charge us $150/year. It could be $49.99/month or higher.

All of these monster purses are popping up because we're all subscribing to these streaming places - it isn't because we're selling more tickets, filling grandstands, and the overflow has to get their seat by tuning in. Some sanctions or new groups are sharing the streaming dollars in that way. That's how some of the touring series are paying $25k two nights in a row in the middle of nowhere - or throwing in another $50k race you didn't see before. It's mostly money we sent them in the form of a subscription that trickled back down to them (the sanction or group). They can either share it with the tracks and have less to share with their teams and to put on events - or they can keep it all and do with it what they please. Then it's up to the tracks that feel shorted by those sanctions or group not sharing to choose what shows they book.

Like I said...some of the pie might not be enough. But you look around and book another group and theirs might not share any pie at all.

That's the world we live in right now...Streaming content is more important than any one of us at the facility on a given night...

5/5/22, 10:29 AM	#23 Re: What's your take on this Robert Ballou rant?
JakeCroxton Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 81	Think about this...NASCAR model...sign a big billion dollar TV deal...the $$$ trickles down to the sanction, the tracks and the teams - not all at the same percentage of course. IndyCar model...signs a smaller dollar $$ TV deal due to demand (or whatever reason you want to insert)...same idea and type of split. Streaming $...buy a per race or monthly subscription. Chet shared money with the tracks when he had SpeedShift - that's why he was more popular around here - his business model shared something. Many of the early adopters on the streaming side DIDN'T SHARE A DIME. Some still don't. Wonder where Barry at XR came from? He was IMCA.tv - when we were watching sprint cars, he was selling subscriptions to the mothers, brothers, and cousins of all the racers that go to the Boone Nationals that we don't pay any mind to (I know you're sprint car people - google it and see how many mothers, brothers, and cousins you could sell to in that market and multiply it by $40 or $50). Flo shares some but it'll never be enough of course. They have 15+ other sports that they deal with. We're only a smaller piece of their pie but they still only charge us $150/year. It could be $49.99/month or higher. All of these monster purses are popping up because we're all subscribing to these streaming places - it isn't because we're selling more tickets, filling grandstands, and the overflow has to get their seat by tuning in. Some sanctions or new groups are sharing the streaming dollars in that way. That's how some of the touring series are paying $25k two nights in a row in the middle of nowhere - or throwing in another $50k race you didn't see before. It's mostly money we sent them in the form of a subscription that trickled back down to them (the sanction or group). They can either share it with the tracks and have less to share with their teams and to put on events - or they can keep it all and do with it what they please. Then it's up to the tracks that feel shorted by those sanctions or group not sharing to choose what shows they book. Like I said...some of the pie might not be enough. But you look around and book another group and theirs might not share any pie at all. That's the world we live in right now...Streaming content is more important than any one of us at the facility on a given night...