Originally Posted by Charles Nungester:
Hate to sound realistic but put me in Don's corner on this one, Granted for now it doesn't have the exposure of a *Prelude* or WWE nor will ever but PPV often genrates MILLIONS at any one time almost any one station on cable or satalite has 40.000 viewers. Even ten percent of that 40,000 at 25 bucks thats a lot of jack that ALL GOES TO LANNY and HBO and then the program gets sold to speed who also in turn makes money off of advertising. Yes it's the Lanny who built the place but without the racers and teams that come. THE EVENT Doesn't exist.
Still, I don't consider it a bad thing. It gives exposure and to a sport IN TROUBLE and possible sponsor exposure as well.
Chuck, not totally on Don's side but sees his point, wasn't this televised non PPW just a couple years ago or was that tape delayed? It's like working a job all your life expecting decent raises and never getting one, Even when the EMPLOYER is quite capable of doing so. Don's a subcontractor and if he takes the job or not depends on the conditions and terms it's offered
I have to reply to this. This is not how television works. I have worked in this business for over ten years. First, at no point are there 40,000 viewers on any cable or satellite network. In the Evansville market alone (which covers a 32 county area including Owensboro) there is only a 68% cable & satellite penetration. This leaves 32% that still rely on good old rabbit ears alone. It attains an even higher percentage in rural counties where cable lines have not been ran and a satellite service provider is not readily available. There are some counties around Madisonville, KY that only have 40% cable/sat penetration.
Second the "pay" channels are utilized by an even smaller number of cable/sat subscribers. HBO/SHOWTIME/SKINEMAX etc. are "premium" channels which reach an even more finite audience because most people won't pay for these channels. To put it in perspective - the entire universe for HBO consists of around 260,000 homes (Nielsen Media Research) - and each show has it's own rating which is a percentage of the universe.....Their best show, The Sopranos reached around 2.9 million viewers....when you consider the Superbowl reaches 92.8 million viewers....... HBO is not a powerhouse in viewing - and it will never be - as a premium cable channel.
Third, you haven't even considered the cost to produce this event. Sports are the second most costly events to produce for television - only scripted dramas cost more. Why? Well, you have to have multiple cameras that can adapt to outdoor lighting challenges (cloud cover, bright & sunny, rain, etc). The most challenging - it's a live event! You'll never know what will happen, how long it will last, if it will be done early or late, how can you fill that time, and so on. Most of this will probably be contracted out to a third party promotions company that will charge the network to produce the event.
Fourth, because HBO is a premium network as a television station you have lost your # 1 source of income.....commercials. You as viewers love commercial-free events but something has to pay for the lost air time, the production of the event, the transmission of the event, etc. What will do that if you're a premium channel? Pay-per-view viewing. And it's a complete gamble.....you have no idea how many people will end up even purchasing the event, second they can all get in their car and watch the event in a bar and have to pay nothing to view it, third if there's a rain delay or other event that delays or cancels the race HBO will have to offer a refund.....
Bottom line, they are probably going to lose $$ on this, at least at this point. They are offering an extremely fair price to guage interest to see if it's worth pursuing for future events. The prestige and esteem of having HBO sports produce an event is probably reason enough for the promoter to consider partnering here. If there is any money it could be on a residual basis after the airing. For example, a set fee from each pay per view purchase - because you just have no way of knowing who will buy and who won't.
Sacha
