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I remember many people on this thread complaining about World Rally radio when it started, and now that it has gone, people are complaining about the loss of it.
So 2 questions:
How much do you value the service?,
and
How much would you pay to have it back?
Not so much good information on this forum without it as far as I can see.
WRC is going to die if we can't even get a hint of information. It's bad enough that the sport is not very competitive, but non-existent coverage makes a boring championship even more difficult to bear.
I can't stand not knowing what's happening and even worse America hardly receives any coverage of the WRC.
World Rally Radio always seemed like a joke. Maybe I'm spoiled because as far as I'm concerned I actually like seeing the pilots being interviewed on (get this) a TELEVISION.
I never valued WRR and would never pay a cent to listen to static!
I think we need World Rally Radio, weren't we already paying for it through WRC+?
I think as a package they need to have it for people who are following the rally from home on their PC's.
Ray
Much more than I used it (which was never). Although it would be pretty important to me if I could use it when I was awake most of the time...Quote:
Originally Posted by bowler
and
Quote:
Originally Posted by bowler
Not a single cent. If ISC wants to be so greedy as to charge for this, instead of realize that it is crucial to creating commercial value in the sport than to hell with them. Sorry, but that is how I feel. I am absolutely sick and tired of being expected to pay for things that should be provided for free. Motorsport is advertising. Teams participate to promote something. Organizing rallies is a commercial endeavour (in most parts of the world, espeically for the WRC). There are sponsors, sometimes paid admissions, and the spectators bring thousands if not millions of dollars to the host economies. I WILL NOT PAY FOR SOMEONE TO ADVERTISE TO ME WHILE I AM WATCHING THEIR FREAKING ADVERTISEMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE Paying the cable bill for TV and internet is bad enough already, but to pay for the "privledge" of listening to some tosser provide very basic information in an attempt to promote the whole damn thing in the first place? No. Coverage should be provided to promote the rally, you know, promote the event, the teams that are paying the bills, promote the sponsors that are supporting the event, it should be a way of getting that information out there. To pay someone for this is absurd.
Greg Strange during the last World Rally Radio broadcast from Jordan was making alot of different cases for promoting WRR whilst talking to the Promotions Officer for Rally Jordan. Basically talking up the need for an Arabic version of WRR, hinting at Spanish, French, German, Japanese etc... editions.
Basically English may be the lingua franca of rallying in general but WRR is crucial to spread the word about rallying across the globe. Greg pointed out the locations of people listening to the broadcast, thousands of miles from any rally, let alone a WRC round. A hardcore base of fans who know what they want & crave for all the information they can get. TV is all well & good but can not cover any event to any satisfaction.
The overheads to run WRR in relative terms is quite low. The staffing is quite small but enthusiastic & carry alot of flair. Adding two-three people per language broadcasted is not a large expense for the new markets gained. They never take their listeners for granted & welcome the support of the fans. Unlike certain other media organisations that are elitist & concerned only with what they can get out of it all.
Another point that Greg brought up was the fact that WRR should be exactly that. Around the World, all the time, reporting from WRC, IRC, ERC, APRC, MERC, ARC, NARC & SARC, where ever they can make a presence. Not literally at each event but have some comment or reporting happening from those locations.
World Rally Radio then would have the base for long term, full time broadcasting. With lifestyle & interest programs from the teams & drivers between the weekends. So the core of fans that make up their listeners have good reason for tuning in every day of the week. Continual podcasts for the new generation of listeners about what is happening everywhere in the world in regards to rally. Enough content to satisfy those of us who live & breathe the sport.
Sticking to broadcasting only the WRC rounds leaves alot of empty space. Too much space that is wasted & if a casual listener does not know if & when, can miss the broadcast. It should be a case of being able to tune in 24/7 around the globe & finding out about all that is happening in the sport. The casual listener can easily be up to date & be drawn more & more towards the sport.
A rally specific TV channel is too expensive, not able to be shown all across the globe due to rights issues, regulatiosn & government rules. Internet Video is restricted to people with broadband net connections ruling out millions of fans. That leaves radio as the only option that is feasible to reaching the broadest possible audience.
We need World Rally Radio much bigger & better than it is & not just confined to the WRC.
Atm, I'm kinda disgusted in away that I am not getting what I paid for with WRC+. We do need something for the WRC to survive and I think that WRR was it. As above some people would not pay for any of these services but I have, and whilst I already paid for this, in one case, I used a site which gave a link to listen to WRR free! So a bit of a waste of my money that they got, and where did it go? Helping out WRR to go to other WRC rounds? I think not. They're stuck back in the UK (I'm guessing) and unable to attend the next what 2 rallies including this weekends? But made it to a non WRC event?! Ok.....
But still, I'm continuously waiting for what I have paid for from the last event, but prior to that WRR did succeed in what they were offering in Monte through to the round before Argentina! See I even forget the rounds, is how WRC is slightly going down hill...
Im not a WRC+ subscriber as I refuse to pay AU$100 for something (well, most of) that I can find else where (read: other multimedia sources around the internet).
If WRC.com are struggleing to fund WRRadia, then why dont they make an option for that and only that for a cheaper price, say 20 pounds (~ AU$50).
That to me is a price I would certainly be willing to pay for rally radio coverage.
WRR, like it or not, is the best source of news we could possibly get. They interview the drivers after the stage, have GPS trackers, and are tapped into official team sources. Right now, we're stuck staring at split times, wondering why so-and-so lost time on a stage. When WRR is on, we almost always find out exactly why. No waiting for vague wrc.com stage reports or TV coverage that only review a fraction of what actually went on. Plus, it's fun to listen to.Quote:
Originally Posted by bowler
I thought so too. Because I'm sure as heck not paying for the grainy, microscopic videos and the driver interviews I already see on TV.Quote:
Originally Posted by raybak
So how come Greg Strange talks about expanding WRR on one weekend, and we end up with zero WRR the next?
I think Greg was voicing his opinion in order to drum up support for WRRadio. I would not be surprised that the Rally Jordan broadcast was underwritten by the rally organisers or their sponsors. There was a good chance for obtaining a possible arabic sponsor for WRR.
BTW Greg said that the average core of WRRadio listeners is about 250,000 listeners at most times. No other details was given about listenership.
I really like WRC Rally Radio even though they are very biased which at times can be annoying. But I hope they return..