Bernie is an idiot

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Originally Posted by IceWizard

Harsh, if you look closely there are at least 50 people in that photo!

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Well, to be fair, you need to reverse that camera 180 to see the sold out infield where fans watch the 24. If it's dark at the 24, the grandstand has always been a cold and lonely place.

Whether they put F1 on the broadcast network or on the NBCSPORTS cable channel, the fact is, If you want t obroadcast the races live, most F1 races fall between midnight and 8AM Eastern. The races that fall within normal 12-4 time slot eastern will be live on NBC network. NBCSPORTS should be basic tier for all Xfinity customers. All races will be available live streaming online via NBC. Will putting races Live on NBC vs NBCSPORTS at 6am Eastern really boost the ratings that much? Remember NBC also has Indycar.

I can tell you this, NBC isn't going to bump Meet the Press and the Today show for F1.

Some people are under the impression that Bernie could just snap his fingers and have F1 on any US network he wants.

It don't work that way.

F1 had been on speed for years with little or no growth. NBC came along with their revamped network and submitted a bid for the broadcast rights. Bernie, being the reason that F1 is the single most popular Sports league on the Planet, decided that NBC's proposal was better than Speed's.

And considering SPEED is essentially going away this summer......they would be fiting for time with just as many non motorsports programming as on ESPN or NBCSPORTS. IIRC, NBC also still has better national broadcast coverage on OTA VHF/DT frequencies than Fox.

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Originally Posted by fishinjim

I think you guy's are missing my point. There was not a hugh fan base when Nascar went on the networks either. The networks have built the fan base for most if not all sports.

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But introducing a 'foreign' (I use the term advisedly, but you know what I mean — not 100 per cent domestic) sport is always going to be more of a risk than starting widespread coverage of a home-grown one.