2022 ERC News & Rumours

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Originally Posted by mknight

Let's look at it the other way. Current free ERC coverage is simply bad and there is little reason for it to continue like that.
Where do you suggest the money should come from, especially if rally is a tiny sport?
Some big sponsors suddenly appearing out of the sky?

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At the very least, don't the Azores and Canaries only get on the calendar because they're willing to pay a reasonable amount for the honour/publicity of being on the calendar? While it might not fit with Ypres' model while being said to be included on the calendar, if you can get the likes of Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Hungary, ect to pay an increased amount for their All Live coverage, maybe conditionally on being rotated in and out the WRC, maybe you can fund it across a season. We were always told Ypres weren't in the ERC because they wouldn't pay the fee asked, so everyone else included must being paying a reasonable fee to be included already.

I'd love to know what the price would be for two days of NEP/All live coverage. Rough estimate, €150k? Surely someone can tell us or provide a better guess.

You could maybe subsidise that with a small rise, or reallocation of funds, of Championship entry fees.

But then face the prospect of reduced entries. Not every driver/car sponsor is in it for promotion, some is just creative accounting which allows privateers to race. Why burden them with costs and promotion obligations they don't particularly want?

Another question could also be how much of AllLive is an added cost? I believe much of the personnel and equipment are there anyway for Rally HQ and WRC TV. Does AllLive subscriptions subsidise that not the other way round, and would Rally HQ and FIA cope without the plane, tracking, safety monitoring etc?

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Originally Posted by WRCStan

Another question could also be how much of AllLive is an added cost? I believe much of the personnel and equipment are there anyway for Rally HQ and WRC TV. Does AllLive subscriptions subsidise that not the other way round, and would Rally HQ and FIA cope without the plane, tracking, safety monitoring etc?

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FIA doesn't use the plane for anything I believe. IMO it's used solely as an antena for transmitting the video feed. The helicopter used for taking the video is also used only for the video stream. Both of that alone adds hugely to the cost. After that you need technical equipment and a crew to process the live video broadcasting which is definitely much more complex than an ex-post processing.

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Originally Posted by AndyRAC

A few off the top of my head, just in motorsport; Nurburgring (VLN) series, Blancpain GT series, the European Le Mans series all on YouTube, IMSA Weathertech on the series website, the last rounds of the Hard Enduro series on RedBull TV; all free to view. And there are others.

They obviously think rallying is a bigger sport than it actually is - and a paywall is the way to go. I've news for them - it isn't.

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I'll add TCR Europe to that list.
All races of Blancpain GT - now called GT World Challenge - continental series (Europe, America, Asia, Australia and an Intercontinental championship) are streamed for free on YouTube, including free practice and qualifying for each race. European events in particular, especially Spa 24h, have a very nice following.
Also the Nurburgring 24h, which is a one off race, has the chat full of invested people during the YouTube stream.

If ERC+ uses all the crew and equipment from WRC+ then it will mostly make use of existing expertise and resources. Some extra onboard cameras should be the only extra material outlay. This makes financial sense rather than having two seperate set-ups.

I see a small subscription increase for a bundle as fair for what we'll get compared to the odd live stage like we had. This would also draw in the rally audience from WRC who dont normally follow the ERC.

Live sport being behind a paywall is a fact of life now. I just hope one of the main sport tv networks still show the WRC/ERC stream, or at least show a live 'tv stage' and the power stage to catch and convert the non-rally fan.

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Originally Posted by Franky

Subscription doesn't give you more money, it makes the product more exclusive and nothing more.

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Tell Netflix subscription doesn't give them money.

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Originally Posted by mknight

Tell Netflix subscription doesn't give them money.

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Since 2012 Netflix has had annual free cash flow positive only twice. 2013 and 2020. (https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/will...ine-2021-04-12)

Do you think the promotor has the money to burn like Netflix has been doing to establish itself?

Even if there would be 1000 ERC subscribers paying 100 Euros per year, then that 100k is still peanuts compared to TV rights.

Do you think the costs for the privateers will ramp up just to compete in 1 or 2 events?
Cuz the promoter say "Oh, with more exposure, more drivers will find sponsors to compete"... But normally the reality for the privateers is: "oh, the fee is up by $10k this year. Im out. Just doing my country's championship now"

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Originally Posted by Franky

Since 2012 Netflix has had annual free cash flow positive only twice. 2013 and 2020. (https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/will...ine-2021-04-12)

Do you think the promotor has the money to burn like Netflix has been doing to establish itself?

Even if there would be 1000 ERC subscribers paying 100 Euros per year, then that 100k is still peanuts compared to TV rights.

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Which TV is currently paying for TV rights and showing ERC? I am not aware of any TV I can watch it on in the coutries I stay for longer periods.

If some is, that money is clearly not enough to give good and accessible coverage. ( The current free coverage is pretty bad).

How do you suggest they get more money for better coverage then?

Subscription might not give massive ammounts at first, but the potential is quite big.
The promoter has a ready concept and equipment from WRC, so their starting expenses are not as big.

mknight, I have one simple question for you based on your first question. Is there a market for ERC All Live, if there's little interest from TV channels?

Keep in mind, it's far cheaper to improve the highlights than to produce 12-17 live stages.