Quote Originally Posted by rallyace View Post
This might be a bit of an optimistic and over-idealistic way of seeing the service. I would agree that rallying would likely attract more people if WRC+ were a free service, but the consequences of it being free would be hard not to spot. I can see both positives and negatives coming from this.

First of all there would be advertising during live stages (and probably highlight shows as well). This would be the only realistic way of WRC Promoter earning some cash while they're at it. Also, when you and I pay 39.99 € annually (which isn't much) for our subscription, we're contributing to WRC Promoter to make the service better. This allows for more cameras, more renowned colour commentators (Luis Moya, Craig Breen etc.) and better equipment in general. We help fund these broadcasts through our annual payment.

I do however agree to quite an extent with what you're writing. I just propose a different way of doing it. It's quite baffling to me that you cannot test WRC+ for an extended period of time before purchasing it. The best WRC Promoter has offered all season is "Try one month for 1 € if you sign up for our newsletter". Despite 1 € not being much, it's still hardly a bargain as just one month isn't a long time. You only have about one rally to make up your mind.

The first full year should be free to all. Full stop. Also, they should target new fans of the sport. Why not give schools and other institutions codes to pass onto their students? This could be sort of a "save 50-75% on your subscription for as long as you're in school". This would not only bring in more young fans (and seeing that your friends are enjoying rallying could make you jump on board as well) and let's face it, the youth is the future of the sport. Let's get kids interested in rallying - and schools being able to offer big savings on a subscription (or perhaps even being able to make it free for their students) would be a massive boost to WRC+ as well as our sport in general. This would also (hopefully) secure these fans for the future, where they'd be paying subscribers for a long, long time after they've finished school.
Thanks for the reply. A lot of what you say makes sense, but I can't see past the fact that the WRC seems to think it has such a fantastic product to offer that it is worth paying for... I don't think it is at all. The WRC+ coverage is poor and, more importantly, the WRC itself is in a crap state.
I can open my computer and watch a whole afternoon of World Rallycross just by clicking a link. I wouldn't watch Rallycross if I couldn't do this, hence, they have gained another viewer... job done.
WRC needs to provide a good, free, digital service (and yes, like you said, it could be paid for through advertising) so it can start to build a fan-base again, which in turn will generate more manufacturer interest.