Dates clash is a real pain
By TMX Archives on 6th Apr 07
This week we take a look at motorcycle sport fighting itself for maximum media attention...
FROM a weekly reporting point of view it is oftenfeast or famine here at T+MX - and this Monday morning, after a winterof going hungry, the table is suddenly groaning under the sheer weightof major events. It never ceases to amaze me that in a calendar yearthat comprises 52 weeks, not to mention 52 weekends, the powers that bemanage to consistently stack anything and everything that isinteresting all on the same day. Thus, 14 weeks into a New Year we havethe 2007 World Championship trials AND motocross events kicking-off onthe same day.
From a reporting point of view, in order for BOTHdisciplines to receive maximum exposure in the specialist press - frontpage for instance - (and this is equally true for each and everycountry lucky enough to enjoy off-road papers and magazines) it wouldbe far, far better for the FIM to employ a staggered start to theseason. Let's face it, it is only the specialist off-road press thatactually matters - no-one else is even remotely interested in featuringand thus promoting trials and motocross. Then again, maybe that is whythey don't care about the clashes...
So, given that both our major disciplines kick-offtheir respective World Championships on the same day what would YOU doif you were editor of T+MX, or Solo Moto, or Moto Verte regarding yourfront page lead story? I can, of course, answer the question for manyof you. If you are an MX fan you say -Feature the MX and stuff thetrials!- while the reverse is true for the trials afficianados.Unfortunately, neither is the right answer for the overall good of thesport - which is why I get all niggly at major off-road date clashes.
If you go higher-up the motorsport foodchain thepowers-that-be actually take care to ensure that their WorldChampionship dates don't clash wherever possible. Believe it or not butMotoGP and Formula 1 work together to avoid clashes (actually, if Irepresented MotoGP I'd make damn sure there was a clash with thebore-fest that is F1 - there is simply no contest) and World Superbiketries hard to avoid MotoGP. In turn British Superbike tries tosteer-clear of its World counterpart. Admittedly, this is mainly toavoid direct clashes on the all-important TV schedules but it is stilldone on principle - the principle of maximum publicity from theavailable media.
On the World MX front the Eurosport coverage onSunday was excellent. I only caught the second leg from Valkenswaardbut, as you get with TV, I probably saw a lot more of the race than ifI had actually been there. And just for the record, for probably thefirst time in human memory, I take my hat off to the Britishcommentator who kept up a steady stream of genuinely interestinginformation that actually added to what I could see for myself. What awelcome change from the totally inane rubbish usually dished-up underthe loose term commentary' on TV. I'm sorry, I don't know who it wason the mike but whoever you are, I fervently hope that Eurosport employyou for the whole MX series.
And on the TV front the MX was, of course, upagainst World Superbikes from Donington, proving just how hard it is toavoid dates clashing. Sure, you can casually dismiss this and say:''Who cares about the tarmac scrapers?'' and as a hard-bitten off-roadenthusiast you would be right. But again, the TV companies are notreally interested in the few thousand (even few hundred thousand)hard-core MXers (much as we think they should!) they are trying to sella sport to a few MILLION couch-bound Joe Punters, against competitionfrom every sport known to man. Never mind the mainstream football,rugby, cricket, tennis, golf, etc, etc, motorcycling on telly is upagainst a myriad minor, specialist sports, each of which is busting itslittle gut to break through into the big-time. It really is a dirtydog-eat-dog commercial world out there.
If motorcycling is to fight its own corner andgrab the attention of Joe Bloggs and his wife it stands to reason thatthe last thing we want is to be in competition with ourselves on the TVscreen. MotoGP has led the way and made real inroads into the public'simagination and affection... what we need now is for MXGP to see-offWorld and British Superbikes instead of having to play fourth fiddlebehind a solid wall of road race series...