G4's HORRIBLE FORMULA D Coverage......

[HondaGirlSi]

[COLOR=Purple]all I have to say is that i get more info on the events off the internet then i could get off the show. I really hope that they go back to last years format. I love drifting and do hope that people dont get the wrong impression about the sport. I have a friend that watched the show and he was not impressed. We told him to check out Sonoma. He went and was really impressed and thought it rock (- the heat).So my point dont like the tv stuff, try to catch a live event if not hit ye ol internet

[240silvia]

just saw it, not good by a far shot. At least they are giving drifting a chance how ever

[Octagon]

Folks, I've said it in previous seasons, and it's still (obviously) legitimate today. G4 doesn't know a goddamnable thing about motorsports coverage.

The fact of the matter is that G4 is wasting our time and our sponsors' dollars with this coverage. What's the use of paying untold sums of money to sponsor a car that'll (maybe) appear on television for less than a minute? Folks, NHRA top fuelers only spend 5 seconds on track, but thanks to constant analytical replays, multiple camera views, and plenty of proper pitside reporting, Budweiser, Miller Lite, O'Reillys, Army, Snap-On, and so many others get more than their money's worth.

Formula Drift and its associated teams have a responsibility TO THEIR SPONSORS to see to it that the coverage improves.

[MonkeySlide]

I dont think the answer here is to bash G4 over this.

We need to look at it for what it is. Old man octagon is right in saying that G4 is obviously inexperienced in covering motorsports..since how this is the first motorsport they've ever covered and its only the second season.

Yes, their coverage isn't so good right now but condemning them for it is NOT THE WAY TO GO ABOUT THIS.

The main reason is that well..frankly its not like a bunch of networks are banging on Slipstream's door to cover Formula D. So pissing off G4 isn't the best course of action.

The problem here is simple. G4 had a guy who kept his ear to the drifting community but also knew how to keep a balance to please the hardcore guys..but still make it interesting to the masses who know very little to nothing about drifting.

For whever reason that gentlemen (forgive me, his name escapes me at the moment) is unfortunately no longer working with G4 and is with the speed channel.

Since his departure it seems that G4 and the producers of this show are looking more towards their core video game audience into how to make this better for everyone...the problem is that since those individuals for the most part, know nothing bout drifting. The "feedback" thats being given to G4 isn't really going to result in much improvment.

What we as fans and Formula D need to do is CONSTRUCTIVELY provide G4 with as much relevant information as possible on how to make their coverage better and more benficial to the audience (enthusiast or non-enthusiast), and the sponsors who believe in drifting enough to put marketing dollars into it.

Im sure someone from Formula D has read this thread there are most likely talks going on behind the scenes, and if not then there should be.

Have faith in G4..it's not like they aren't trying..they aren't just throwing the coverage up there and not caring, it would be stupid for them to do that and if they felt that way towards drifting Formula D wouldn't be on their network in the first place.

Right now they are just a little misguided because they no longer have their go-to guy.

So until they get another one who is just as good or better than the last one..Formula D, the drivers, and most importantly WE THE FANS need to step up and use our voices and experience to try and point them back in the right direction.

[aaronlosey]

Have faith in G4..it's not like they aren't trying..they aren't just throwing the coverage up there and not caring, it would be stupid for them to do that and if they felt that way towards drifting Formula D wouldn't be on their network in the first place.

their coverage got worse this year, worse. possibly they are just stuck in a contractual obligation with formula d, but aren't happy with it. so they cut the timeslot that the show gets, put less money into it, and wait it out. g4 has alot of filler crap in their inventory, and not all their shows go on to glorious fame, most get cancelled. heck, even the ones that are popular are still stuck on g4.

at least big c isn't back, although i wouldn't know this season, because i'm not going to bother to watch any more episodes. the first few were bad enough.

[MonkeySlide]

their coverage got worse this year, worse. possibly they are just stuck in a contractual obligation with formula d, but aren't happy with it. so they cut the timeslot that the show gets, put less money into it, and wait it out. g4 has alot of filler crap in their inventory, and not all their shows go on to glorious fame, most get cancelled. heck, even the ones that are popular are still stuck on g4.

at least big c isn't back, although i wouldn't know this season, because i'm not going to bother to watch any more episodes. the first few were bad enough.

They aren't going to purposely choke out a show until the contract runs out ..they'd only be wasting money. It would be completely counter-productive.

There could be a myriad of reasons why the time slot got cut, and I doubt that one of them is simply because G4 decided that they dont care anymore so they are going to throw away money by suffocating a show when they dont have to until the contract is up.

My guess is that the time slot was cut due to declining ratings mostly because since G4 is at its core a video game channel Formula D had trouble gaining the interest of 90% of their audience which are video game enthusiats.

They may have catered too much towards the hardcore guys last season and not enough towards the general masses that watch G4.

This is only its second season..you're being to quick to jump on them when they start to have hicups..thats not how sucessful long term ventures go.

TRUST me G4 does not want to force Formula D down the crap hole until the contract is over..they want to see a return on their investment and make it better with all the resources that they have available for the task.

But if we needlessly bash them then they really ARE going to can it because they think there is a lack of interest.

So lets NOT give them that idea.

[my 1 88 u]

Just saw Sonoma and it was alittle better than the previous rounds. I enjoyed the interviews and skits, just not at the expense of missing runs.

[Octagon]

Old Man Octagon? I'm 21!

I have no particular issue with promoting the drivers. That's a critical component in promoting any motorsports series. Fans have to know who all is out there, after all.

But the way they're going about it is so bassackwards it's pathetic. Instead of "Our host went out on a date with Tanner Foust", it should have been "Here's some of what makes Tanner a good driver and a likable person." Give hometowns, mention their day-to-days, ALWAYS mention the sponsors.

Look at some of the professional coverage given to Indycar, to the NHRA, to GARRA. This is EXACTLY, cut/paste EXACTLY, what's needed for the sport. I've beat on this drum for three seasons now, and I'll keep shouting it until the sport gets it because the sport DESERVES IT.

Motorsports requires a JOURNALIST'S APPROACH. Event Coverage is not Entertainment, it's News. Professional, journalistic approach.

I only wish that Drifting had a personality like Chris Economacki to guide it through its infancy and into greatness the way he did for American open wheel. Here's an excerpt from an article covering his incredible career.

Born in New York of Greek immigrants in 1920, Chris turned his fascination with automobile racing into a landmark career, first serving as a teenage stooge for several race teams based in Paterson, N.J., not far from his home, then hawking copies of what eventually would become his publication, National Speed Sport News. From the course of the Great Depression to today's racing scene, Economaki has witnessed and chronicled it, holding every possible journalistic position surrounding the sport, from public-address announcer to editor to television commentator to print reporter.

His "Editor's Notebook," a collection of snippets, opinions and breaking news, has been the staple of NSSN for decades, and it's as relevant and sharp today as it was in the '50s and '60s. "In those very early days, *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* McGeorge, who was a publicity director for Champion Spark Plugs, said to me, 'Chris, you know what makes a good column?'" Economaki explains in the book. "I thought for a moment and said, 'Tell me.' He said, 'Names and news, Chris, that's all you need. Names and news.' I've followed that advice many times through the years."

He claims to be a lousy writer, which isn't true, but perhaps it explains why Economaki let Dave Argabright tell his story. The result is a careful yet efficient read that covers a large span of time and information without jumping or bogging. In chronological order, the reader is taken on Chris' journey in logical steps, from his youthful exuberance to his maturation and understanding of the sport's constant state of change to his attitude regarding the current state of motorsports journalism.

"I get very irritated with many of today's interviews in television," writes Economaki, who invented the genre on ABC in the 1960s. "They simply won't ask the guy something he can answer. Instead, it's, 'What a drive today, Jimmy, fabulous performance.' Some of these announcers make a speech to show us how much they know, and that requires the subject to give a speech. That's very irritating to me. Just ask a question!"

[MonkeySlide]

Old Man Octagon? I'm 21!

I know you're only 21 but every time you post to complain/defend/make a point. You almost always refrence something from like 1950's motorsports.

Remember that time when you suggested that we should get older announcers who could tell stories about parnelli jones??

And look..even now

I only wish that Drifting had a personality like Chris Economacki

He was born in 1920!!! Come on man!

Dont get me wrong though..this isn't an attack..most of the time you have vaild things to say and I think people here respect your opinion.

But seriously from your posts you really come off like a bitter 60 year old sometimes

Anyway the point is that you're right..but lets not gather a mob together to put G4's head on a pike just because their coverage is starting fall off a little.

[Octagon]

Well, I suppose that's fair. Though the men I've mentioned are one's whose example is to be followed. Relating Parnelli Jones or Ascot Park to drifting is a bit of a stretch directly.

But it's the ability, the intuitive knowledge of the sport and application of the knowledge that leads to good journalism. Economaki is considered, by far and away, the world's finest motorsports journalist. His example is one that top auto writers and broadcasters have followed for decades. As the article points out, he's practically the origin of serious motorsports TV journalism in this country.

We need a Chris Economaki, someone with that professional devotion, not necessarily the Chris Economaki.

[Slapshotnerd]

I'm personally volunteering to meet with the G4 TV Producers about their content. I can think of 20 stories that would be very valuable and interesting to thier viewers that would be fairly easy to carry out.

From what Formula D said at SEMA, G4's sunday night viewership was up something like 160% when Formula D was on. So it definately wasn't low viewership. Hopefully, they can 'rediscover' their target audience for the 2nd half of the season.

[Rob Fleming]

The staff at G4 seems much more approachable then last year, and friendly.

I really want to see them make a better show this year, I know they can do it.

Here are the main problem areas I see:

1. Not covering the event. The show is the only TV exposure the series gets, and does not cover the entire event. If something interesting happened during qualifying the day before, show some clips of the qualifying. Film all the runs, then ask the judges who they thought looked good, and use those runs.

2. Every single time Im at a drivers meeting, the producer is pointing the camera guy to film JR, Sam, Rhys, and Tanner. Camera crews seems attached to them all day. There are 50 of us at the event you know.

3. Take some time, do some interviews with other teams. Because of the poor exposure of the series, the teams that are not in the top 8 are struggling for exposure. If you dont show us on TV, we cant keep doing this. Many teams make a large investment privately to goto these events.

4. Show all the top 16 runs, and if there is a one more time, then so be it, show that and explain what happened. With the way its running now honestly, id rather see Kenny Blankenship & Vic Romano announcing the runs.

5. Stop doing the bits. Superstitions, golf carts, butterscotch boys, etc. Put the cameras on the teams, drivers, judges, and drama. Id love to see a PIP of the judges reactions at runs. When Im yelling at Andy, trying to fix Ryans car, why isnt there a camera on that? Id love to hear quick snips about who the crowd thought won before the judgement is made on a run.

We complain because we know better can be done, and we want to protect this series. Please, work with us to make this series better. Thank you for all the hard work so far.

[CrazyHawaiian]

I think you guys gotta take it for what its worth. I understand alot of what you guys are saying and I'll be honest that I agree 100% that the coverage is not that great, even laughable at times. But considering what they're covering and how much time they have to cover it, AND its a TV show that we all can watch for free, I don't really see a reason to complain to G4. I do however agree that it would be good for the sport to give G4 constructive criticism on what some of the fans and drivers think about the coverage. G4 does have webforums and so does Formula D, probably the best places to give constructive criticism on FD on G4. Probably feels good to vent here, but I don't think it'll accomplish anything.

My own personal feelings on the issue is that FD should approach this two ways. Number one would be the TV coverage thats meant for the wide audience, similar to what they got now. Do what they gotta do to get the coverage they want, reach whatever goals they got as far as FD on TV. Number two would be DVD coverage for all of us hardcore fans/drivers/whatever, similar to the way Option does D1. This way they could pack those DVD's with all this stuff we want to see. And in the end it'll be win/win because they still have the TV show and on top of that they'll have DVD sales, and we all get to see the stuff we wanna see. Maybe if you guys think this is a good idea someone should pass it on to FD. Me personally I've kinda lost interest in event style drifting since our local track closed. More into streets now so don't really care how drifting is portrayed on TV.

- CH

[my 1 88 u]

I think you guys gotta take it for what its worth. I understand alot of what you guys are saying and I'll be honest that I agree 100% that the coverage is not that great, even laughable at times. But considering what they're covering and how much time they have to cover it, AND its a TV show that we all can watch for free, I don't really see a reason to complain to G4. I do however agree that it would be good for the sport to give G4 constructive criticism on what some of the fans and drivers think about the coverage. G4 does have webforums and so does Formula D, probably the best places to give constructive criticism on FD on G4. Probably feels good to vent here, but I don't think it'll accomplish anything.

My own personal feelings on the issue is that FD should approach this two ways. Number one would be the TV coverage thats meant for the wide audience, similar to what they got now. Do what they gotta do to get the coverage they want, reach whatever goals they got as far as FD on TV. Number two would be DVD coverage for all of us hardcore fans/drivers/whatever, similar to the way Option does D1. This way they could pack those DVD's with all this stuff we want to see. And in the end it'll be win/win because they still have the TV show and on top of that they'll have DVD sales, and we all get to see the stuff we wanna see. Maybe if you guys think this is a good idea someone should pass it on to FD. Me personally I've kinda lost interest in event style drifting since our local track closed. More into streets now so don't really care how drifting is portrayed on TV.

Last year Formula D promised that the battlegrounds dvd would have all qualifying runs but when I purchased it was just the shows aired on G4tv.

[COMRADE]

But considering what they're covering and how much time they have to cover it, AND its a TV show that we all can watch for free, I don't really see a reason to complain to G4.

I have not seen one show this year but if they are not covering the event correctly then there is a concern because G4 prevents all other media from filming the entire competition.