Feature event day for the 19th North-South Shootout is scheduled for Nov. 6 and PitRowTV will have all the action for those who can’t make the trip to Caraway Speedway in Sophia, N.C.
PitRowTV will offer a full television broadcast style production of all the events on Nov. 6 at Caraway Speedway.
“It’s much more than the single camera type of thing,” PitRowTV producer Tony Stevens said. “For that event we’re probably going to have anywhere from 6-8 cameras on track.”
The Nov. 6 racing card at Caraway includes the 150-lap John Blewett III Memorial Tour Type Modified feature, a 74-lap Pro Late Model feature, a 50-lap 602 Mods feature, a 50-lap Mini Stock feature and a 30-lap Legends feature.
Veteran announcers Derek Pernisiglio and Eric Brennan will have the call from the booth for all the North-South Shootout events taking place.
PitRowTV handles broadcasts for a number of entities in short track racing including the CARS Tour and Jennerstown Speedway.
So how many fans would go to the Thompson World Series, Haunted Hundred, North South Shootout and the Islip 300? You might even be able to add in the Wall Turkey Derby we’ll see on that one. Probably not many right?
That’s all changed obviously and all of we that would not be spending anything sitting at home are suddenly a revenue stream. I don’t know how big a factor we are but I can tell you this season ending bill will be in the $150 range for me and I can’t be the only one partaking of the services.
The question was asked in another thread about how big the streaming audience is and it’s a great question. Try as I might there is simply nothing available on line that talks about current trends in streaming races. It’s pretty obvious no local track or any platform like FloRacing would disclose any numbers. All we can see is it’s availability and up to this point it’s expanding. That does not happen if no one is making money.
Seekonk gave up the blackout rules for the Haunted Hundred and it’s pretty clear from looking at the crowd it had little or no affect on eroding the audience in attendance.
All we can see is what tracks and service providers are doing and this is what I’m noticing.
-All the TTOMS tracks this year signed up to stream their events with no black outs. Some PPV, some part of the subscription service. One race not streamed but perhaps that was there result of a manpower shortage not a willingness to provide the coverage.
-Stafford continues to expand and refine it’s production of streamed races and at this stage has the best product regionally.
-Thunder Road joined Stafford in streaming their events weekly on FloRacing
-numerous MRS races were streamed on FloRacing
-All the races containing tour modifieds promoted by Michaud & Mayberry were streamed with the spring and fall events containing streaming options for each day or a package price.
-over at Riverhead they have made streaming of weekly events a staple using NASCAR’s approved platform SpeedSport.
-I don’t know about other tracks but competitors at Stafford and I would guess associated sponsors and crew members are locked in on FloRacing. They use it to critique their performances and improve. I would guess if you took that away now many would consider it a big loss.
-the North South Shootout is not only being streamed they’re advertising “full TV style production, instant replays, fan interaction, national level commentators” and multiple camera angles. I don’t watch dirt but as far as asphalt is concerned that’s the first time I’ve seen an event sold on production values in addition to the event itself.
I know dirt and late model racing are way ahead on streaming but all we care about in this audience mostly is local modified racing. It’s pretty safe to say that unless something changes dramatically between now and next February that the availability of streamed races will continue to expand or improve or both. And why shouldn’t they. If you can stream a conversation with your aunt Edna any day of the week from virtually any place in the country one way streaming of race events is probably getting easier as well and the break even point lower.
Maybe I’m just imagining it but something else is happening that makes races better. The announcers are getting better. No longer can they phone it in with a bad call because engines are drowning them out most of the time. They seem better prepared, give the audience more detail and bring their A games more often. Sponsor mentions for cars no longer ambient noise at the track but heard clearly with a greater reach and the capability to be replayed.
My view is the ad for this event selling the quality of the streamcast is significant.
Attitudes are changing but for the most part the mind set is that races should be viewed by being at the track. At some point there will have to be a pivot that makes subscribing to streaming services and PPV every bit as important as watching the races live with the same status. It’s just economics. There is a far larger untapped audience out there you can make money on with streaming then is ready, willing and able to go to an actual race but it’s more then that. The relationship is symbiotic. It’s not one or the other. Each benefits the other since you can partake of each depending on your personal schedule. The goal being to get people hooked.
Why not consider this if you’re a fan of racing and want to see it thrive. Forget the idea of trying to drag anyone to the races that may not be up for that particular commitment. Consider having a get together with friends and/or family with the main entertainment a streamed race. Some good food and adult beverages and perhaps you can make it a thing and convert a few skeptics to the sport from the comfort of your own rumpus room. Do that instead of trying to shame a dwindling race fan base into feeling bad for not going to the races you seem to think everyone should be going to. Extra points for getting the kids interested.
I was watching a dirt late model race on Flo last week. They did have a couple big names there with Larson. Davenport but it certainly was not a big series or crown jewel event. They said there was 32k viewers for the midweek show. I was honestly shocked. I really didnt think they were pulling in those kind of numbers. I am pretty sure that is what he said. This was for a Castrol FLo racing series race not the far more popular WoO or Lucas series race either. . I would also speculate the Sprint cars are probably more popular than late models. 30k viewers at $150 per year. That adds up. You know not everyone who had a Flo sub was tuned in to the race that night. I think streaming is big, certainly bigger than I thought it was, and here to stay. Oh and by the way, the 150 I spent on Flo has been the best 150 dollars I have spent on racing in my life.
MRS races were on Speed51 not flo. Speed 51 had a really nice production van at Seekonk. I didnt see their coverage but it looked like they had some good equipment there. Hopefully it was a great broadcast. In the past, some of their broadcasts have been rough, with the starting and stopping due to broadcast rights and one camera shoot. They are worth the money but their production value isnt on par with the big 3, Dirtvision Lucas/MAvTV or Flo. Stafford does a really good job on their production quality. They should be applauded for their adoption of online broadcasts. I know I watched their races on Flo and liked what I saw, When a race had a schedule in which the main event was not last in running order I went to that show. Had I not been able to watch online I probably would not have gone to any shows this year.
I agree with csg on Flo–best $150 I’ve spent. Michael Rigsby has done an excellent job in expanding the breadth of the coverage beyond of Flo Racing beyond the initial Dirt on Dirt model he stated with. I hope he combines the video elements of DOD with Flo as he has stated he is working to do. The Northeast racing scene needs a Michael Rigsby.
Amen to that ,.. Enjoy the Races any way you can … I do both…. they both have pros and cons .. But watching on ppv is much much cheaper way to go … I spend 3 times more cash traveling to races vs sitting at home watching on tv. Plus no traffic or long late night rides home…. Keep the TV ppv and Speed51 and NBC Sports Gold and all others available for purchase..