http://www.caranddriver.com/features/all/2006/sport_the_speed_channel_turns_10_feature/

Sport: The Speed Channel Turns 10, Purists may howl that 'NASCRAP' killed their TV channel, but, once again, money talks and everything else walks.

BY STEVE MAYER
October 2006

This article is a is a worthy read for anyone who watches Speed. Granted that it's from 2006, but I think very relevent.

Mayer explains the history of Speed from Roger Werner's original concept for Speedvision, the hiring of Jim Liberatore and subsequent non-renewal of his contract, to the current Speed president Hunter Nickell.

Objective data regarding viewership, expansion of the business, the coming of Nascar - it's all there in this article.

The good, the bad and the ugly (depending on your viewpoint) is in Mayer's article regarding Speed.

BTW, I am a Speed viewer who subscribes only for the F1 broadcast and the occaisional other racing. I really liked the old Speedvision and am disappointed in what Speed is today. But if you haven't read this article, you should.

The link comes up "page not found"

westsideclay - 16 July 2008 02:13 PM

The link comes up "page not found"

I fixed the link in the original post, it ought to work now.

Yes it works now. It's a very good "history" and it proves the theorem that any thing Rupert Murdoch touches turns to crap. He has done more to dumb down the entire American media than any single factor in our culture.

westsideclay - 16 July 2008 04:10 PM

Yes it works now. It's a very good "history" and it proves the theorem that any thing Rupert Murdoch touches turns to crap.

He has done more to dumb down the entire American media than any single factor in our culture

.

You give Rupert way to much credit for that accomplishment.

"We will continue, just to confirm this," says Nickell, "to look at different kinds of motor-vehicle-culture programming, whether it is competition, lifestyle, whatever else, and try different things."

Looks like it won't get any better soon...


"This is a far, far different place from what Roger Werner envisioned in the summer of 1994 but, in reality, not that different."


Is it just me, or does this sentence make no sense at all? Besides, it IS different, because he just wanted a racing channel.

karter6 - 17 July 2008 04:56 PM

"This is a far, far different place from what Roger Werner envisioned in the summer of 1994 but, in reality, not that different."


Is it just me, or does this sentence make no sense at all? Besides, it IS different, because he just wanted a racing channel.

I noticed that closing sentence as well.

Yes, today's Speed is very different from the Speed of 13 years ago.

Werner did well with the first format, he recruited $100 million in investment to make Speed go, then sold it in 2001 to Fox for $750 million. Not too shabby a return and the article notes that Werner profited handsomely on p. 1.

But as far as Werner goes, the article quotes him as sayimg that as early as 1999 Nascar was being pursued by Speed for the audience it would bring, it took until 2001 for the sale to Fox and Fox's new Nascar contract to begin the change to what Speed is today.

Speed programming is different now than it was in the beginning, but the evolution and change of that programming continues just as in 1999.

What isn't different is the need to grow the audience, to get the viewing numbers and turn the profit, that is a constant theme throughout the article.

I tried to watch Wrecked last nite. Oh my goodness, what a turkey of a show. But I bet there are tons of people who watch stuff like that.

I think Speed's audience has a vocal purist cult vs. a silent majority of the masses.

I think the masses never asked for programming liked Wrecked, Pinks, etc. It didn't exist. It's been served served up to them by Fox. And I'll paraphrase another poster - you can count on Fox to dumb it down to the most denominator.

That article literally made me sick to my stomach.

westsideclay - 16 July 2008 04:10 PM

Yes it works now. It's a very good "history" and it proves the theorem that any thing Rupert Murdoch touches turns to crap. He has done more to dumb down the entire American media than any single factor in our culture.

Maybe it's an American public that was waiting for somebody to dumb them even further and along came Murdoch? All he's done is take advantage of a situation that already existed. Let's face it, Murdoch doesn't control CBS, ABC,or NBC, but look at how much their programming has slipped in quality over the past few years: mindless sitcoms, drama shows that don't show any real imagination. . . I could go on.