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Monday, March 21, 2011 at 02:49PM

March 23, 2011

The ALMS digital adventure? AE readers cry foul.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

(Posted 3/21, 3:00 p.m.) Detroit. We get a lot of reader mail here at AE, but I haven't seen anything like the vitriol aimed at the American Le Mans Series for their 2011 television package, or should I say, its digital viewing package on ESPN3.com with network television highlights to go with it. To give you just a taste (we'll post more in Reader Mail - Ed.), here is what longtime reader and racing veteran Fred McKenna, from St. Louis, Mo, had to say:

"STUPID MOVE: Suddenly it's 1960 again! ALMS's idea of computer viewing of their races might make sense by way of excuse / reason they're not on broadcast or cable media. The number of available computers DOES NOT mean there will be that many viewers. The next-day broadcast of the race highlights makes any race "old news" and smacks of the Wide World of Sports coverage that was all that was available when we sought ANY type of racing coverage in the 60's - 70's. All that would be missing would be a grainy picture and Chris Economaki's narration. Maybe they could add in some coverage of arm wrestling or table tennis for that true nostalgic feel."

And that's fairly typical of reader sentiment.

The American Le Mans Series, in hindsight, was clearly faced with limited options when it came to negotiating a broadcast television package with the various networks. And the one factor limiting those options? The lack of substantive television ratings. As much as I and most of the AE readers out there like the ALMS and love road racing in general, the fact of the matter remains that the viewer ratings numbers aren't good, and it's extremely difficult to pitch that to television networks looking for content.

From the Series and its fans' perspective, there's only one way to watch the racing, and that's on "live" television. We see everything to do with NASCAR and F1 broadcast live, so why not the ALMS, right? The problem begins when the networks look at the ALMS as just another piece of content, which is how they do things. And when they look at acquiring content like that then they naturally would prefer that the ALMS be contained within a time package that they can "park" in a prearranged time slot, which they can then sell ads for, especially given the ratings.

And to the cries of "that ain't right" out there, you have to understand the fundamental key distinction between road racing fans and television executives. Rather than looking at the ALMS as the coolest form of road racing in the U.S. like its enthusiastic supporters do, the reality of the situation suggests that these network executives look at these decisions as a coldly calculated business deal. And when you look at it like that, then it's understandable why they are more receptive to pre-packaged racing shows that don't require the larger time window of a live event.

That all said, the reality of the ALMS broadcast situation truly sucks and the options for the series were severely limited in this content-driven communication world, which is why they made the move to Internet-driven broadcasting with expanded coverage on ESPN3.com. Long term, the ALMS television package is forward-thinking and geared toward where a lot of viewing habits will be going in the future, especially with Internet-equipped televisions becoming commonplace. Short term? It's a frickin' disaster and why our AE email inbox overflowed with irate comments from readers. No live coverage on television of America's premier sports car race? Our readers cried foul, and loudly too.

Now there are some on the snarky side of life out there who would suggest that all the carping by race fans delineates a clear demarcation between fans of a certain ahem "older" demographic and younger fans, which this Internet-driven viewing package is clearly geared to. But before you buy into that argument here's a comment from another longtime reader and racing veteran - Henry Ashton, who's currently residing in Kobe, Japan - who skews decidedly younger:

"I happened to be in the USA for Sebring. YEAH! So I try to stream the race live on the internet. ESPN does not allow you to stream from a hotel room as you have to state your cable service provider. So on Sunday I try to watch the re-cap on ABC. That was THE MOST DESPICABLE coverage of a race I have ever seen. No lap counter, no time count down, stupid commentators. I watched for 30 minutes. The last 20 minutes were with the volume on mute (so I didn't have to listen to the morons from ABC). Then I turned off and went to do something else. So as little at 6 years ago I was building those cars and going to races all the time. That has transformed to going to a couple races a year. Now I don't go to any races and I can't watch on TV. Pathetic. I am THE demographic the leaders of ALMS claim to want: young, educated, has disposable income. Yet first they push me away by not allowing anyone to look at the cars at the races, and now they don't have a TV package."

Going by the coverage on ESPN3.com, there is a lot more of the ALMS to be enjoyed but the fact that it's limited to Internet viewing really cuts a lot of people out who either just don't want to do it that way, or who can't be bothered beyond turning the TV on and finding the right channel to watch a live race. I get the visionary aspect of the future promise of the American Le Mans Series' digital adventure, but pissing off a lot of their most enthusiastic and hard-core supporters in the short term doesn't seem to be the way to go.

I trust that the ALMS learned a pivotal lesson this weekend, and that is that any television package that doesn't have live coverage of its two premier races, the 12 hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, isn't one worth pursuing.

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Sebring, Florida, 1967. The 427 cu. in. V8-powered No. 1 Ford Mk-IV of Mario Andretti and Bruce McLaren at rest in in the pits after a practice run. The duo would go on to win the 12 Hours of Sebring that year in record-setting fashion.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" with hosts John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, and Peter De Lorenzo, The Autoextremist, and guests this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.