USGP negotiation tactics
06-22-2006, 05:49 PM
#41
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Originally Posted by WFO Racer,Jun 21 2006, 09:50 PM
sitting in Speedway traffic sucks zebra dick
06-23-2006, 06:18 AM
#42
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Originally Posted by karwath,Jun 21 2006, 02:56 PM
Bernie doesn't care where a US Grand Prix or any Grand Prix is held, and whether it is a good event for any ticket buyers. He has held them in parking lots in Las Vegas and in Detroit. All he cares about is the TV revenue. There is even talk about him holding a GP at Paul Ricard (which he owns as I recall), which has little or no seating, and just broadcasting the thing.
He should care about the F1 presence in the US Market because the sponsors and teams do. I wonder what some of the following companies would think if F1 had no presence in the largest consumer market in the world - Budweiser, Johnie Walker, RayBan, Seiko, Allianz, FedEx, Bridgestone, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW . . . (OK, Renault does not give a sh!t since they don't even sell their cars here). How many people were watching F1 races 10 years ago when Speed started carrying them and now, most likely due to the presence of the USGP, there are enough people watching F1 on Speed in the US that CBS has bought the broadcast rights to some of the races.
Bernie is bluffing, and in the end if he is half as smart as he is supposed to be he will pen a new 2-5 year deal for the USGP to continue at Indy, even if he has to give a little more room to Tony George than he likes to give.
He should care about the F1 presence in the US Market because the sponsors and teams do. I wonder what some of the following companies would think if F1 had no presence in the largest consumer market in the world - Budweiser, Johnie Walker, RayBan, Seiko, Allianz, FedEx, Bridgestone, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW . . . (OK, Renault does not give a sh!t since they don't even sell their cars here). How many people were watching F1 races 10 years ago when Speed started carrying them and now, most likely due to the presence of the USGP, there are enough people watching F1 on Speed in the US that CBS has bought the broadcast rights to some of the races.
Bernie is bluffing, and in the end if he is half as smart as he is supposed to be he will pen a new 2-5 year deal for the USGP to continue at Indy, even if he has to give a little more room to Tony George than he likes to give.
bernies just staking out his negotiation position. there will be a deal done for a usgp and it will stay at indy.
06-23-2006, 07:18 AM
#43
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Originally Posted by matrix,Jun 22 2006, 05:04 PM
If you start from a market share of 0 - the only place to go is up!
they only race once a year in the US....what does it cost to hold the consumers interest for one race a year?
06-23-2006, 09:09 AM
#45
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Originally Posted by matrix,Jun 23 2006, 11:32 AM
why should the US be any different?
06-23-2006, 09:21 AM
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we were talking about negotiation tactics, which morphed into product/advertising/selling - not the number of races held or why the US market should be any different...
06-23-2006, 10:18 AM
#47
Keep in mind that European countries are as close as states; so distances are not such an issue.
From AE:
"Bernie Ecclestone. The Formula 1 overlord receives our AE "Bonehead Quote of the Week" award. Commenting in the July 1 edition of F1 Racing magazine, Ecclestone dismisses the American racing fan, corporate America and Tony George, and downplays the significance of even having a race in the U.S. - all in one interview. Here are the highlights (with our comments in parens): "Let's put things in perspective - the TV ratings in the U.S. have always been pretty dismal," Ecclestone said. (Why is that, Bernie? Could it be that your technology circus masquerading as real racing leaves a lot to be desired?). "Single-seater racing in America is extremely marginal, and even a top-end NASCAR race only attracts the same sort of TV viewers as F1 gets in Italy for an average race. That's nothing to write home about." (And just off the top of our heads, the lack of actual racing and the joke of the U.S. Grand Prix that you shoved down our throats last summer had nothing to with our attitude about F1, did it, Bernie?). "F1 has never got anything good out of the U.S. We've never had a big committed U.S. sponsor. We could hold 10 Grands Prix in the U.S. and a handful in Europe to boost F1's popularity in the States - but what would be the point of that?" (We're sure Tony George would be absolutely thrilled to hear that, Bernie. After all, he only turned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway upside down and spent millions to accommodate you and your carpet bagging circus of prima donnas - people who are more worried about the proper level of luxe accommodations and "tolerable" restaurants than they are about putting on a good show for the fans). It's refreshing to know that Bernie Ecclestone remains the most clueless Napoleonic billionaire operating in the racing world today. Why people keep throwing money at this guy while putting up with his crap is beyond us. We won't be at Indy for the F1 race - we'd rather rearrange our sock drawers. As a matter of fact, we won't go to another F1 "race" in the U.S. until it's run on a natural-terrain road-racing circuit. Yeah, we know - it's notgonnahappen.com "
From AE:
"Bernie Ecclestone. The Formula 1 overlord receives our AE "Bonehead Quote of the Week" award. Commenting in the July 1 edition of F1 Racing magazine, Ecclestone dismisses the American racing fan, corporate America and Tony George, and downplays the significance of even having a race in the U.S. - all in one interview. Here are the highlights (with our comments in parens): "Let's put things in perspective - the TV ratings in the U.S. have always been pretty dismal," Ecclestone said. (Why is that, Bernie? Could it be that your technology circus masquerading as real racing leaves a lot to be desired?). "Single-seater racing in America is extremely marginal, and even a top-end NASCAR race only attracts the same sort of TV viewers as F1 gets in Italy for an average race. That's nothing to write home about." (And just off the top of our heads, the lack of actual racing and the joke of the U.S. Grand Prix that you shoved down our throats last summer had nothing to with our attitude about F1, did it, Bernie?). "F1 has never got anything good out of the U.S. We've never had a big committed U.S. sponsor. We could hold 10 Grands Prix in the U.S. and a handful in Europe to boost F1's popularity in the States - but what would be the point of that?" (We're sure Tony George would be absolutely thrilled to hear that, Bernie. After all, he only turned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway upside down and spent millions to accommodate you and your carpet bagging circus of prima donnas - people who are more worried about the proper level of luxe accommodations and "tolerable" restaurants than they are about putting on a good show for the fans). It's refreshing to know that Bernie Ecclestone remains the most clueless Napoleonic billionaire operating in the racing world today. Why people keep throwing money at this guy while putting up with his crap is beyond us. We won't be at Indy for the F1 race - we'd rather rearrange our sock drawers. As a matter of fact, we won't go to another F1 "race" in the U.S. until it's run on a natural-terrain road-racing circuit. Yeah, we know - it's notgonnahappen.com "
06-23-2006, 10:43 AM
#49
Always entertaining to see folks' panties get in a bunch, but the thread topic is dead-on. Bernie's comments are intended purely as negotiating tactics, in an attempt to put Tony G. and IMS on the defensive before contract renewal talks even begin.
Back in '97-'98, Bernie was falling all over himself touting how great the U.S. market was, that it was a travesty that there was no USGP, no series could be called global without a US presence, and Oh, Please, Won't SOMEBODY just put up the tens of millions of dollars it takes to build a glorious new F1 venue in the US (hint, hint, Tony G., are you listenting?).
But how much $$ do you think Bernie himself contributed to the IMS contruction? That's right, zip, but he still got his track built, and then he got to sit back and rake in the usual TV revenue. Just one more example of why Bernie's a billionaire and we're not.
Back in '97-'98, Bernie was falling all over himself touting how great the U.S. market was, that it was a travesty that there was no USGP, no series could be called global without a US presence, and Oh, Please, Won't SOMEBODY just put up the tens of millions of dollars it takes to build a glorious new F1 venue in the US (hint, hint, Tony G., are you listenting?).
But how much $$ do you think Bernie himself contributed to the IMS contruction? That's right, zip, but he still got his track built, and then he got to sit back and rake in the usual TV revenue. Just one more example of why Bernie's a billionaire and we're not.
06-23-2006, 09:22 PM
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Originally Posted by karwath,Jun 22 2006, 05:49 PM
You can always find out the good routes to avoid sitting in traffic from a local. I've never sat in traffic at a USGP or an Indy 500.
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