When we occasionally talk about the “old media” not getting it, this is what we’re talking about.
On Wednesday we got a press release from ASA Entertainment letting us know that CBS would be airing four shows from the LG Action Sports Tour starting tomorrow November 8, 2008, followed by three more each weekend in December.
Most of the events being covered in these shows are at least three months old and the event last weekend in Seattle, Washington, The LG Actions Sports World Championships probably won’t air until December 20, 2008.
To put it clearly: everyone who cares about these events (we’re not sure who those people are exactly) will already have checked out the results, photos, and video online. That makes these four shows really old news to the people who care and completely untimely and irrelevant to those who happen to accidentally stumble on to the broadcasts while trying to find something to watch.
So what is the point of airing them at all? Well, this will be CBS’s fourth year airing the shows and we’re guessing some of ASA Entertainment’s sponsors still believe people are watching old action sports events on TV. And CBS probably thinks this will help them be down with the kids.
Apparently, a little self-delusion goes a long way in action sports marketing.
You’re forgetting the possibility that ASA did a time buy on CBS in order to sell their sponsorship packages in conjunction with network air time. That would make old media not complicit is this absurdity and would simply prove that the whole ASA deal is a tired also-ran in the exciting world of action sports aggregate competition.
There’s no self delusion by ASA involved here. Ratings data shows that the ASA shows get about the same audience and sometimes better ratings than the live stuff run on NBC, ABC and ESPN – even when the events are weeks or months old. The core assumptions of the original poster aren’t borne out by the facts. The bulk of the TV audience doesn’t care if the event is live or a year old. You can debate all you want about who cares about ASA’s or any other events, but the fact is, there is a comparable audience watching when these shows air – and that’s with a tiny fraction of the promotion and big media push that’s behind the network owned events and broadcasts. Not so sure what’s absurd or also-ran about that.
X Games averages about a one and the Dew Tour averages between a .4 and a .5–and that’s BEFORE they’re running against NFL football, when they’ve been known to rate a .1. All of which is to say, in broad terms, that there’s nearly a one million viewer difference between “the stuff that runs on NBC, ABC, and ESPN.”
Not sure what your ASA events will rate on CBS, Another View, but if you’re going to call your shot you have to untangle which of the events your aiming for. Because–no offense–but I sort of doubt months-old content aimed at young, plugged-in viewers is going to pull a one rating. .1? That sounds doable.
Wow. Learn how to spell self-delusion first off. Secondly, I know Zack Warden didn’t win Triple Jump in Cincinnati, but I still wanna watch him pull a 360 bike flip. I think anyone who watches FUEL all day thinks the same way. If there is an event on, I’m probably going to watch it.
Don’t kid yourself. You will too.
People watch Fuel all day long? Or even at all?
So, a bit of perspective first putting all these events under the right microspscoe
If the X Games is the NBA finals ..
If the Dew Tour is march madness
The ASA is Lompoc Valley High girls JV basketball.
Next up, nobody watches Fuel all day. That shit rates below G4, the least watched cable channel.
ASA, rollerbladers, triple, jump, what ever you are doing. Please stop. There has to be a better way to make money than being the tampon of action sports media.
This is fun!
I worry about you Perspective. you mentioned the Lompoc Valley High girls and tampon in the same post. Hmmm… A proclivity towards menstruating teen girls perhaps?
I also wonder about how you think that the X Games, an invitational, can be the finals when in actuality Dew is open to athletes to qualify and has a series of events that culminate in a Dew Cup? Whatever… it doesn’t really matter.
What does matter is that for these athletes to make a living they have to attend competitions that pay prize money and they need to be on TV for their sponsors to want to sponsor them. So as long as there is prize money and TV, the athletes will come to the comps… no matter who puts them on. If you want ASA to stop, tell the athletes to stop showing up.
As far as the TV being live or delayed; does it really matter? If you like to watch action sports you are going to watch it, whenever it airs. I think that it is ridiculous to think that these sports airing live makes any difference. After all everyone Tivos it anyway.
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