NASCAR fans everywhere have had enough of the "Slip Angle."
Early last fall, word began circulating that Speedvision (now known as Speed Channel), a network known for its coverage of all forms of motorsport, was making a programming switch to become essentially nothing more than a NASCAR-centric network. By November, press releases were circulating about nine hours a day of NASCAR coverage and little else was being said about the remainder of the programming schedule. In December, working from information available at the time, I wrote a column chastising the upcoming Speed Channel debut. I argued that the NASCAR conversion was nothing more than a money-making ploy and that those who enjoy other race series were getting screwed. The column appeared in the April issue.
I began getting e-mails from enraged NASCAR fans before the April issue even hit the newsstands. Some of you wanted to burn my house and kill my firstborn. However, most who wrote in agreed and were equally pissed, feeling betrayed by the only network that followed the racing they love.
Among the frustrated readers was Speed Channel president, Jim Liberatore. Liberatore e-mailed me, inviting me to call him so we could get to the bottom of things. When I did, he answered on the first ring. What followed was both educational and gratifying.
Liberatore explained that he has taken heat from plenty of folks who don't like the switch. "If Speed Channel goes away, NASCAR people don't care," he says. "However, I'll take hell from lots of F1, CART and WRC fans who feel like they helped establish the network." It's true. If Speed Channel vaporized, NASCAR fans still have at least five other channels on which to watch cars drive in circles, but fans of other series don't.
Liberatore also explained that the other series aren't gone after all. In fact, there's more coverage. This racing season Speed Channel will cover CART, 13 live races plus all practice and qualifying sessions; the World Rally Championship, all 16 events with almost five times more coverage than before; every Formula One practice and qualifying session plus 13 F1 races, and several live-coverage broadcasts of Grand Am, American Le Mans and World Challenge events. The SCCA ProRally series will be covered in its entirety.
Put simply, Speed Channel hasn't left us out in the cold. Problem was, and Liberatore admits this, the whole story wasn't told when Speed Channel was announced. The emphasis was placed on the fact that NASCAR would be the crux of the network's programming, and just as I pointed out in April, little was said about the other series' fate on the new network.
Still, there are only 24 hours in a day. How the hell is Speed Channel going to jam all the promised racing coverage into the same number of hours? Simple, says Liberatore. "We've eliminated all the aviation and marine programming as well as 'Lost Drive-In.'" These programs weren't profitable anyway, so axing them was only smart business. Not only that, but original programming has been substantially increased with more live coverage and fewer rebroadcasts.
Here's how it plays out. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will be NASCAR-heavy programming. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be fairly light and the weekends will be virtually free of NASCAR.
I didn't even blink when we got to the gratifying part of the conversation. Speed Channel's NASCAR-heavy programming is paying off. The network's debut week was the first indication that the NASCAR switch would lead to more dollars. Ratings jumped 74 percent during the 7 p.m. to midnight time slot and households watching Speed Channel increased by 120 percent relative to the previous year's Speedvision ratings from that week. NASCAR pays, plain and simple.
This time everyone should be happy. Speed Channel gets its NASCAR dollars and the rest of us don't lose our racing coverage. We might have to search a little harder to find it, but it'll be there. Liberatore promises you that.