You didn’t need to be one of the 440,000 fans who attended Albert Park for the Formula 1 Grand Prix over the weekend to experience or engage with the event.
A quick flick to free to air Channel 10 or better so the global feed controlled and produced by F1 shared via Sky Sports UK from their Biggin Hill Media Technology Centre (MTC) outside of London, put you not only in the driver’s seat, but in the pits, in the paddock, virtually everywhere.
It is worth watching how they do it – not just as a fan of F1 but as a fan of sport. Click here.
And it opens a question that was well asked, shared and discussed in Melbourne last week as part of the expansive and impressive SPORT NXT conference keynoted by the heavyweights of the sporting world from the likes of American NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan and an endless raft on influential world sporting leaders – how to engage with the fan and focus on the virtual fan experience.
It was a common theme and naturally got me thinking of how racing tells and presents its stories and coverage, from the obvious of the race, but more so to really engaging with the fan, customer or punter, who wasn’t or couldn’t be on track, but wanted an experience, likened with what F1 and other sports are delivering on or working on delivering to grow the base.
Thoroughbred racing of course is challenged that is a 364 day a year roster fractured by split rights and not concerted presentation other than the race (vital to be sure), but with very little magazine and story sharing and telling other than a hefty focus on market movers and pick of the yards. So, it follows here for thoughts. Virtually, but more than so.
Let’s look at this as opportunity. Some background from last week.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1 said the success of their Netflix hit “Drive To Survive” (that has spawned copycats like “Break Point” for tennis and “Full Swing” for golf) was critical to the “rebirth” of the sport in just the last few years: “The growth at F1 was driven by looking at who the fans are and who aren’t fans. It is about inclusion and offering a platform to more people.”
“The drivers can be watched playing the F1 games that the organisation sells."
“One in three fans that go to the Grand Prix are going for the first time, now attracted we have to keep them.”
You’d be probably aware you could watch your favorite driver over the weekend in real time through F1’s brilliant in-hand or tablet technology with all the graphics engaged to make it look seamless but like you were a knowledgeable fan. I will get to that on racing after these other observations for thought.
Like what Craig Tiley, boss of the Australian Open said: “the monetisation of the off-site fan is where the future is.”
“This is a really cool time for all of us, the convergence of augmented reality and virtual reality is happening in real time. If you are putting on a sporting event you are going to lose, you have to put on a sporting event that engages in all forms of entertainment,” he said.
“You need to engage in all forms of entertainment, how do you monetise your audience to sell advertising space and improve content rights. The fan is the future, and you need to have a direct relationship.”
Of course, the Australian Open captures a vast majority of its income in a summer fortnight (though they are diversifying their investments and talents to broaden that base).
But step back from that. Rugby Australia’s marketing boss Marissa Pace offered that the days of “bums on seats” is gone. “Now it is all about the avid fan who never attends the event,” she said.
“Your technology needs to serve your customer first, before it serves your company”.
Experience integration for points like ticketing need to be up to date and seamless she added.
The impressive boss of Brisbane 2032 Olympics, Andrew Liveris, re-enforced the virtual experience, even to the extent of he wasn’t sure where such possibilities would be in nine years’ time for the viewer who couldn’t be in the Sunshine State “because they cannot afford it, I can give them the virtual experience,” taking the virtual option to run the Paris marathon next year to currently unthought of levels come Brisbane.
Liveris stepped also into the storytelling mode as vital and nothing more so encapsulates the Olympic spirit. “The athlete is the hero, we need to share the story about the sacrifice to get there, to participate, to make the podium, to get the gold, the best in the world. Embrace that story,” he said.
Goodell was more direct talking about the NFL: “We try to use all platforms and technologies to deliver better experience for fans and reach them. You need to fish where the fish are.”
Victoria Racing Club’s passionate chairman Neil Wilson was the sole thoroughbred speaker across the many various forums of the two days, sharing thoughts on investment opportunities outside of the obvious of merchandise, data and licensing streams for growth resources, on the stage with netball, cycling and NRL trumps.
A hefty team of VRC management were also delegates to the conference but that was about the limit to the thought opportunities that were there for racing.
So, it was the discussion of television sports production legend David Hill (now with F1 not surprisingly) that got me thinking what he could bring to a blank page of racing presentation.
Hill started as a journalist and then involved on the famous Channel 7 World Of Sport, so popularly led by Ron Casey that it is reported Melbourne Church service times were changed to allow Sunday viewing. “That’s true,” he said.
Hill would develop from there to putting condoms over microphones at Waverley Park to cover sound issues on the ground at the VFL to bringing graphics to World Series Cricket for Kerry Packer to re-invigorating soccer of the First Division to the Premier League for Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Sports, the introduction of the "Red Zone" to the NFL coverage and much more, to F1 and it continues with trying to put microchips in rugby balls to follow the action that the fans can’t see. You’d sense he has a few ideas, yet they all come back to basics.
“It’s all about the storytelling,” he would say.
But in Hill world that comes with embracing technology and thought opportunity.
Hill says the core principle of storytelling hasn’t changed despite the technology improving.
“The biggest problem with most sports productions is the assumption that everyone knows everything” he said.
Hill says the most important thing that happened to him in his time in sports television was, if they’re lucky a fan will know about 20% about a sport, a player will know about 50% and a coach about 80%.
“How do I make the sport more understandable,” he not so rhetorically asked.
And reverted to revealing “nuggets’ of information to the fans and viewers now sourced via data to graphics to engage the E-Sports audience. (see F1)
“We found out audience shift in tennis and golf from 38 to 52 to 65 plus, where were all the viewers going, we lost viewers which meant we lost advertisers, they were going to E-games and I stole their ideas and incorporated into our audience. “ (See F1 as example).
"Sport is an entertainment and sport has to change minute by minute because your audience changes minute by minute, something you did two years ago isn't going to work and something you did yesterday probably isn't going to work, because your audience and their appetite has changed," Hill said.
Opportunity was asked of Hill. “If I’m captain of the Titanic, I don’t see any icebergs.”.
So, what are the opportunities? He’s using microchips in rugby balls (ghost balls to find out what’s happening in the hidden sanctum of rucks and mauls for one.)”
What can racing do to engage and share such technology?
Start with a blank page and think where do you want to go? A “betterverse” is another fancy term to embrace, but know how to get there, engage different thinking.
F1 embarrasses racing’s on-screen technology. Some racing coverage is still laboriously inputting first four numbers in running (many times wrong) on screen while other sports (even try America’s Cup) use real time positioning, graphics etc and the latest technology. It is available and there.
But that is just a starting point for discussion and opportunity. Go look at the graphic instilled information in real time to the F1 coverage - data driven, times, gears, distances between cars, whatever.
Racing has other constraints but many more opportunities. Pre-race, do you want endless betting updates (now on the nose with government restrictions), nonsensical tips from non-betters (ditto), parade rings tips (ditto), why not think about behind the scenes and taking the fans there.
I don't have the answers but think what you'd like to see if you were at home. Start with pre-parade ring vision taking the fan to the track, or into microphoned insights into pre-race mounting yard discussions with jockeys/trainers and the thrill of owners.
You don't want to know the bland interview "where would you like it to be in the run", you'd like to be in that inner sanctum and hear it from the trainer directly wit the jockey.
And post race, be in that moment, racing coverage does capture that owner's excitement well, but let's go back to the jockey's room to sense drama or elation, into the steward's room for any recourse but stay there if there is, incorporate all the jockey cam and graphic data in immediate post analysis.
Add your thoughts, remember its a blank page, bit racing would do well to involve a Hill like visionary! I remember a great media advisor's advice – “take them to places they can’t go and introduce to people they can’t meet.”
Good starting point. But racing needs to embrace to be relevant.
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