WRC powered by NOKIA

[MJW]

With Nokia now title sponsor of WRC are there any plans for Nokia users to have 'special features' from the partnership with WRC?. Maybe exclusive apps etc.
As a former Nokia stalwart who has moved to another make, do you think the sponsorship and anything that goes with that will be enough to tempt rallying folk back to Nokia? I remember days when it seemed the entire service park personnel carried a Nokia now it seems split between Apple I phone and Blackberry.

[MR666]

Can't even get it on TV so don't hold your breath lol

[rallyfiend]

With Nokia now title sponsor of WRC are there any plans for Nokia users to have 'special features' from the partnership with WRC?. Maybe exclusive apps etc.
As a former Nokia stalwart who has moved to another make, do you think the sponsorship and anything that goes with that will be enough to tempt rallying folk back to Nokia? I remember days when it seemed the entire service park personnel carried a Nokia now it seems split between Apple I phone and Blackberry.

There is a great Nokia app, with tracking maps, splits, and exclusvie content. Colin Clark is the feature guy doing the vids this weekend!

Worth a look if you can find someone with a Nokia. Which can be difficult in itself....

[J.Lindstroem]

There is a great Nokia app, with tracking maps, splits, and exclusvie content. Colin Clark is the feature guy doing the vids this weekend!

Worth a look if you can find someone with a Nokia. Which can be difficult in itself....

I need to get my hands on that new Lumia 800.

[A.F.F.]

Nokia WRC application is pretty good !!! Can't say the same of my actual Nokia phone.

[bluuford]

Yes, this app is perfect.. I almost hit the wall with my head while walking and looking splits and Tänak stopped at the beginning of the stage and then moving again :-) I was the one ho bought the phone just purely because of this app.. the best 270 EUR I have invested in last year :-)

[J.Lindstroem]

Yes, this app is perfect.. I almost hit the wall with my head while walking and looking splits and Tänak stopped at the beginning of the stage and then moving again :-) I was the one ho bought the phone just purely because of this app.. the best 270 EUR I have invested in last year :-)

What phone is it?

[bluuford]

What phone is it?

Nokia C6 01

[bt52b]

Nokia are on a big push, but will probably push even hard when their windows 8 phones come out in a few months
Windows Phone 8 to get NFC, HD and Skype • The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/06/windows_phone_8/)

Funny on WRR is almost anti Nokia..........

[jiipee64]

Exellent app!

And Lumia crashed only once yesterday :P

[GigiGalliNo1]

Weren't Nokia ment to be doing the timing? ha

[miksu]

I have WRC app on my E7 and i must say its awesome! Its the best way to follow rally! Its better than having PC in front of you, cause you see everything so well with it; GPS tracking of each car with split screen splits, stories, videos etc... Amazing.

I like my phone too. Best QWERTY out there

[HaCo]

Here you can see some screenshots, it is called "WRC Live":
WRC Live available on Nokia Marketplace (http://www.1800pocketpc.com/wrc-live-nokia-marketplace/24738/)
Apparently this is app is also available for windows phones, so I wonder if it is not possible the emulate this on a windows PC? Would be great for anyone, altough Nokia wouldn't like that I guess.

Pity that sports are sometimes restricted to groups, like in this case Nokia (high-end phone) users or paytv, ... I don't think VW will sell more cars because people have to pay extra to have these features. Haven't they learned anything from putting F1 on PayTv some years ago?

[bluuford]

Here you can see some screenshots, it is called "WRC Live":
WRC Live available on Nokia Marketplace (http://www.1800pocketpc.com/wrc-live-nokia-marketplace/24738/)
Pity that sports are sometimes restricted to groups, like in this case Nokia (high-end phone) users or paytv, ... I don't think VW will sell more cars because people have to pay extra to have these features. Haven't they learned anything from putting F1 on PayTv some years ago?
Well, the point is that the app is still free, you just have to choose the right phone:-) Everybody have mobile phones anyway, it is just one thing that helps you to choose between the mobiles ;-)

[KiwiRallyFan]

Are there any WRC (2012) apps available for Android phones? I'm new to this smart-phone thing, but I can't seem to find any (but I might just be looking in the wrong places!).

I assume this Nokia one doesn't work on Android??

Thanks.

[J4MIE]

You can't download the Nokia one. You can download the WRC app (can't remember the exact name of it, I have recently switched from Android to iPhone). There is also iRally. Do a search for WRC and see what comes up!

[KiwiRallyFan]

Thanks. There's one called "The Official WRC App 2011 - North One Television". Does this one still work in 2012, considering the demise of North One?

[J4MIE]

Really not sure to be honest, I always used iRally. That combined with Jbmarcus21's routes in Google earth give me everything I want :)

[AndyRAC]

Have had about 5-6 Nokias, but not anymore, they've been overtaken. Android, Apple & Blackberry seem to be the most popular.....

[Gard]

Have had about 5-6 Nokias, but not anymore, they've been overtaken. Android, Apple & Blackberry seem to be the most popular.....
Yes, has been IOS and Android for a while. But now many are back On Nokias. The new Windows Mobile Nokias are good

[AMSS]

I agree, got my hands on a Lumia 900 and it really seems to be a very good phone, though I miss the qwerty key board from my e7..


Yes, has been IOS and Android for a while. But now many are back On Nokias. The new Windows Mobile Nokias are good

[rallyfan2000]

I am a former employee of North One Television and spent the last 2 years working on the WRC for the production arm for the company. I haven't read through all the posts on here so I can't say if what I will say will be news to any of you but I thought it best to put across the point of view of someone from the inside and give everyone a better understanding of exactly what happened near the end.

Firstly, around September time, we were told by the powers that be at North One that Roman Antanov had decided he could provide WRC coverage, worldwide, cheaper and more efficient using his own employees. This meant the whole TUPE ordeal started with his company CSI and all was planning to go ahead up until November when he was arrested/made insolvent and the deal was off, with the rights to the rally then to be decided by the FIA. Firstly they were encouraging new bids from anyone that could pick up the pieces and carry on the progress already made, there were 2 parties interested, the first pulled out 5 days before Christmas as the FIA had not responded to any communication from this party and got fed up of being messed around. The second was from a Middle Eastern party and just as everything looked to be in place, just after new year, the FIA decided that they wanted North One Sport/Television to have nothing to do with it anymore as they had become tired of being 'messed about' and with 'nothing stable in place'.

From the inside, I can tell you for a fact that had the FIA decided to go with one of these new bids for global broadcast and promotion, the WRC would be in a much better place than it is now. It was thrown on Eurosport late in the day and they didn't have the resources or funding to take on such a job and since then it has become a complete joke with Nokia backing out last week, it is moving backwards at a rapid pace. Firstly, nobody wants to sponsor an event/manufacturer that isn't being promoted/broadcast on a global scale so eventually more and more sponsors will drop out and because of this, none of the teams will have the funding to race in as many events each year, slowly dropping out. Mini is a prime example of this, Prodrive pretty much jumped straight off the sinking ship one it had been announced.

North One Sport were actually doing an incredible job maintaing the rally as it was, the FIA like to criticise their work as it wasn't making as much money as they would have liked and the WRC will always play second fiddle to F1. WRC doesn't recieve as much coverage not because North One Sport/FIA weren't pushing it in the right directions but simply because it isn't sexy enough like the F1. In my honest opinion, the FIA are entirely to blame for this and only now are they starting to realise what a huge mistake it was to end North One Sport's involvement with the WRC in the way that they did.

The 2 years I spent working on the WRC were the best years I've enjoyed as a professional and I know that nothing will rival it. I hope one day to get back into the same line of work and rejoin the incredible family that is the WRC.

If anyone has any questions that they think I might be able to answer, please don't hesitate to ask and I will try to answer as best I can.

[amilk]

If anyone has any questions that they think I might be able to answer, please don't hesitate to ask and I will try to answer as best I can.

Thanks to be here. If you turn back, do you see anything in the past what was not done on the best way by North One and could be improved.

[Rallyper]

rallyfan2000/ Thank´s for the inside information.

Can you tell how much involved FIA was in North One Tele´s work and management? Why was NOT out of money because of Antonov affair? He was the owner, yes, but so what? His company could still have been working, couldn´t it?

[sillyseat]

FIA like to criticise their work as it wasn't making as much money as they would have liked and the WRC will always play second fiddle to F1. WRC doesn't recieve as much coverage not because North One Sport/FIA weren't pushing it in the right directions but simply because it isn't sexy enough like the F1. In my honest opinion, the FIA are entirely to blame for this and only now are they starting to realise what a huge mistake it was to end North One Sport's involvement with the WRC in the way that they did.
If anyone has any questions that they think I might be able to answer, please don't hesitate to ask and I will try to answer as best I can.
Sorry but in the most part North One coverage was rubbish, no hd, the most boring on/in car camera angles (made the cars look like they are going 5 mph), boring camera locations. I remember one rally where one day all we saw was loebs face in car, Also the all the coverage of the last day was the power stage. One had the feeling that they knew nothing about the sport. We saw far better action by privateers on you tube. How can the sport be considered "sexy" when it was covered so poorly? The only good thing was the live coverage from one of the rallys online, but that was only for one day and that was it?

[seb_sh]

rallyfan2000 it's cool of you to come and discuss this openly, the current situation is quite bad and it seems there was a chain of bad decisions that lead to this.

However I also think that WRC was not promoted in the best way and the TV production was not that good either, as sillyseat pointed out. It's easy to say the WRC isn't as sexy as F1 but it doesn't need to be it has its own appeal but it must be produced/packaged/marketed properly.

[Barreis]

The only good thing from NOS was live power stage.

[rallyfan2000]

I agree, most of the footage was sub standard in this day and age and with the technology available, however, speaking as someone who digitised all footage for every event in 2010 and 2011, there is a very good reason for this. The FIA wouldnt allow the budget to do so. Up to the end of last season, many of the onboard cameras were still being shot on Mini DV. This is incredibly od and unstable technology, have a look at the way it's shot now and tell me it's better.

[rallyfan2000]

Sorry but in the most part North One coverage was rubbish, no hd, the most boring on/in car camera angles (made the cars look like they are going 5 mph), boring camera locations. I remember one rally where one day all we saw was loebs face in car, Also the all the coverage of the last day was the power stage. One had the feeling that they knew nothing about the sport. We saw far better action by privateers on you tube. How can the sport be considered "sexy" when it was covered so poorly? The only good thing was the live coverage from one of the rallys online, but that was only for one day and that was it?


I agree, most of the footage was sub standard in this day and age and with the technology available, however, speaking as someone who digitised all footage for every event in 2010 and 2011, there is a very good reason for this. The FIA wouldnt allow the budget to do so. Up to the end of last season, many of the onboard cameras were still being shot on Mini DV. This is incredibly od and unstable technology, have a look at the way it's shot now and tell me it's better.

[rallyfan2000]

rallyfan2000 it's cool of you to come and discuss this openly, the current situation is quite bad and it seems there was a chain of bad decisions that lead to this.

However I also think that WRC was not promoted in the best way and the TV production was not that good either, as sillyseat pointed out. It's easy to say the WRC isn't as sexy as F1 but it doesn't need to be it has its own appeal but it must be produced/packaged/marketed properly.

I don't disagree with you that there were areas that the WRC weren't pushed enough into however, as with anything these days, money talks and if nobody wants to pay the money to fund a project that could promote the sport, it just won't happen. North One Sport got money from sponsors which paid for the coverage to be broadcast as globally as it was, I'm sure it didn't look like it was but we aren't talking about millions of pounds being thrown around here. Essentially the Nokia deal was to pay for the live internet streaming, similar to that of France 2011, in every european event this year. Nokia knew about this and were happy for it to happen, knowing that the Nokia brand would be banded about in a new location and for potentially millions of more people to see. Jean Todt and Michelle Mouton both went to Alsace to see the coverage being broadcast and both were very happy with the way it was working which is just another reason that baffles me to why they pulled the rug away from underneath the feet of North One and all its employees.

At every point that it looked like it was taking a step forward, it was taking 3 or 4 backwards as well. For instance, something that not a lot of people will know about is the whole reason behind Abu Dhabi dropping their sponsorship of the Ford WRC team which in effect could have stopped Ford even competing this year. Around this time last year, the new calendar was being decided, Abu Dhabi said they would pull out of all sponsorship if Jordan wasn't on the calendar this year. Jean Todt wanted France to remain on the calendar and it boiled down to one or the other. He decided to drop the rally in Jordan, which made them pull all their sponsorship from the WRC, costing millions of pounds and putting an end to any money making ooportunities in the middle east for the forseable future. Why would you want an event in the Alsace if there is an event a few hundred miles away in Trier, Germany. You would have been getting the same fans attending both events and not making that much more money.

Years ago, there used to be a longer event in Kenya, Safari Rally, until the FIA decided they weren't making enough money from the event and pulled out of it. Even though all the teams and manufacturers loved the event and it staged some of the best moments and memories the WRC has seen.

[rallyfan2000]

Thanks to be here. If you turn back, do you see anything in the past what was not done on the best way by North One and could be improved.


To be perfectly honest, I think North One did all that they could to ensure the WRC had as a prolonged life as possible. From a production point of view, we just about made as much money as was spent so all 'profit'/'revenue' came from sponsorship. North One's hands were tied to a certain extent by the FIA when they decided to abandon Abu Dhabi, they waved goodbye to a huge amount of money and as soon as you lose any funding, you have to replace it straight away or start making cut backs otherwise you're spending more than you're making.

North One Sport has come out of this with a very bad name but in truth they weren't running the show, they did the best they could with the money and resources that were made available by the FIA. Everything had to be run through the FIA and approved by them and if they didn't like the idea, then it wouldn't happen. If the live streaming had been introduced at any other point in the season, say Germany/Italy, Jean Todt would have said no. He wants to showcase the French Rally, and a fine rally it is but he can't see past the fact that it's not all about 1 event or 1 team or 1 driver, there are bigger things in the sport that need addressing.

[RAS007]

Sorry but in the most part North One coverage was rubbish, no hd, the most boring on/in car camera angles (made the cars look like they are going 5 mph), boring camera locations. I remember one rally where one day all we saw was loebs face in car, Also the all the coverage of the last day was the power stage. One had the feeling that they knew nothing about the sport. We saw far better action by privateers on you tube. How can the sport be considered "sexy" when it was covered so poorly? The only good thing was the live coverage from one of the rallys online, but that was only for one day and that was it?

Dont' forget the faux "live" commentary over recorded footage from Paul King.

[Barreis]

Bernie should retake it. :D

[Allyc85]

Thanks for coming on and giving your side of the story Rallyfan2000 :)

One question from me...what has been the the hold up with the new promoter and how close have we to a replacement? Its been around 6 months since it all started to fall apart and the few hardcore fans that are hanging onto the WRC have had so little info :(

[rallyfiend]

Thanks for coming on and giving your side of the story Rallyfan2000 :)

One question from me...what has been the the hold up with the new promoter and how close have we to a replacement? Its been around 6 months since it all started to fall apart and the few hardcore fans that are hanging onto the WRC have had so little info :(

There won't be a new promoter.

I would bet the FIA will continue to do it in house. Let's see how that goes. They haven't exactly been doing a sterling job so far, especially with the recent departure of Nokia.

[sollitt]

I was priviledged enough to be in an audience with a top FIA official as recently as 3 or 4 weeks ago who stated that a public announcement is due within the next few weeks. I believe that rather than
sitting on their hands a significant amount of progress has been made.

Rallyfan2000's 'insight' is all very well & good but there's a few facts that have to be taken onboard ... which many seem to have forgotten.

NOS was a company not cash rich, reliant on outside funding to perform it's job. In 2010 it was aquired by CSI which was inturn owned by a Russian businessman.
That businessman was indicted, arrested and jailed on serious criminal charges and as a result CSI, the parent company to NOS and it's financial surety, was placed in administration.
This resulted in NOS's financial uncertainty and serious questions over it's ability to honour it's obligations.

But overriding the issues of NOS's financial position was the fact that it is absolutely unconscionable that an organisation such as the FIA, which is far larger than just the sporting arm, could be
seen to be doing business with a company owned by a criminal and one which is under administration.
In essence, under best business practice, the FIA had no alternative but to terminate it's arrangements with NOS.

I have no doubt that, as Rallyfan2000 has stated, FIA officials are regretful that such action had to be taken but, even with benefit of hindsight, they wouldn't turn the clock back as it was fete acompli.

Rallyfan2000 has written about prospective contractors opting out due to FIA muddling. This is a red herring. In truth the tenderers weren't considered the right fit and nobody, least of all contributors to this forum,
would be particularly thankful if the process were revisited in relatively short order due to the appointment of the wrong agency.

There's an old adage about going into business that says "going into business immediately entitles you to endless free advice from people who have never possessed either the courage or the ability to do so themselves".
There's a fair amount of that going on here.

[rallyfiend]

I was priviledged enough to be in an audience with a top FIA official as recently as 3 or 4 weeks ago who stated that a public announcement is due within the next few weeks. I believe that rather than
sitting on their hands a significant amount of progress has been made.

Rallyfan2000's 'insight' is all very well & good but there's a few facts that have to be taken onboard ... which many seem to have forgotten.

NOS was a company not cash rich, reliant on outside funding to perform it's job. In 2010 it was aquired by CSI which was inturn owned by a Russian businessman.
That businessman was indicted, arrested and jailed on serious criminal charges and as a result CSI, the parent company to NOS and it's financial surety, was placed in administration.
This resulted in NOS's financial uncertainty and serious questions over it's ability to honour it's obligations.

But overriding the issues of NOS's financial position was the fact that it is absolutely unconscionable that an organisation such as the FIA, which is far larger than just the sporting arm, could be
seen to be doing business with a company owned by a criminal and one which is under administration.
In essence, under best business practice, the FIA had no alternative but to terminate it's arrangements with NOS.

I have no doubt that, as Rallyfan2000 has stated, FIA officials are regretful that such action had to be taken but, even with benefit of hindsight, they wouldn't turn the clock back as it was fete acompli.

Rallyfan2000 has written about prospective contractors opting out due to FIA muddling. This is a red herring. In truth the tenderers weren't considered the right fit and nobody, least of all contributors to this forum,
would be particularly thankful if the process were revisited in relatively short order due to the appointment of the wrong agency.

There's an old adage about going into business that says "going into business immediately entitles you to endless free advice from people who have never possessed either the courage or the ability to do so themselves".
There's a fair amount of that going on here.

On the same token, you need to be careful how you yourself throw around the word 'facts'.

Antonov is not in jail, he has not been tried in court, is not yet guilty of any crime and is in fact still wandering the streets of London as he wishes.

Therefore, there are / were no grounds for FIA to terminate any contract on this basis. That would be presumptive and open the FIA up to being sued. You can't accuse someone of not being a 'fit and proper person' until they've been found to be 'unfit and not proper'.

The FIA terminated the agreement because NOS was in default of it's obligations - I would guess not paying bills to the FIA.

[sollitt]

Point taken although I'm not sure that a court conviction is required to determine 'fit & proper' status and there is absolutely no question that CSI is under administration.

[A FONDO]

Dont' forget the faux "live" commentary over recorded footage from Paul King.

Yes that was stupid but generally his speech was plenty of times better than the faqqot with the pink ribbon, cracked voice, disgusting accent, ridiculing people's foreign names and all of this backed with 99% muted sound of cars. Honestly I dont watch MOTORSTV and WRC.com reviews anymore and am not going to do it 'til he's there!!!

[rallyfan2000]

I was priviledged enough to be in an audience with a top FIA official as recently as 3 or 4 weeks ago who stated that a public announcement is due within the next few weeks. I believe that rather than
sitting on their hands a significant amount of progress has been made.

Rallyfan2000's 'insight' is all very well & good but there's a few facts that have to be taken onboard ... which many seem to have forgotten.

.

NOS was a company not cash rich, reliant on outside funding to perform it's job. In 2010 it was aquired by CSI which was inturn owned by a Russian businessman.
That businessman was indicted, arrested and jailed on serious criminal charges and as a result CSI, the parent company to NOS and it's financial surety, was placed in administration.
This resulted in NOS's financial uncertainty and serious questions over it's ability to honour it's obligations.

But overriding the issues of NOS's financial position was the fact that it is absolutely unconscionable that an organisation such as the FIA, which is far larger than just the sporting arm, could be
seen to be doing business with a company owned by a criminal and one which is under administration.
In essence, under best business practice, the FIA had no alternative but to terminate it's arrangements with NOS.

I have no doubt that, as Rallyfan2000 has stated, FIA officials are regretful that such action had to be taken but, even with benefit of hindsight, they wouldn't turn the clock back as it was fete acompli.

Rallyfan2000 has written about prospective contractors opting out due to FIA muddling. This is a red herring. In truth the tenderers weren't considered the right fit and nobody, least of all contributors to this forum,
would be particularly thankful if the process were revisited in relatively short order due to the appointment of the wrong agency.

There's an old adage about going into business that says "going into business immediately entitles you to endless free advice from people who have never possessed either the courage or the ability to do so themselves".
There's a fair amount of that going on here.
I read what you've written and I wonder how it is you think you know so much about it?

I promise you for a fact that one prospective broadcaster/promoter pulled out of a deal on the 20th December 2011 because they were waiting for a response from the FIA and when there wasn't one, they became impatient and walked. The second 'buyer' was still in the running to take over up until the 8th January 2012 but by the 9th, the FIA had decided otherwise and despite the fact that the rally coverage would have carried on similar to that of the last few seasons, the FIA decided that they could find someone better to do the job and frankly, they haven't. If anything, it's gone backwards from there. You have to ask some serious questions about an organisation that would rather take everything away from everybody, as they have done, than give someone a chance of taking it forward. Even if one of these prospective buyers hadn't been approved by everyone, I assure you that the WRC would be in a much better place than it is now.

I'd also have to ask some serious questions about a person who states "facts" that simply aren't true. You are in no position to tell people these facts and claim you have an insight into what happened and what's going on in the future.

[rallyfan2000]

Dont' forget the faux "live" commentary over recorded footage from Paul King.


Don't knock PK, he's better than the drivel they've gone with in Colin Clark who cannot pronounce Latvala's name without adding extra syllables and Julian Porter who tries hard but isn't naturally a commentator.

[rallyfan2000]

Thanks for coming on and giving your side of the story Rallyfan2000 :)

One question from me...what has been the the hold up with the new promoter and how close have we to a replacement? Its been around 6 months since it all started to fall apart and the few hardcore fans that are hanging onto the WRC have had so little info :(

The FIA know what they want and some of it isn't realistic to what is actually available and aren't willing to spend that extra bit of money getting it to where they want. After we were kicked out, several people looked at taking it on but financially, it doesn't make enough money for anyone. We got it down to just about floating above water but in an economic climate where everyone wants to earn 100% more than what they're spending, the WRC just doesn't work like that, it never has and it never will.

As to what's next, I have no idea. The FIA may take it on but maybe they've realised that they won't make as much money as they want. Something has to change and it's impossible to say what, let's hope someone comes in that's prepared for that and the FIA give them a chance. The 15th June will be a huge deciding factor for the future especially as now every single rally organiser is refusing to sign up for next year, even the Frenchies don't want to spend half a million on something that will make them half s million and 1.

[makinen_fan]

Don't knock PK, he's better than the drivel they've gone with in Colin Clark who cannot pronounce Latvala's name without adding extra syllables and Julian Porter who tries hard but isn't naturally a commentator.

i would not agree with you. Colin Clark and Julian Porter are doing the commentating thing for just 6 rallies now, and remember that they are away all day at the stages and I suspect they have VERY limited time to comment on it. I don't believe PK was all over the stage all day long and then given 20 minutes to do the commentating.

I know they are not perfect but they are the least annoying thing at the moment in the WRC coverage.

And another thing that I do not understand. How come the coverage this year to be SO similar to last couple of year's WRC. Are exactly the same people involved in that this year as well? The coverage remains s***, the on board cameras the same, the slower drivers again get no coverage... And all these are done from an 'emergency' solution by the FIA, and North One could only manage the same, and they were a full blown dedicated company.... So something was not working right there...

The only improvement in coverage the last couple years were with Eurosport and in so last minute notice, I could not imagine what they can do for full time involvement

[GigiGalliNo1]

I like how there is one person here providing facts from experience from working on the WRC yet other blatantly ignore this facts or complain its utter nonsense. One comes to speak the truth and if they didn't we'd still be questioning what the truth was and arguing. No one can be happy can they? No one is pleased whether there is; like I've said before: fact being told or not!

Makinen_fan I'm not speaking of you but regards to people replying to rally2000's posts... BUT I only agree with your last paragraph there Makinen_fan :)

[Rallyper]

It´s up to FIA to make WRC interesting and news for every sportsinterested at every rally in the calendar. If it´s not interesting then it´s not news for journalists and will only be interesting for us neards... And then there will be not much money brought in to the sport.

Is it maybe Loeb who has made WRC uninteresting? And FIA can´t handle it?

[RAS007]

Don't knock PK, he's better than the drivel they've gone with in Colin Clark..........and Julian Porter.....

That is debatable, but I think that Paul King, or "PK" as he is known to his friends, is one of the worst things about the WRC coverage over the last few years. The aforementioned fabricated "live" commentary over recorded footage really fooled nobody, and only served to make the spectacle less exciting. More disappointing though, in my opinion, was the total lack of depth of understanding required to give an overview of the unique rhythms of each event, or to summarise into an interesting 30 minute program, the various story threads which inevitably make up every round of the WRC. Instead, what we got was "PK" droning on about a tenth of a second being lost here, and a quarter of a second being gained there, like we were watching a go-kart race. Pitiful stuff.

[Barreis]

Colin Clark and Julian Porter are much worse. Can not hear co driver from them.

[GigiGalliNo1]

Colin Clark and Julian Porter are much worse. Can not hear co driver from them.

It's not their fault. It's the production of the show. The sound hasn't be perfected in background noise, driver noise, music and commentary. It's a tricky business you know...

[sollitt]

I read what you've written and I wonder how it is you think you know so much about it? Quite simply rallyfan2000, my position on my country's controlling body on occasion puts me in front of people from the pointy end of the sport's global administration, most recently just 3 weeks ago at an address by the FIA VP during which these issues were covered. What I have written is a fair representation of my recollection of that briefing.

You on the other hand have arrived in this forum as a new contributor and, without first establishing any credibility whatsoever, have used your very first posts to discredit the FIA whilst hiding behind the anonimity of a nom de plume - a clear agenda from the outset.
Furthermore your story of ill deeds contains no detail with which to gleen any level of verification.

Were we to accept that you actually held a position at NOS, in which you were privy to the boardroom goings on, we would also have to accept the very strong likelihood that your viewpoint is somewhat tainted by the experience and, as the old adage goes "there are two sides to every story".
For my money, unless you came out of hiding and named names, times, places dates etc... I'll go with the real gen from the horses mouth, a well respected administrator whom I have known for 35 years.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no apologist for the FIA and I'll concede that you'll find some support on this forum, as slagging off from the cowardly comfort of anonimity is something of a daily pastime here, however I also know that decisions are seldom easy, usually well considered and that the truth is rarely as it seems or is written.

[rallyfan2000]

Quite simply rallyfan2000, my position on my country's controlling body on occasion puts me in front of people from the pointy end of the sport's global administration, most recently just 3 weeks ago at an address by the FIA VP during which these issues were covered. What I have written is a fair representation of my recollection of that briefing.

You on the other hand have arrived in this forum as a new contributor and, without first establishing any credibility whatsoever, have used your very first posts to discredit the FIA whilst hiding behind the anonimity of a nom de plume - a clear agenda from the outset.
Furthermore your story of ill deeds contains no detail with which to gleen any level of verification.

Were we to accept that you actually held a position at NOS, in which you were privy to the boardroom goings on, we would also have to accept the very strong likelihood that your viewpoint is somewhat tainted by the experience and, as the old adage goes "there are two sides to every story".
For my money, unless you came out of hiding and named names, times, places dates etc... I'll go with the real gen from the horses mouth, a well respected administrator whom I have known for 35 years.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no apologist for the FIA and I'll concede that you'll find some support on this forum, as slagging off from the cowardly comfort of anonimity is something of a daily pastime here, however I also know that decisions are seldom easy, usually well considered and that the truth is rarely as it seems or is written.


Every single cell in my body is crying out to name names and try and explain to everyone the true facts however it's not always as easy as that. Firstly, I was forced to sign an agreement that I wouldn't do this sort of thing and 'slag off' the FIA or any future broadcaster of the WRC in a public arena, including Facebook and Twitter. My anonymity is the only thing I have to ensure my reputation isn't tainted. The easiest thing to have done would have been to sit back and let everyone keep going over old ground based on hearsay and rumour so I felt it was important that a few records were set straight. Secondly, as I have explained, at no point during my time at North One was I ever employed at a level of 'boardroom' so I wasn't privy to the exact facts myself, a point that I have explained before. I was the sort of employee that shut, did what I was told and ask no questions however, once everyone had lost their jobs, questions were asked by other staff members which allowed for 'boardroom' staff to answer slightly more honestly and this news was passed down to junior members of staff.

I understand that some of what I have stated may sound like it comes from a very biased point of view as I have leapt at the defence of North One as I feel they weren't accountable for some of the things suggested. Reading all the press releases about what has happened since January and the current pending 2013 calendar, the finger of blame is constantly being pointed at North One, even now, 6 months after they ceased to exist. If you look at how the current situation is being handled by 'the powers that be', it is clear that if it was run in a similar fashion now as it was 12 months ago, you will be able to see where the problem lie.

It is easy to blame North One for the CSI collapse and allowing such a shambolic organisation to even become involved in a deal for the WRC but any goings on behind closed doors of CSI or that of Roman Antanov were not made clear to anyone during the takeover process and if it had, I'd like to think it would have been avoided. The FIA were just as deceived as North One were as any deal would have had to have been approved by them and clearly it was. So I'm not blaming them for that but they should shoulder some responsibility as they could have put a holt on proceedings if they ever had any doubts over the deal from that start. It is also easy to blame North One for the current situation with no global broadcaster but again I keep asking myself, what has been done to resolve this? We could have a new buyer at the start of the year but it was clear the FIA had other plans.

If you think my side of the story it tainted by a view from the North One side, I ask you the same question from 'the other side' and if you question the validity of my position and the points I have raised without any proof then I ask you to explain exactly what happened because up to now, I only get the impression that you 'think' I'm wrong without actually being able to back it up with any real evidence of your own.

[rallyfan2000]

That is debatable, but I think that Paul King, or "PK" as he is known to his friends, is one of the worst things about the WRC coverage over the last few years. The aforementioned fabricated "live" commentary over recorded footage really fooled nobody, and only served to make the spectacle less exciting. More disappointing though, in my opinion, was the total lack of depth of understanding required to give an overview of the unique rhythms of each event, or to summarise into an interesting 30 minute program, the various story threads which inevitably make up every round of the WRC. Instead, what we got was "PK" droning on about a tenth of a second being lost here, and a quarter of a second being gained there, like we were watching a go-kart race. Pitiful stuff.

So are you trying to suggest that all of the live power stage coverage had a dubbed voice over?

[rallyfan2000]

i would not agree with you. Colin Clark and Julian Porter are doing the commentating thing for just 6 rallies now, and remember that they are away all day at the stages and I suspect they have VERY limited time to comment on it. I don't believe PK was all over the stage all day long and then given 20 minutes to do the commentating.

I know they are not perfect but they are the least annoying thing at the moment in the WRC coverage.

And another thing that I do not understand. How come the coverage this year to be SO similar to last couple of year's WRC. Are exactly the same people involved in that this year as well? The coverage remains s***, the on board cameras the same, the slower drivers again get no coverage... And all these are done from an 'emergency' solution by the FIA, and North One could only manage the same, and they were a full blown dedicated company.... So something was not working right there...

The only improvement in coverage the last couple years were with Eurosport and in so last minute notice, I could not imagine what they can do for full time involvement

It's so similar now because they have nothing of a budget, just like last year. The manufacturers pay to have their drivers/teams/sponsors broadcast, so Citroen and Ford plus mini and soon enough VW will have the most coverage. If one of the slower drivers turns a few heads and starts pulling times out, they'll get a mention. Cast your mind back to Australia last year, after Loeb rolled and then Ogier crashed, we barely heard anything from them for the rest of the event....basically, if you aren't at the top, nobody will know about you because the majority of viewers don't even care.

Think of North One as a puppet and the FIA the puppet master. Certain strings were being pulled harder than others....Loeb is french and so are the FIA....I'll let you work that out.

[rallyfiend]

E
It is easy to blame North One for the CSI collapse and allowing such a shambolic organisation to even become involved in a deal for the WRC but any goings on behind closed doors of CSI or that of Roman Antanov were not made clear to anyone during the

You'd probably have more credibility is you did things like give the correct names.

[rallyfan2000]

You'd probably have more credibility is you did things like give the correct names.

Sorry, I know his name is Vladimir Anatanov. I was thinking about his second on command, Roman Dubov who was heavily involved in the takeover process.