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If you could buy the WRC…..
- Thread starter J4MIE
- Start date
Totally agree with it, but life has changed for everyone. All of us, in a way or another, is doing things easy and quick. You're not going around to buy a CD to play on your PlayStation, it's few clicks away now. Same for Appliances, clothing, grocery and food. People even stop googling, rather asking random things to AI.
Sports and entertainment is very quick nowadays, even Social Media changed and went from Facebook to TikTok. If you see analytics of YouTube, the most revenue comes to small videos rather than 20-30 minutes contents. Brands have shifted their investments from Facebook to TikTok at an impressive pace. Keeping with long events doesn't help right now and will kill the sport in the coming years if continues on this path.
I know, it's brutal and difficult to digest, but that's the world we're living in.
We're talking about 2011, where there was basically no TV coverage and they put it to have a well-produced live stage to improve visibility and revive Sunday action with some points.
In 2026 it's not enough anymore.
It's a good thing it stays, it's a "highlight" of the weekend, but you need it to combine with other things. Superspecials and "Power Stage look-alike" saturday stages will definitely help.
It's not difficult to digest at all, it already happened and we're all living it. But what is difficult maybe is what is about to happen. Digital content will change rapidly in the coming years and won't be so social. It'll be a sort of government authorised digital consumption. But it's off-topic anyway, this conversation is talking like WRC doesn't already have TikTok, Facebook, YT, wherever accounts currently, and the young people aren't consuming it on their tablets for the 10 seconds it's going to get whilst they're eating their beans on toast on a Thursday evening 2 months after the rally ended. There's no changing the formats of events is going to change that. 'SM' is not a worthy topic of conversation for this thread. It's nonsense.
If the question is how to build fandoms around the WRC teams like there is in F1, there is higher level things to talk about than this simpleton 'bEtTEr SM' stuff.
If you would give organizers free hands, they would all come with marathon events, believe me, as they want the event to be held all over their country, potentially bring people to spend everywhere, as their brains think they will, but at the end they won't. Only hardcore fans travel to WRC event, and those usually bring everything beside. Those other "fans" are usually not really fans, as they barely knew the sport, they are just there because it's close, something is happening around and that's it. They will not spend on merch, wait in line for signatures and follow up closely. A few beers and something to eat and that's it.
I'm not at all against marathon events, as a fact I would bring some, but not more than 2 or 3. Kenya is one of them which could easily be one of them and to test also endurance element.
Ogier, Tanak, Lappi, Sordo, Rovanpera are examples that even for drivers this format novadays is too much.
It's totally on-topic, because it's part of the responsibilities of the Promoter to increase the championship popularity and brand itself. But ok, let me be more accurate on the Social Media aspect.
What I meant is that those channel are not fully exploited.
Brands activations in videos/contents (like DHL F1 behind the scenes, etc.): gives more value to the Global Sponsorships, meaning more viewership and more contractual power when signing extensions or new onboarding partners. Not monetized by the actual Promoter.
Subscription services: in addition to the free content, since WRC got a huge archive and loads of material on RallyTV, part of it can be made available on a paywall subscription on Google for a much cheaper price than RallyTV itself. You want the whole thing, there's Rally TV, but if you want less for cheaper, here's YouTube. It's another button next to the channel (Like, Subscribe or Membership via paywall)
Rolling ads: more live coverage (shakedown, opening ceremony, daily wrap-ups and potentially one live TV stage per event) during the year, means more rolling ads and thus more revenues.
Off-events brandings: when it's not rally week or rally days, it's free space to put them. A first attempt was the recce shots in partnership with Hankook, but more needs to be involved to have the above-mentioned improved contractual power in the future.
With more money available, you can push socials to new targets by investing heavily in ads and for a broader social media strategy. Last time I saw it was the sponsored video of the fireworks in Monte last year, which went viral ofc. F1 does it continuously and the result is right there.
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That's where WRC's media coverage fails hard. I either can watch badly made 5(at best) min youtube highlight videos or I can have WRC+ which is so expensive that it can only be justified by watching everything
The problem is also not the attention span of the new generation (if it even is different than in other generations, I have my doubts...)
It's that the media coverage of WRC is so bad, that it does not convert a 10 second video into interest to the sport.
There was a time, where this was different. In my beloved 2017 there were many, many youtube shorts going around of the awesome cars, that for sure generated new fans.
Good luck trying that 2027...
It's that the media coverage of WRC is so bad, that it does not convert a 10 second video into interest to the sport.
There was a time, where this was different. In my beloved 2017 there were many, many youtube shorts going around of the awesome cars, that for sure generated new fans.
Good luck trying that 2027...
If cars would be the trigger to gain public, F1 would be dead and buried right now, with the bzzzzzz cars nowadays. The WRC now needs to sell the stories.
Look at that: archive material, well-packed with drama and here's the result: 1 million views and amazed comments below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2WGddzQoXw
People wants the "heroes". The Promoter must tell about those stories and heroes. That's their job.
Stories that tells the personality of the drivers aren't influenced by the lenght of the rally. Think at the Katsuta story when he cried on MTM about his future. It's a helluva story that shows the human side of the real protagonists of the sport, the drivers.
Many people focus only on the cars or the technical part of the sport. It's not: generally we don't love Lancia as it is, but because of a great car, a great team spirit, great drivers like Toivonen, KKK, Munari, etc.
I personally would love to see more insights on what's going on in the Service Park (not the useless interviews to the team prinicipal saying nonsense like "we're doing good, hopefully we continue so"!) and generally behind the scenes.
I was so happy when the swear words protests came up, these are things that shows the real character and personality of the drivers. Nobody remembers the PR stories, but the unfiltered ones.
Drive to Survive made this a focal point: arguments, drama, emotional moments. You named it, we need all that, well packed in a whole portfolio of actions (TV coverage, easier access to other media outlets, less filtering, etc.).
When you have this, people will come to the event to see their heroes, take a pic with them, buying their tshirt to get an authograph, etc.
The cars are here more or less the thing to watch and not so people, at least for those fans which doesn't have a clue about this sport. As the sport's nature is car passing by every few minutes. So it's quite important that WRC to not lose that aspect. I mean what a shit would be looking at electric cars passing by with that annoying RC sound. It would be like we are all partly deaf.
Back then there was no AllLive platform. Now every stage is covered (if the damn thing is working). AllLive is great, but it's demanding for all. I think that format didn't change a lot from back then, but the difference is, that now drivers are when they are not on the road, looking at stage onboards, and just looking one of them from start to finish take it about 15minutes or more (we can see it that there is a very few that are shorter). There is usually 20 stages in total. It's a must to do, as everybody do it and if you miss something... You know.
But there is also one solution which could downgrade this "awesome thing" we got few seasons ago. To fully cancel this and go back to radio, few stages being covered with not just onboard camera but helicopter, drones, side stage cameras also and make a professional live coverage as it used to be. I like it how it were. I know that some footage was missing if something happened, but as I'm seeing now, it doesn't make a difference. Many incidents are missing and actual footage came from fans.
I know that producers have screens with any camera attached to cars, but usually they don't show nothing. This platform actually decrease in quality over the years and anybody can confirm that.
I remember when I work and having this radio on and listening when the action was on and when something happened I was all hooked up, the information was right there. It bring some pulse up. Now the info came but we watch completely different car and it's not the same.
The drivers would also rest a little and start learning again from memory or rely on their true talents.. and maybe breathe normaly, speak to maybe a fan between stages and wouldn't be constantly on a hurry.
I don't know, that's my opinion, but I kinda like it more before. Of course this AllLive was a great addition, but novadays I don't have a time to follow it, as much as I want it to, simply can't.
Maybe this would be a way to not shorten the rallies too, I don't know. And it could stay the same.
Back then there was no AllLive platform. Now every stage is covered (if the damn thing is working). AllLive is great, but it's demanding for all. I think that format didn't change a lot from back then, but the difference is, that now drivers are when they are not on the road, looking at stage onboards, and just looking one of them from start to finish take it about 15minutes or more (we can see it that there is a very few that are shorter). There is usually 20 stages in total. It's a must to do, as everybody do it and if you miss something... You know.
But there is also one solution which could downgrade this "awesome thing" we got few seasons ago. To fully cancel this and go back to radio, few stages being covered with not just onboard camera but helicopter, drones, side stage cameras also and make a professional live coverage as it used to be. I like it how it were. I know that some footage was missing if something happened, but as I'm seeing now, it doesn't make a difference. Many incidents are missing and actual footage came from fans.
I know that producers have screens with any camera attached to cars, but usually they don't show nothing. This platform actually decrease in quality over the years and anybody can confirm that.
I remember when I work and having this radio on and listening when the action was on and when something happened I was all hooked up, the information was right there. It bring some pulse up. Now the info came but we watch completely different car and it's not the same.
The drivers would also rest a little and start learning again from memory or rely on their true talents.. and maybe breathe normaly, speak to maybe a fan between stages and wouldn't be constantly on a hurry.
I don't know, that's my opinion, but I kinda like it more before. Of course this AllLive was a great addition, but novadays I don't have a time to follow it, as much as I want it to, simply can't.
Maybe this would be a way to not shorten the rallies too, I don't know. And it could stay the same.
Eli
Senior member
yes but they took away all the daily highlights for some forsaken reason…
Simple answer: because nobody was buying the TV rights for a product that was basically a liability for the Promoter, since you need people to edit and voiceover. Paying employees for something that doesn't give you money back is something you cut, in a normal company. That was perfectly fine, as I wrote long time ago in this very topic. It's 2026, no need to wait the evening for 26min highlights.
Eli
Senior member
Simple answer: because nobody was buying the TV rights for a product that was basically a liability for the Promoter, since you need people to edit and voiceover. Paying employees for something that doesn't give you money back is something you cut, in a normal company. That was perfectly fine, as I wrote long time ago in this very topic. It's 2026, no need to wait the evening for 26min highlights.
But you still have those, what I meant was, they’ve taken away old footage…it’s 2026 and they’re still making it so why take it out if it already exists?
The same DNA, a better experience - My vision for the WRC – DirtFish
WRC – André Lavadinho shares his vision to improve the World Rally Championship
dirtfish.com
Ivlian
Active member
Hmmm reading this I got WORST "vibes" than Colin Clark and David Evans saying on their podcast stuff like "But Rally is the GREATEST place for a Manufacturer to promote a car. Its the best place for you to put your brand to be tested and to prove they are the best. Rally is the greatest form of motorsport and everybody knows that. I go to F1 races and ask people and they all say OHH YES, RALLY IS THE BEST".The same DNA, a better experience - My vision for the WRC – DirtFish
WRC – André Lavadinho shares his vision to improve the World Rally Championship
Nobody knows what to do anymore... Incredible
So also Lavadinho is actually telling what I wrote earlier: tell the stories of WRC.The same DNA, a better experience - My vision for the WRC – DirtFish
WRC – André Lavadinho shares his vision to improve the World Rally Championship