83 year old Bernie Ecclestone indicated FOM is "starting to work" on an app to provide fans with what they can already get on line: highlights?
After years of chasing kids getting off their digital lawn, indications are F1 is poised to get it all wrong. Stefano Domenicali is quoted as telling Mr.E that F1 needs an app "because younger fans don't want to look at a whole race".
Wrong.
Highlights should be free, they are the bait for what should be F1's app offering: a comprehensive, immersive experience with MORE than what you get on broadcast TV.
Think the old PPV multichannel offering from FOM but more, that's what we've been begging FOM to take our money for.
It would be expensive? Fine. "We don't do things for free" says Ecclestone. Fine. We'd pay for a truly great product. Highlights clips are ok but you can't do better than what is, like it or not, easily available out there for free now.
But if FOM offers a product which lets fans truly into the races, they will have a winner.
MotoGP VideoPass isn't cheap and it's a little buggy, but it's not a bad reference point for F1.
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean they'll be getting rid of the "race edits" on the formula1.com webpage? Those highlights (and great edits) are free, I don't understand how they'll be able to justify making their mobile app users pay to see highlights.
ReplyDeleteI'd love a (legal) download of the race a few days later.
ReplyDeleteOne day, Bernie will realize that you can't, and don't have to, monetize every last scrap of a product for it to be profitable and accessible to you customers. Of course, that will mean 3 fewer nickels in Bernie's pocket,so that's right out.
ReplyDeleteSubject: NBA League Pass
ReplyDeletecc: Bernie Ecclestone
I was paying over $50 Australian dollars a month last year for a subscription to UK Sky so I could watch the SkySportsF1 channel. This $50+ got divided up to the 60 or so channels that I had to unnecessarily subscribe to just to get SkySportsF1, meaning that SkySportsF1 itself probably only got about $2 of that money. I'd gladly pay $50AUD per month direct to FOM for unrivalled exceptional coverage of the sport. If only they'd let me!
ReplyDeleteBeing in Australia I'm both blessed and cursed. We get live free coverage of quali and race. But both with ads (not during active running in quali mind you). And get Sky commentary which suits me as an ex-pat Englishman. But I have no pay option to extend or improve my coverage, so stream a dodgy stream on my laptop to watch during the ad breaks, and to get better pre/post race coverage.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have another browser window with Live Timing.
Give me the chance to pay for options, Sky style previews, mid week analysis, more live viewing options and I'd be in without a second thought.
Irony is Bernie was originally ahead of the game with the digital offering but plowing 10's of millions in and never got the return, hence lost faith and balls to innovate.