[satelliteracer]

Originally Posted by BringBackWilkesboro

I have to say Im lucky because I switched to DirectTV when I came down here, but Im not really satisfied. No service in bad weather, no actual local forecasts from the weather channel, all the channels are jumbled. I prefer Comcast much more. I think this deal is a bad idea simply because those who dont have directTV are getting kind of jipped.

No local weather forecasts? Just put in your zip code into the active channel button and it will give you a local weather forecast all the time.

As for outtages, the cable would go out all of the time and be down for hours where I lived. Satellite sometimes goes out during a storm for about 3 or 4 minutes and then it's right back up again. To me, the comparison is not even close.

[satelliteracer]

Originally Posted by Souporscotty

$99 per season with no guarantee who the featured drivers will be. I think I'll pass.

$79 if you order now until January 31st is what their website says. Even if my favorite guy was on 25 of the 36 races that's better than most of the national broadcasts which focus more on the leaders of the race.

[LSC9901]

DirecTV to Take NASCAR Fans Inside Car
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The sport that already offers unprecedented fan access is going one step further in 2007, allowing DirecTV viewers to watch an entire NASCAR race from behind the wheel.

NASCAR HotPass will debut on DirecTV at the Daytona 500 in February and offer fans at home the opportunity to watch a race from a driver's vantage point. Subscribers will have access to five channels dedicated to individual drivers, who will change every week.
Each channel will have up to six cameras and two isolated announcers focusing solely on one driver for an entire race. Viewers will have access to in-car audio communication, real-time statistics and cameras covering every angle from inside the race car to the pit box and all around the track.
HotPass is the brainchild of Fox Sports chairman David Hill.
"There was this moment for me when the lights went on, and I thought 'This is why NASCAR is so popular - because you can buy a seat and sit down and watch your guy go round and round,'" said Hill, who worried his network coverage was lacking because it didn't showcase the in-car conversations between a driver and team. That audio is available to fans at the track through scanners and FanView devices, but isn't offered to television viewers.
"In one fell swoop it was so obvious, and I couldn't believe I hadn't picked up on it before," Hill said. "We had to find a way for the fan to sit there and watch his car for an entire race."
He tried the idea in 2005 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when he had multiple cameras follow winning driver Tony Stewart from flag to flag. He liked the results but still felt the effort was missing perspective.
So Hill tried it again at Las Vegas in March, adding two dedicated announcers to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. coverage. The announcers explained everything Earnhardt was doing, debated strategy, called pit stops and even chatted with the driver during cautions.
Pleased with the effort, Hill took it to NASCAR, which awarded DirecTV a three-year contract. But with NASCAR's TV ratings declining, Hill knows HotPass is a risky venture. DirecTV must persuade fans to pay $99 for a season pass with no guarantees on which drivers will be featured.
Hill is hopeful the behind-the-scenes access will entice fans to sign up for the venture, which will require an additional 70 at-track employees and 10 announcers.
"It's a big gamble," he admitted. "While we are quietly confident, the encouraging thing is that no one has said this is a really stupid idea. So we sort of believe it will be like pet rocks, hula hoops and yo-yos - brand new, but people will say 'I've got to have one.'"
DirecTV isn't the only medium offering new access next season. Sirius Satellite Radio plans to offer 10 driver channels that will combine the overall race broadcast with driver-to-pit crew chatter in 2007.
"By layering the driver chatter over the race broadcast and alternating between the two, we'll provide a way to follow the race like never before," said Scott Greenstein, president of Entertainment and Sports.
Dick Glover, vice president of broadcasting and new media for NASCAR, said the DirecTV and Sirius deals show how committed the sport is to providing new and exciting ways for fans to enjoy it.
"We have always tried to be out front in bringing innovation into how our sport is covered," Glover said. "It's long been our tradition to work with telecasters to get our fans into the cars and closer to the action. This is the natural evolution."

[wingkey1]

Ummm ---

That was exactly the content offered in the very first post of this thread.

Guess that pretty much says we've "book ended" it.

[LSC9901]

Sorry .... The NASCAR Forum pit/garage area is a little quiet since the season's end. Just trying to create some involvement here.

[satelliteracer]

I found the commercial they are using to promote this. Supposedly a demo is coming out fairly soon as well.


Here is the commercial


http://www.directvracing.com/

It's on the left side of the page

[satelliteracer]

A few more articles on this today describing how the drivers will be picked, advertising opportunities and such.

Advertising Age - MediaWorks - DirecTV Offers Nascar Advertisers Dedicated Channel

The Examiner today has an article on it as well

NASCAR, DirecTV take race-viewing to another level - Examiner.com

[CrAzYodaz]

I am still debating as i work the grave-yard shift..... does anybody know if it will DVR/Tivo itself ? and if so the bummer is that i would have to be awake to pick cammera and driver and crap like that.

i dunno....... my debate has till 31st of jan. but apreciate any insight anybody might have on the tivo aspect of this channel if i do order

thanks in advance

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by wingkey1

There are audience segments out there that this could well play to. The "video gamer" that plays games from behind the wheel, and the seemingly increasing number of folks that are willing to pay a regular fee (monthly, per event, whatever) for some service.

Since neither of the above describe me (or most folks I know), I do not know what to expect with regards to just how well this will play.

Other piece that needs to be considered regarding the DIRECTV thing is that first you gotta have their base service before you can even "Layer on" this offering.

We'll see.

At one time XM dedicated a channel to nothing but in-car/pit communications. They went from car to car with something like 30 seconds of time given to each 30 second segment. Talk about B-O-R-I-N-G! You couldn't understand the conversation most of the time (picking sound up in a special headset and picking it up odff the airwaves are two entirely different animals. XM kept it for maybe half a season (I believe) then it went to sleep with the fishes.

I agree with your statement above; I wouldn't pay a nickle for it, but then I like racing and not gaming.

Besides, I currently have Dish and it's menu format is eons more consumer-friendly than is Direct's. I see nothing in this Direct thing for me, personally.

[Souporscotty]

Bob, you are so right (as usual) about Direct's menu format. I spend more time wandering through stuff that I don't have than I do actually watching TV.

[Bob Tanner]

Want another view of Direct TV's/NASCAR's latest fiasco? This article brings up some good questions pertaining to ethics, legality and others:

The Villages Daily Sun

The title of the article is: "Has NASCAR Lost It's So-called Mind?" That about says it all.

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

Want another view of Direct TV's/NASCAR's latest fiasco? This article brings up some good questions pertaining to ethics, legality and others:

The Villages Daily Sun

The title of the article is: "Has NASCAR Lost It's So-called Mind?" That about says it all.

Wow... hell of an article.

[wingkey1]

Have for quite some time felt that it is just a matter of time before communication is scambled for the primary purpose of making the standard scanner unusable.

Enabling naturally the "pay per" device/service as the only remaining means to listen to driver/team communications on race day.

Will continue to watch with interest. If/when day comes will not be a happy one here.

[carlab68]

Daytona 500 will be a free preview for this. Hubby and I will probably get it.

I read the Daily Sun article and while I understand their point, they already have in car audio. They say not on TV, but this is on a premium pay service on satellite. It's not like little Johnny can flip over and hear the f-word. I fully know that racers are in extreme conditions and cuss words, etc... will fly. I have no problem hearing that. I've heard it on the NA$CAR.com in car audio. I feel like if you are offended at hearing it or you don't want to know your driver could even say those words, then don't get the Hot Pass. Don't sign up for the Track Pass at NA$CAR's website. Don't tap into at the races.

I am concerned about the aspect of crashes and how that will be handled. It's very difficult for me to watch them. I close my eyes. I guess time will tell if they handle that in a respectable way.