Comment of the day
A sharp analysis of F1′s declining viewing figures from @Coefficient:
For me, part of the problem with F1 is that people just dont believe in it any more from a sporting perspective. Yes, there are die-hard fans who will never hear a bad word said and there are those of us who are fascinated by the technical aspects of the category. However, I feel that it is impossible for F1 to hope to maintain long-term credibility and gain respect as a sporting endeavour whilst the the results are to a certain degree fixed or pre-ordained.
I know its the same in football (and Bernie Ecclestone has long desired a similarly commercial product) where the Manchester Uniteds of the world thrash the pants off the poorer clubs but to all intents and purposes when the match starts its still two teams of guys running with the ball and the underdog still has a chance. Formula Ones wealthiest teams have massaged the sport into a situation whereby they are doomed to win and in doing so have removed the most fundamental aspect of any sporting event, i.e. the competition.
People arent fooled into thinking that each car/driver combination have an equal chance because the financial status of each of the teams is flaunted on the TV as presenters saunter past a Ferrari/McLaren/Red Bull hospitality unit in the paddock which is bigger than most normal peoples houses and then they stroll past the Caterham Transit van parked in the corner.
They rub our faces in it and as with most things like that it has started to wear thin, especially now that we all have to pay an enormous subscription for the privilege. They think we are lack the intelligence to be insulted by their false claims of equal competition and I think they might be heading towards a crisis on two fronts. These being, lack of fan interest/loss of viewership and collapsing infrastructure due to people being stupid with stupid amounts of money.
Dont get me wrong, sometimes the category does offer up some stunning, edge of the seat races but they are few and far between and more by good luck than good management. This is plain to see in the post race celebrations as the racers that work in the teams are always openly more gratified and always pleasantly surprised after such events (as are the fans) compared with the majority of races where the cars come in two by two with the rich boys at the front and the less rich boys at the back.
Something else that is a concern is that if the incumbent audience start switching off, who will replace them? Of my group of friends I am the only one who has a strong interest in Formula One. There are a couple of others who have a passing interest and of the ones who arent interested I have tried to get them to develop an interest in it and it always comes down to one thing. Why cant that guy at the back catch that guy at the front? to which I reply because his car only cost one-tenth of the cost of the one in front to make so its not as good.
You see, to someone who has no knowledge of the category who is considering watching, the fundamentals need to be in place to attract them in the first place and they arent. People want to feel like theyre going to watch 24 racers fight tooth and nail on a reasonably level playing field but F1 cant offer that so people dont bother. Its different for me, Im dyed in the wool. Ive been watching so long that Ive grown up with it and its as much an addictive soap opera as a fascinating technical endeavour to me and for that reason I am more able to tolerate dull racing. F1 sells itself as a racing category first and foremost so people are just confused when there is no racing and give up. Two hours is a long time to sit starting at a foregone conclusion and a maintaining season-long interest/viewers is not going to happen unless people are given what they want.
The world has changed. With the internet etc
people are able to get exactly what they want more readily rather than be told what to want by the super-rich. Customers have more power and have grown very accustomed to that and if they arent satisfied they will look elsewhere. This is something that F1 has failed to notice.