Five Years Later The Light Bulbs Are Finally Turning On

I wrote this blog entry in June of 2017. Please, click on the link and at least read item "One" otherwise you take away my glory in saying "I told you so".

Go ahead, I'll wait.

I only make this boast again because of the words from two different dirt track promoters who have recently stepped up to express their concern about the proliferation of live streaming races. And to think, five years ago when I made my illustration, I could have never imagined that we would now be in a situation where somebody could buy an annual subscription for as low as $150 and be able to sit, at home, and watch over 1,000 events from the comfort of their easy chair!

I found it amazing that Florence Speedway promoter Josh King expressed his true feelings about live streaming to FloRacing's Ben Shelton, even at one point saying "this is all going to get edited out". Here is the link to the full interview and if you want to skip ahead to about the 8:40 mark for this topic you can do so. By the way, kudos to Flo for not making the edit.

Then this morning I stumbled across the following Facebook post from promoter Roger Sellers on the Smoky Mountain Speedway page.

The Great Decline

On any given Friday or Saturday night across this great country, there is probably a dirt track around each of us that is attempting to bring entertainment and put on a good show for the fans. We do this because we have a passion for a sport that we truly love - with the hope of making a few dollars to pay our insurance, utilities, ambulance, fire department, EMTs etc. - and have a little left over for our workers and ourselves.

What most will never see are the endless hours that we spend mowing, cleaning, painting, and making repairs to our equipment and facilities to make it as enjoyable as possible for our fans. A person that has never been directly involved with the daily operation of a dirt track more than likely has no idea of the amount of time it takes to run an operation like this and how much it takes us away from our families or other pleasures that we have in life.

I say all of that to get to my point. As a track owner or promoter, we can take a quick look at our grandstands and know whether the crowd is up or down. We have several factors that can determine a good night or a bad night. The weather, other area events going on, a poorly prepared racetrack, a facility that is not fan friendly, or a lack of proper promotion. Certainly, all of these can be a factor.

Unfortunately, in my personal opinion, the biggest decline in fan count is rarely mentioned and the reason it is never mentioned is because we all love it and have grown accustomed to it - myself included. It’s live streaming. There’s nothing more convenient than to sit at home in your man cave with all of your buddies with your pizza, beer, or whatever, and when the race is over - you’re already home. I’m sure fans assume that the tracks are being compensated for the revenue lost by streaming, but I assure you that is not the case.

This is the greatest thing ever and I love it too. But what about the tracks that bust their butts for weeks leading up to an event only to look up from the infield to see half-empty grandstands and know they have lost money?

As I’ve already mentioned, I’m as guilty of having all of these streaming options as the next guy. It’s too far to drive, it’s too hot, it’s too cold, or it looks like rain are all reasons fans will stay at home and watch the broadcast from the comfort of their own living room. I mention all of this to say it is time for us as owners and promoters to stand together and demand part of the streaming revenue to help us continue to operate.

Presently, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is the only series that shares the streaming revenue, however the other “big” series is currently giving it consideration. Several regional series have decided to sign long term contracts with streaming providers without considering the loss of income to the tracks. This is the reason those series have not been and won’t be on my schedule.

I have expressed my concerns multiple times with one of the largest streaming providers only to be told that I’m the only one to complain and that streaming is good for dirt racing. Don’t compare us to Fairbury, Bowman Gray, Eldora, etc. We’re not the Kings of dirt racing but we are the backbone.

I know I’m not the only track that is unhappy about this. When I travel across the country, I make it a point to introduce myself to the owner or promoter of every track that I’ve been to. I've developed some great relationships with many of the other track owners. I have never had one tell me how it helps them - everyone says that streaming is hurting them. Remember that for every streaming view gained, our crowd drops and this is just the beginning.

please contact me at

Roger Sellers

865-607-7213

Rlsellers57@gmail.com

We'd love to have you join our group and take back our sport!

As always I encourage you to read through the archives here on the Back Stretch as that June 12, 2017, entry was definitely not the last time that I have expressed my concerns and now that we see promoters stating the same perhaps we can figure out a way to have a happy medium.

I could go on and on, but frankly I am getting ready to hit the road and attend a race in person tonight. Yes, with two great choices to stay at home tonight and watch on Flo, instead I am going to spend the money on fuel to make the five hour drive and buy my ticket, and I have picked up a pretty good deal on Priceline for a motel to get some rest before getting back home on Wednesday morning, all to be there in person tonight at one of those two events.

Yes, I know that I am lucky to be able to do so on a Tuesday night in September, but if we don't make "that choice" as often as possible going forward, the grassroots of our sport will fade away into the sunset.