Taking the tube to task: IndyCar broadcasts under the microscope

by Tony Johns on Jul 5, 2010 1:48 PM EDT in Blog Posts Comment 19 comments

Nick Laham - Getty Images

The Danica Patrick "tunnel vision" displayed by ABC Sports is just one of the many flaws on display during their IndyCar broadcasts. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

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Today, as a concession to the recession, I am filling out a résumé.

I haven’t done so for over 10 years and I’m a bit rusty at it. But I still remember what a résumé is for and what elements make one stand out from the others.

This is important information to know because your résumé is your sales pitch. More often than not, it will only get one (usually brief) look from a potential employer, so you need to make that one look count. Else, you will remain unemployed and saddled with the knowledge that your first and best impression wasn’t good enough.

That’s a lesson that the folks at ABC really ought to learn sometime, especially based on the travesty that was the IZOD IndyCar Series Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen broadcast on July 4th.

I always feel uncomfortable writing critical blogs about race broadcasters. Through my membership in the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association I have met several of them and generally they are some of the nicest and most personable people you can meet in media circles. So taking them to task has always been hard for me to do.

But when you have a disaster of such epic proportions as yesterday’s Watkins Glen debacle, there’s just no way to avoid tearing it down if you ever have any hope of improving things.

The most obvious and glaring deficiency was in the directing. It seemed as though there were two areas where ABC’s director believed there was any interest at all - the top three cars and Danica Patrick. The first mention of, say, Marco Andretti was almost three-fourths of the way through the race. Takuma Sato at one point had made his way to fourth without any mention from ABC of how such a thing had happened. Even worse, several spins, pit issues and close passes were completely missed by the live broadcast and were only perfunctorily addressed through replays later on - except, of course, for anything happening within ten feet of the 21st place Danica Patrick, which thus merited endless replays.

The broadcast team was little better, and that’s pretty sad to have to say with talented guys like Vince Welch and Rick DeBruhl on board. But when you miss the start of the race because you’re busily (and pedantically) explaining the difference between red and black Firestone tires, or when you tell your audience that they saw a pass for position in "Side-by-Side" when, in fact, the broadcast was at a local commercial break without the "Side-by-Side" feature... that’s just sloppy work. It shows a lack of situational awareness that’s virtually Duno-ian in scope.

That low level of performance only exacerbates the issues facing ABC’s auto racing coverage, particularly concerning the IZOD IndyCar Series. ABC treats IndyCar racing the same way they would treat professional basket-weaving or Extreme Hair Styling - superficially, and with an underlying sense that they’d rather be somewhere else.

You can trace much of this back to the booth. Marty Reid is ABC’s "jack of all trades" when it comes to racing, but you won’t find a more smug, smarmy delivery this side of Bill Murray’s famous lounge singer act or a local-access weatherman. I’m still not sure how much of this is just his nature and how much of it is compensation for Scott Goodyear, a very nice, stolid sort whose "color commentary" is a uniform shade of gray.

Then there’s Jamie Little, who apparently has two interviewing modes: either a bubbly, cloying sycophant - particularly around Ashley Judd or Danica Patrick - or an ambulatory "sad trombone" when things aren’t going right. The contrast between her performances and those of her compatriots Welch and DeBruhl is marked, and moreover they belie what a smart and friendly person she is away from the microphone.

Welch and DeBruhl basically are hamstrung by their director. Both men have proven over and over in the past that they are capable, businesslike performers on pit road, but they are powerless to combat an ABC corporate culture that seems dedicated to the principle of producing the most vapid, superficial and one-dimensional broadcast possible.

Broadcasts like yesterday’s are terrible calling cards for the IZOD IndyCar Series, which is already at a crossroads with a new CEO and a new formula on the horizon for 2012. If ABC’s performance yesterday was a résumé in the hands of an employer, it wouldn’t even get past the second look stage before being placed in the circular file. As an enticement to bring more fans to the sport, it was an utter, abject failure.

The "alternate" crew that works the VERSUS race broadcasts certainly seem more invested in the sport in general, and the competence level is unquestionably higher. Bob Jenkins as the anchor is no spring chicken, but he still brings his passion for IndyCar and the gravitas of his experience to the booth. Robbie Buhl and Jan Beekhuis prove every week that it’s possible to pair enthusiasm with insider knowledge without losing credibility. The talented and lovely Lindy Thackston is perhaps the best female motorsports reporter in the business, never fawning and always quietly competent. Even Jack Arute, who has in the past offended by being far too familiar and sycophantic with his interview subjects, has found new life as a pit-side analyst with a flair for the unusual.

At the same time, however, VERSUS’ broadcasts have the air of a minor-league baseball broadcast. What I mean by this is that, faced with the knowledge that they are catering to a small, hardcore fan base, they sometimes lapse into too-familiar rhythms and fanservice. It’s a friendly, loose atmosphere that die-hard fans often enjoy, but it often lacks that veneer of total professionalism that is a hallmark of most major-league sports. There is also on occasion a whiff of the "hard sell," which, while never reaching the incredible levels of hucksterism found in FOX Sports' NASCAR broadcasts, is still something of a turn-off.

You may be asking yourself at this point, "Well, Mr. Know-It-All, what would you consider to be a competent race broadcast?" I thought you’d never ask.

The gold standard in American racing broadcasting is without doubt the SPEED Formula 1 crew of Bob Varsha, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett. This fact becomes doubly amazing when you realize that Varsha, Hobbs and Matchett do many of their broadcasts remotely from a tiny studio in front of monitors that deliver the international F1 feed. You would never guess it from their performances, which are simply a lap ahead of everyone else.

Why are they so good? Simply, three reasons: chemistry, knowledge and a clear understanding of their roles. Matchett is the technological wunderkind, the ex-engineer whose technical brilliance and understanding is paired with an enthusiastic eloquence. And David Hobbs, who was such a poor fit for CBS’ NASCAR coverage of the 1980s, is in his element as the driver expert - none of the "fish out of water" bumbling from his NASCAR days here, just a low-key, informed color commentary laced with just the right dash of British irony.

But the crown jewel is Bob Varsha. He is the quintessential anchorman, a racing version of Vin Scully or Jack Buck. He is an automotive enthusiast who clearly has taken the time to understand motorsport topics and issues at their most fundamental levels. But he does not waste time with needless harangues or blustery hucksterism - he slips in his expert knowledge subtly and succinctly, enough for a concise explanation that does not derail the flow of the broadcast.

More importantly, Varsha is the glue that holds the broadcast crew together. Because he is every bit as knowledgeable about the subject matter as his color commentators, he is never caught off-guard by their contributions. When Matchett strays into his oft-expressed favoritism for McLaren or British drivers, Varsha is there to steer him back on track. When Hobbs goes overboard with his sardonic observations, Varsha calmly responds with his trademark dry wit and restores his focus.

Something else this talented crew should be lauded for is their objectivity and the refusal to treat their sport with kid gloves. Unlike FOX's NASCAR crew, who fawns over the series' management so much that you can almost hear them physically kowtowing to them, or to a lesser extent the IndyCar broadcast teams who are loathe to call out series officials on the air, the SPEED F1 team perform as neutral observers. They ask questions that fans are asking about procedure, and they criticize when a critique is necessary. In other words, they maintain a distance between their love for the sport and their responsibility to cover it professionally and objectively.

It is a great mix of three men who know their roles and know and love their sport. But their willingness to talk up to their audience is the cornerstone of their success. The SPEED F1 team assumes that the audience is both engaged enough and intelligent enough to understand them with only a minimum of intellectual cajoling. This is important, because targeting a sport towards the highest common denominator is the best way to generate curiosity from new fans. The desire to learn more about the sport so that you can appear smarter at the water cooler the next day is the first step towards true, abiding interest.

Or, in short, the best way to sell a sport is to act like you’re not selling it. There’s one thing that makes people change the channel faster than anything, and that’s hucksterism. When your race broadcast has the feel of a junk mail advertisement or e-mail spam, it’s nigh impossible to build audience loyalty.

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard has said recently that in order for tracks to stay on the IndyCar schedule, they need to raise their promotional game. The same applies for the sport’s broadcast partners. The kind of vapid, superficial coverage high on flash and low on content and competence that ABC has displayed - not just at Watkins Glen, but at virtually every broadcast over the past handful of years including the Indianapolis 500 - is unacceptable... or, at least, should be.

Naturally, if any of those involved in yesterday's broadcast read this blog, they will probably feel outraged, annoyed, insulted, and angry. To that, I say... good. This is not "haterade" or criticism for the sake of it - it is a performance review. Your audience is your boss, folks. And just like a stand-up comedian who mails it in, sometimes you deserve to get booed off the stage.

These broadcasts are the league’s résumé. And like any good résumé, they need to make an impactful, professional and unarguable case for employment. It's high time ABC - and everyone else in IndyCar broadcasting - recognizes this and acts for the future.

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Agreed!

The broadcasts need to vastly improve!

Bad pick Peyton "Regular Season" Manning!!!

by Athletic on Jul 5, 2010 1:52 PM EDT reply actions

Well said

I’ve been trying for a long long while to really get into racing – as I’ve always enjoyed it on a superficial, “watch the Indy 500 and Monaco” level. (As an aside: It’s what led me to this tremendous blog, thanks for the work you do. It’s helping me a great deal!)

And I’ve found ABC’s broadcasts to be a barrier instead of a boon for me. I feel like I’m not learning anything about the sport and I’m having difficulty following the race as a whole. Mostly because I’m only being shown Danica’s race… and as far as I can tell, that’s not a fun one to follow. So I hope this message gets through to someone. I’d rather have an engaged broadcast backed by enthusiasm and interest on Versus than some half-baked crap served up by ABC.

by DisplacedTexan on Jul 5, 2010 2:58 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks!

I’ll pass along your comments – especially the one about this blog being “tremendous” (one of my favorite adjectives!). ;)

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
Pop Off Valve - A greasy hot tenderloin of IndyCar goodness!

by Tony Johns on Jul 5, 2010 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Excellent Observations

I’m glad that someone else thought the same about the broadcast. I purposefully didn’t follow the race on Twitter yesterday because I had to record it and watch it last night. I was very disappointed in the race coverage; what I was watching on the position crawler and what was being covered weren’t the same. The start was totally bungled. You called this a rant on Twitter but I have to disagree, they are excellent observations and analysis. I can only hope that someone at ABC and IndyCar read this.

by KF4L MT on Jul 5, 2010 3:08 PM EDT reply actions

I appreciate the sentiment...

…but I think the only place my stuff gets read at IndyCar HQ is in the bathrooms – they print it on rolls of TP… ;)

Although if I show up to the next AARWBA function and get the frosty silent treatment, I’ll know why…

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
Pop Off Valve - A greasy hot tenderloin of IndyCar goodness!

by Tony Johns on Jul 5, 2010 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions

ONE DAY....

….we will have the technology to clone Bob Varsha.

by fleshwound_NPG on Jul 5, 2010 3:43 PM EDT reply actions

The problem with that...

… is that Varsha’s hair is part nature, part nurture, and scientists can only replicate one of the two.

Otherwise, heck yeah, clone the other 80% of him and have him announce for Indycar telecasts!

------

"How can a pickup truck contain enough mass to unfold into a towering machine? I say if Ringling Brothers can get 15 clowns into a Volkswagen, anything is possible."

Roger Ebert, Transformers review.

by E.M.H. on Jul 5, 2010 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Well done fella!

Tony,

I was going to write something similar, but you have saved me the bother. :)

I can’t forgive them for missing the start of the race because they felt it was far more important to go over the tyre rules yet again. Truly unbelievable!

You’ll be glad to know one of my listeners posted this on the MWM Listeners Collective on Facebook and I will be emailing the story to Randy Bernard in the morning.

Excellent stuff!

Dex

by Declan Brennan on Jul 5, 2010 5:43 PM EDT reply actions

In general, I like Marty Reid.

I grew up with him as the voice of the Mickey Thompson stadium series, and later SODA and CORR, not to mention various other forms of racing. He’s great at the NASCAR broadcasts, which I think suit his style, and he was perfect for the NHRA. That being said, why ESPN insists on him doing Indy while Paul Page is handling NHRA is beyond my comprehension. I know people have their criticisms of Paul but he knows his stuff, knows how to call the race, and does the best intros evar.

Just as long as they don’t hire Bill Weber…

by Arenacale on Jul 5, 2010 6:06 PM EDT reply actions

Bill Weber

Last I heard of him, he was turning over a new leaf as a magician. Suits him.

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
Pop Off Valve - A greasy hot tenderloin of IndyCar goodness!

by Tony Johns on Jul 5, 2010 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions

A more radical suggestion

Tony,

I love the SPEED F1 guys, they are very entertaining. But how about Hindhaugh in the booth for IndyCar? :)

Only a suggestion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30mQkTYD_9w

by Declan Brennan on Jul 5, 2010 6:15 PM EDT reply actions

I love that clip.

I’ll take Hindhaugh – I love the accent and the passion! :)

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
Pop Off Valve - A greasy hot tenderloin of IndyCar goodness!

by Tony Johns on Jul 5, 2010 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

For everything you wrote, Tony. I 1,00000000000000% agree with it.

by Ironcurtianantihero on Jul 5, 2010 8:32 PM EDT reply actions

Thank you, Tony.

This is a blog post that I’ve been meaning to write myself for going on four years now. Every broadcast team for just about every series in America should be supplied with TiVos by their netowrk with a pre-installed season pass for SpeedTV’s F1 races, then everybody should be quizzed about what they saw and learned afterward. The Speed guys get an A-plus from me just about every race, while the Versus guys vary between A-minuses and C-plusses from race to race, and the ABC guys max out at C-plus and range down to D-minus (what I’d give them for yesterday) and even F’s (what I’d have given them after last year’s Glen race, a topic I posted about twice in two days last July).

Will making the broadcasts tell compelling stories at EVERY race, even if it’s a parade-ish event like what we got at Barber and somewhat at The Glen, make the difference between 0.4s and 1.5s? No, not immediately, anyway. But, if people do start finding IndyCar races through the increased marketing initiatives that Izod and the series itself are undertaking, we are far more likely to hang on to those viewers if they’re given more than one car running by itself up front, Danica updates every 3-4 minutes, a catch phrase or three from the booth guys (including calling Rafa Matos “Raffi”, which Marty did about a dozen times), missed restarts (one of which also happened yesterday, but Tony forgot to mention among all the other badness) and other inexcusable features from folks who are alleged professional broadcasters. Tell us the story, folks. That’s your job.

by The Speedgeek on Jul 5, 2010 10:57 PM EDT reply actions

A POX UPON YOU!!!

Goddamn you, Tony. This is PRECISELY what I was going to say. You’ve taken the words right out of my mouth … and then made my words coherent & strikingly articulate & very brilliant like I never could. Argggh. You professionals really grind my gears, what w/ your professionalism & talent & not guzzling Purple Drank whilst writing. You go to hell.

by Roy Hobbson on Jul 6, 2010 9:04 AM EDT reply actions

I left you some wiggle room, Roy...

I wrote it in fairly standard prose, which means the door is still open for you to chime in using the “I’M SNIFFING PAINT THINNER TODAY!” technique, to wit:

To no one’s surprise, ABC’s broadcast was vomited forth like the pus-laden spewage from the remnants of a Chipotle Double Bean Burrito. Who was the finger down our collective throat? MARTY REID! And what was the deal on the start? Was Vince Welch decoding the secret behind Edward Cullen’s mysterious sparkling ability? DOESN’T HE KNOW WE’RE ALL ON TEAM JACOB?? Bastard.

Hell. I’d read that!

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
Pop Off Valve - A greasy hot tenderloin of IndyCar goodness!

by Tony Johns on Jul 6, 2010 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Couldn't agree more about the F1 team

I’d tune in to hear the F1 team even if I didn’t like racing. They work so well together and are just very entertaining. Even better, they really do a good job of explaining the ins-and-outs of F1 racing and strategy without being boring. Most of those races could be real snoozers if they were in lesser hands.

My wife views any kind of auto racing with what could be charitably described as disinterested contempt. However, when I’m watching an F1 race she’ll stick around and watch a little bit of it because Hobbs and Varsha are so good at making it interesting.

Indycar racing needs significantly better broadcasts if they are going to dig out of the hole that they are in. Even if viewers are convinced to tune in for a race they’ll probably turn it off after a few minutes after deciding that racing is just too boring. Most people think racing is just cars going around in circles. By showing pretty much nothing but the leader going around in circles for the whole broadcast, ABC does a lot of reinforce that opinion.

by Mathieu McGowan on Jul 6, 2010 10:07 AM EDT reply actions

Right on the money!!

I actually read your blog before I had the chance to watch the WG race that I DVR’d over the weekend. There are 2 words I can use to describe the coverage from last weekend’s race: Unprofessional & Appalling. Who is the name of the person in the truck actually running the broadcast?? He should be suspended or let go all together. The telecast was pitiful.

ABC needs to make a decision as to whether or not they want to continue broadcasting IndyCar. If they are going to do it with a half ass approach as we saw on Sunday, I would much rather see Versus or perhaps the new Speed 2 Channel that has been rumored to start soon, take it over. Indycar cannot afford their product to be shown to viewers like that.

If ABC sticks with it, ESPN should take Paul Page off of the NHRA telecasts and have him replace Marty Reid so as Reid can go back to calling NHRA. Page was there during the glory days of CART and does a great job (in my opinion) with that broadcast.

by Don Gregory on Jul 7, 2010 6:12 PM EDT reply actions

I'd be happy...

…if someone just went with a “whole assed” production… ;)

You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
Pop Off Valve - A greasy hot tenderloin of IndyCar goodness!

by Tony Johns on Jul 7, 2010 10:49 PM EDT up reply actions

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Pop Off Valve [POP awf vālv] - noun 1. A spring-loaded relief mechanism on a turbocharged engine that releases excess pressure within the engine manifold; 2. An IndyCar blog intended to release excess opinion within the fan community.

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