Case in point, viewing the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
In addition to a 1989 SunBank 24 one-off I’ve attended the Rolex 24 from 2016 through 2023. I only stayed for all twenty-four hours in 2022 and 2023 but in previous years I’d watched EITHER the start OR the finish in person and the rest on Peacock or its TrackPass predecessors. This year I decided early on to attend only the Roar Before the Twenty Four and watch the race itself on TV. Fellow fans I’d met at Daytona and Sebring had recommended Radio Le Mans via VPN instead of Peacock and its various NBC iterations to avoid commercial interruptions so I’m giving it a try. I probably left it a little too late to set up Nord VPN but I got it done with twenty minutes to spare before the start. As the golden hour descends upon DIS I’ve got my ideal setup to compare the NBC and Radio Le Mans/IMSA International feeds in real time.
In 2010 an Apple coworker began hosting F1 watch parties. At the time my viewing had fallen off because of Schumacher’s dominance but this was his attempted comeback year so I accepted Jon’s invitation. Typically half a dozen new fans would attend, including Jon who appreciated the technology and strategy involved in the sport. What appalled him was the sound of an American accent so instead of ESPN he would play a rerun of the Sky Sports feed. Although Jon is American, the sound of an American accent “ruined the experience” of Formula One for him. I wonder if he still watches.
I’m gradually forming a preference between NBC/Peacock and Radio Le Mans/IMSA. That’s a lie. I far prefer the NBC production, in all the ways that matter. As the fifth hour begins I’m using the international IMSA feed as a backup during commercial breaks only. My buddy Jon would hate all the references to IndyCar and American drivers in general by the broadcast team but I love it, as I do the presence of Jeff Burton and Marty Snider in the booth. The British product seems amateurish, with John Hindhaugh stammering and stuttering, misidentifying teams and drivers and missing on-track action. And doesn’t his team have a dedicated statistician to look stuff up? I appreciated Hindhaugh’s Radio Show Limited efforts years ago compared to previous US license holders and regularly listened to its feed at Sebring when I could listen on the local FM station, but comparing the two feeds – side by side – from the comfort of my office, well… there IS no comparison.
EXAMPLES
I’ve heard one halfway tolerable interview on RLM, with Johnny Herbert of whom I’m a big fan. Some goofy back-and-forth, adding nothing to the broadcast.
At one point, there was in-car audio running while there was an ongoing interview. For at least a lap! Doesn’t anyone monitor the live output?
RLM’s interviews are audio-only. Technical limitations, I guess, but that’s another reason to prefer the US big network product.
BY CONTRAST
The following drivers, among others, were interviewed on camera on NBC: Katherine Legge (love her), Scott Pruett, Felipe Massa, Josef Newgarden, James Hinchcliff (a very good broadcaster in his own right, both IndyCar and F1), Tom Blomqvist.
Another Sam Posey essay. Can never get enough of those.
Great commercials by Cadillac (staring Jack Aitken (whose cousin’s hand I shook at Sebring last year), BMW, Adobe and IMSA itself.
Eighteen hours to go. Gotta get the dog out.
UPDATE
For the next few hours it’s USA Network only, so I need to switch to the VPN IMSA world feed because I don’t have cable. I’ll post this now.
I don’t get the love of Crofty on Sky F1. His shouty-ness and over dramatizating of F1 is tiresome. When I was at Microsoft, the European transplants would talk up European Sky F1 coverage and run down NBC Sports coverage on the internal F1 discussion group. I couldn’t believe how Sky wasn’t much different than NBC. Years ago in Seattle we got the CBC so we could watch the BBC coverage of F1 along with ESPN. I expected Sky to be like Muddley Talker and The Shunt, but no. My point I guess is the supposed European superiority of all things is a myth.