Cross-country skiing and biathlon competitions began last week. And the broadcasts began.
Broadcasting the races of five enthusiasts is not broadcasting. When a race winner is shown 0 (zero) times, that’s all you need to know about its quality. It’s not the fault of the cameramen and directors: they don’t show the skis every day, so how do they know who the favorites are?
Several problems that our sport will have to resolve.
Selecting a race location.
More or less decent quality is either expensive or very expensive. Broadcasting the Legkov race in the Moscow region will always cost less than organizing the same event from a distant regional center. At times!
Arguments such as “this route has been approved, but this one is not” seem to me to be comments from a bygone era. Who cares if it meets FIS standards or not? Neither the spectators nor the athletes themselves are interested in it: the track is the same for everyone. Anyone who thinks that it is easy to beat the best skiers and biathletes of the country on an “unapproved” track at the same “Legkov Race” in Peresvet, I invite you to try it. The only category of skiers for whom on-piste certification is important is that of sports master candidates who wish to become masters. They only need to “get into the top thirty” in a race on such a track – otherwise they will not achieve it. Well, organize such competitions several times a year to have a chance.
Choice of race formats.
It is possible to put on a relatively decent presentation of a race for relatively little money in just one type of program: sprinting. There the distance can reach 1800 meters, you can get by with five cameras. And the winner is immediately visible. In mass starts, the winner is also immediately visible, but there the circles are longer, from 2.5 to 5 kilometers. Cameramen must be placed in the forest; there, you can’t just have five cameras. The most difficult races are the time trials. In general, I think that their time has passed, it is impossible to watch it even with the maximum quality (and cost) of organizing the show, but I understand that not everyone will agree to refuse yet. But I think everyone will agree that it is in the “edits” that the quality of the broadcast, graphics, knowledge and speed of reaction of directors and commentators are especially important.
Competition venues.
If you organize competitions in Lazutina Park, Moscow region, then they will be designed for a category of fans interested in skiing. If to the top of Thea, then to another.
And guess where it’s easier to recruit the best skiers: in Odintsovo, half an hour’s drive from where half the team lives, or in an extremely friendly, attractive, but so remote Siberian village that left the best memories.
Why not organize a closed survey among these very great skiers that you broadcast and then see on the podiums: do you prefer to race in Tey or in the Moscow region?
Additional work with the public. 40 to 50 years ago, a television report on a ski race consisted of a single “dish”: the race itself, there was nothing else. I’m sure the ratings were fantastic – so anything broadcast on one of the existing 2-3 TV channels had such ratings. Today, to recover at least the costs of producing a television signal, we must fight for every viewer. I know for sure that TV crews in Norway and Sweden come to skiers and say directly to them: “Do your sponsors want you to be broadcast on the national channel?” Do you want it yourself? So work with us! And they work. For example, I really like the pre-departure live interview format. Just the opportunity to tell the whole country: “Today I’m going to beat everyone, catch me if you can!” » does this too, but not all athletes are willing to speak seconds before the race. And technically only Match specialists can organize this, but not TV workers from local companies. Or they can, but no one has explained to them that without interviews with the main characters, the show is boring and tasteless.
How many more decades will it be before the leaders of the ski sprint qualifications can choose the race in the final, as is done in the World Cup – live? For us, I remind you, this is determined by the “grid”. You can come third out of a hundred participants in the qualifiers and go through this “bracket” to the last quarterfinals, from which it is almost impossible to win the final. This is backwards and just plain stupid. All you need is a device the size of a small suitcase; I think you can buy a used one from FIS. It is not clear why this has not yet been done. They would kill two birds with one stone: create intrigue on the air, while restoring sporting justice.
Everything I offer requires no cost, requires no radical changes, changes in equipment or training approach. You just need to stop clinging to the past and think about how to attract the maximum number of viewers. It is this, and not the medals, which is precious and important.
More sports news in our telegram channel .
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
