mikebv

And if circa 20-25,000 take in a live match each week, I would suggest, (by estimating using past TV viewing figures, and how Cardiff gets 45,000 or so with many being different from year to year), that the sport has 60,000 to 80,000 who will still call themselves "Speedway fans", but either no longer have a local track, to attend, or dont bother took much about meeting results from any team perspective, due in the main to the way the sport runs itself.. Another measure as to the sports following is that many of the clubs official (and unofficial), Facebook pages have a fair few thousand followers. Some, no doubt, will cross over from one club to the next but it does suggest a decent potential market for streaming... Pricing it right is key, but hopefully it will provide another revenue maker for those who do it...

But as it currently sits, clubs get zero income form those fans who decide to stay away on those "iffy nights".... At least should the meeting go ahead they may be inclined to log in and pay for the stream... With potentially a country full of fans who might want to watch some Speedway too to try and attract... As for Programmes and Merchandise? Then link them in to the streams.. Clubs can then send them out to whoever wants such things. Reading the SS the "generic" streaming seems to have sound reasoning behind it and hopes to tap in to the amount of fans who no longer attend regularly but still follow the sport closely. (Fans who outnumber those that currently do attend by some distance I would suggest)...

"Iffy, dodgy weather meetings" keep fans away so when they do go ahead the club completely lose out... At least with streaming you may get those who decided to stay away paying to watch the stream...

100% has to be the way forward.. However... Due to Brexit, gone are the days of bringing West/East European and Scandinavian journeymen over on a "no risk" basis.. The no risk basis being that that these four and five point men would have been in an almost inexhaustible supply pre Brexit, meaning one in, then one out if it didnt work out, was the operating model... It is no coincidence I am sure that after Brexit, Speedway promoters in the top two leagues suddenly discovered that we had a good many UK riders in Division 3... Riders obviously who had gone unnoticed for decades when the UK promoters were bringing over any European or Scandinavian that even remotely looked like they could handle a Speedway bike.. Until there are enough riders for the teams the current situation can be the only way the sport can be ran... And the way that the 2nd Div have already dispensed with the RS scheme after just one season suggests it will be the same for a long time to come.. (Providing there are enough teams to run the sport as a team entity long term obviously)....

Not just "some of the blame" I would suggest.., Whilst Poland got stronger the promoters tried to keep using riders who clearly had new priorities and larger revenue streams via Poland, Sweden, and the GP's... Using a huge proportion of the TV millions to keep them.... Increasing admission fees annually by inflation busting amounts to try and cover ever increasing costs which were never brought under control.... Rearranging fixtures ad nauseum to work around the top riders' own individual agendas, regardless of negative impact to the crowd level by running on those nights. . And running with Guestfest after Guestfest when fixtures couldn't be moved to accomodate them, thus destroying the credibility of so many meetings, and therefore, ultimately, the actual credibility of the whole leagues themselves... Resulting in a great proportion of the fanbase simply "giving up" watching the sport "live" but still watching the sport with enthusiasm via TV and Internet offerings... And all for riders who, in the main, "Foxtrot Oscared" the minute the big money ran out over here... The employee level you can afford by your income is the employee level you should employ...

Is he that New Zealand lad?...

And Collins, Loram and Briggs were replaced by other World Class riders not "young 4pt lads with potential"...

Because it seems to work and appears to be popular with fans? Everyone knows. Speedway is two seven man teams over 15 heats with as many pro riders there as possible... All ridden on nights to suit the riders so they can ride in as many meetings, and represent as many teams, as they can... Mustn't ever change that... Imagine the chaos!! And who knows. Maybe the odd amateur talent could be unearthed given they will be coming up against established NDL riders so can benchmark themselves against a higher standard...

It would... My point was you could better off with a rider winning a couple of races a night rather than one winning none but still having the same average... I hope Birminghan can put together a decent team, but to he honest, I do feel that they may end up struggling to do so, and that could be a disaster for their continuation given their history.... Personally, I think an NDL place should initially have been the target as, like many tracks of their size, it does have a following of 600 or so die hards who would have supported it I would suggest.. Unfortunately, as we know, the NDL has been restructured to support the Championship, so what once was the best ran league, offering the best value for money, (and for me also the best entertainment), is now no longer the same standard... Fingers crossed they can be competitive AND sustainable...

To be fair, I think all through the history of the sport, the majority or riders have been "gate and go"... Hence the oft used phrase by those who dont take to it of "first out of the start, wins"... Maybe the rougher tracks and slower bikes brought with them more passing but for overall entertainment I would suggest that the Speedeay served up today is at least as good, if not better, than any I have watched over the years.. And also, I would prefer a six point man scoring 0,3,0,3 than one scoring 1,2,1,2 as the opponents could score only a maximum eight point advantage in the first example, wherby a twelve point one could be accrued with the second..

Unfortunately tonight ladies and gentlemen Elton John and Rod Stewart cannot be with us as they are double booked and doing a concert in Prague... Instead we have Chris Harris and Scott Nicholls guest singing for them... To be fair. Speedway can get decent crowds when meetings have some relevance. Eg The SON and domestically the Play Off finals show that there is still a "decent amount" of fans at most tracks who come out of the woodwork to attend certain meetings.. (Bank Holidays too seem to get well above average attendances at those tracks who run on those days)... Unfortunately, due to its operating model, there are not enough of those meetings that mean something during the season... Let's hope for a summer of good weather as that can be a real asset in bringing non regulars (who still follow the sport very closely), out to attend....

I do enjoy this time of the season.... The time when the vast majority of all riders are signed due to them being very much the last resort, yet, with all of them invariably being riders who could "easily put a point or more on his average"... When, in reality, they have had several years of opportumity to do just that riding for all and sundry, but haven't... The pre season preview edition of the Speedway Star is a great read so it will be worth playing "Peterborough and Workington Bingo" to see how many times their league winning teams from last season, and a few years ago, are referenced by promoters justifying why their septets are not going to be also rans... With "we have "deliberately" put this team together with "strength in depth" to always have a strong reserve", and "you only have to look at what Peterborough did last year/Workington did a few years ago" getting you a full house if, "he is yet another one in the team who could easily put a point or more on their averages" is mentioned writhin the same club review..

In 2008 the Govt gave the banks billions... Maybe this time they will give the public billions to keep the economy going?

BV didn't get away with it with Woffy.... Speedway has to keep its credibility don't you know.....

There will be whole sectors of the economy facing huge challenges... With the 'entertainment' sector in particular being hit massively I would suggest.. "Fortunately" for Speedway its demographic of mainly "grey pound" spenders might help it deflect some impact? In the past, the country it has been said, has "sleep walked" into recession... No one is sleep walking into what is ahead... For many, families in particular, after food and clothing, mortgage/rent, utility bills/council tax, car, mobile phones, broadband, sat tv etc etc have been paid for, not much will be left I would suggest for a lot of families. (Maybe not enough even exists in the first place).. They may even need their "grey pound" spending relatives to help... Not sure paying people 12 months money for working 6 will be too sustainable to be honest, (if it ever was)...

Three strong heat leaders usually ride in 14 of the 30 rides each team takes.... More if tac subs are needed... Any team with that has a pretty good advantage given there won't be too many heat losses against them, meaning those teams will always be in with a shout of a win.. Especially when five out of eight rides in Heats 12 to 15 are taken by your top 3..

Re Eastbourne. Several riders said that they would have reduced their pay if they had been informed of the difficulties.... Maybe something similar will (may) happen at any tracks struggling going forward? Getting paid less has to better than not getting paid anything.. Eg If your income is 15% less than budgeted for then the riders drop accordingly... And vice versa too, if you increase your income above budget then pay the riders more. Never a bad thing in Speedway it seems to get a good reputation for paying on time and if you can do a "bonus" it can only help recruitment and team spirit..

Track size and shape could be "perfect"... Not too big so a differential in horsepower spreads out the riders down the straights.... And nice wide entry and exits into wide bends, meaning the bikes will be going sideways for a fair amount of the lap, thus giving those who can use the grip the chance to make inroads into leads of others.. 8 percent banking is "just enough" too I would suggest for good draining and safety of riders, helping them to ride the turns... Look forward to visiting, hope it all goes well...

For me, its similar to winning the Premier League in football against winning say, the Vanerama North or South.... (I would have said a few years ago the 5th tier Conference, but many of those clubs get 3000 plus crowds, and have a wider impact on their localities).. One comp gets national coverage which resonates across a nation, whilst one comp gets "some" coverage and means something more at a "town" level, to a (at most), few thousand... And you then obviously also have the massive financial disparity in rewards against Poland. Much of it down to a heavily invested national company sponsoring the top tier, and the fact that (similar to the Premier League in football), TV companies have to compete against themselves tendering for the rights to show the sport. With the result being very big contracts getting signed by the TV Companies.. With that TV money then getting shared amongst clubs to deliver "huge" contracts to riders in the top tier in particular, in comparison to the UK equivalent.. You can also add in team sponsorship money to the differential mix which again is invariably national company involvment rather than a local business... Winning a league over in Poland brings national recognition, (hence national companies get involved), large financial win bonuses, and obviously huge crowds and admission income as the season comes to a conclusion... However, with such "rewards" also comes great pressure to not only maintain standards but improve them, which the UK given their chosen operating model dont have to face, therefore Poland have to ensure that the sport remains "current", and "relevant", otherwise the massive deals and large following would reduce.. The UK on the other hand can keep using it's current operating model without any real pressure, particularly as crowds are not far off consistent every week at most tracks, (just as long home wins mostly get delivered), and, as we have seen before, "success" can close clubs down, so finding that sweet spot between entertainment and results is, for many, more key to UK Speedway than individual on track success for me.. Those I would suggest are the key reasons it means so much more, with a "fans outlook" addition being that their team truly is "their team", and, unlike over here, not too many in Poland go home from a night at the Speedway, "happy", after seeing close exciting racing but ultimately defeat, whereas plenty of Speedway fans in the UK can go home pleased to have seen great racing regardless of result, and look forward to the next meeting to see more of the same..

It will be a niche market given the overall size of the sports following but sometimes that is perfect from a business perspective.... I personally have had no interest in watching any of the streams put out, however, that doesn't mean I won't be interested in the future... The big challenge for me to make it a success is to make each league have some actually meaning, other than just facilitating a system for riders to earn money, which is basically what the sport in the UK has been allowed to evolve into.... If you could get that "this actually means something" into every meeting then streaming would have a much higher chance of success, simply down to more "neutrals" logging in... Poland get lots of "neutrals" watching every week from the UK because it has some real relevance and reward... Get that criteria into UK Speedway and it would make a huge difference to the streaming success I would suggest as circa 25,000 weekly regulars of the sport (with probably even more lapsed who still keep a pretty close interest), being a potential "huge" audience for its small size... Getting credibility into the sport could be an absolute game changer for the success of the sport as an overall entity, and streaming in particular, as it would open it up to all rather than just mainly be of interest to the fans of the two teams being covered...

And that could actually be when the stream comes into its own... Without it, at the moment those type of meetings with iffy weather get zero income from the 'stayaways'... Maybe with a stream these people will still contribute some money...

All common sense in a much needed "reset" plan.. However, it wont happen for all the obvious reasons that exist... With the main one being Div 2 currently rules the Speedway roost... And turkeys dont vote for Xmas.. The NDL up to a few years ago seemed to have the perfect set up between cost, income, entertainment and development progression/opportunity.. Sadly that was taken apart.. The whole operating model is beyond fixing unless the sport works as a collective to fix it.. And that would take huge compromise and a clear plan for demarcation between the leagues, promotion, relegation, (or one league only) and one club per rider etc... What we have is pretty much all that we will ever have I would think is more the reality..

Spot on... If it doesn't work then sack it.... But at least try..

Whilst the 2nd Div tail can wag the Div 1 dog it wont ever work too well.. Div 2 truly do have it all ways.. Using many of the best riders available from both Div 1 and Div 3... A few on here seem to take some satisfaction by talking up there clubs as if they have miraculously increased their followers through great promotional work.. And for some that may be a factor.. However, I would suggest the bigger factor is having six Div 1 heat leaders competing regularly at those tracks each season. Which has attracted more "lapsed" fans who have drifted away in the preceding years back to the sport.. The same would happen if an influx of GP riders came back in Div 1... The question though is obviously "how long will it last?"... The novelty of watching "better riders" only lasts so long before it becomes "normal" and then those "non regulars" who have been attracted back start to drift away again... And, as we see, having so many Div 1 heat leaders in a select few tracks in Div 2, wont help the whole sport organically and generically grow...

Problem being is six teams... Configuring a 4TT would be somewhat difficult using those numbers.. You would have to choose 4 teams only to make it work.. Dont disagree by the way as 4TT's often served up the best racing...