Broadcast

[Fitti Fan]

We were watching the race on HDNet. The Englishman who took over the broadcast during the commercials was better than the regular show. He was actually watching the race!

[KLang]

I really like not having any comercials on HDNet :thumbup:

[Insomniac]

That's interesting. While we were watching commercials, you had a different broadcaster.

[L1P1]

I thought it was pretty good for being the first one. Worst parts were Jenkins (Hurdeez?) and ignoring P2 & P3 on the final laps.

I've got mixed feelings on the commercials. More are better for the health of the sport and, aside from the quick promos, I didn't see the dead slots being used up time and time again by that ineffective CART commercial from last year.

Wish: Designate a portion of the screen to show the names of drivers who are currently on the button. To see the whole thing light up at the end of the race would be fun. And please, change the button to control access to a limited bottle of nitrous instead of an arbitrary boost limit. The marketing message would be simple and effective (750HP plus nitrous? Wooohooo!).

[skidmarks]

I agree I paid more attention when Jenkins went quiet, because the British guy had something to say!

[redmist]

i couldn't take jenkins. i finally muted the tv and just listened to the feed from jordain's on-board camera and pt's radio.

[Insomniac]

i couldn't take jenkins. i finally muted the tv and just listened to the feed from jordain's on-board camera and pt's radio.

It will take me some time to disassociate his voice from the IRL. I definitely miss Varsha.

[RTKar]

It will take me some time to disassociate his voice from the IRL. I definitely miss Varsha.

Me too, very strange....very very strange...almost surreal.

[dando]

Jenkins was pathetic. The effects of the lobotomy as one of TG's henchmen were clearly evident. I'd rather listen to the broadcast in Spanish, and not understand 90% of it. :thumdown:

Also, TK was more reserved than last season. Perhaps this was due to the constant need to remind Jenkins which cars/drivers were which.

-Kevin

[Hard Driver]

Jenkins sounded bored. That makes the race seem boring. I wasn't happy when he was choosen and still am not happy he is in the booth.

However, I am happy to be seeing Champ Cars and most of the rest of the broadcast was pretty good. A few more in car shots would have been nice.

[Railbird]

Watching the HD broadcast at The Ale Emporium I loved the no-commercial thing. The British guy was good but I didn't mind Jenkins, I understand that racefans outside of our niche recognize him as a displaced NASCAR talking head and therefore somewhat of a traveled pro.

I didn't think he did too bad and I thought TK was pretty good.

Give em some time

[4wheeldrifter]

Re: Jenkins

Tarso Marquee. Nuff said. :thumdown:

edit:

I just noticed that the TF gomers are crying the blues over poor Bob Jenkin's new lot in life. Says he's wasting his talent. If anyone over there has any pull please, please get Bob back in the booth at the Mouse by Indy. Win-win for all involved.

Who's got Varsha's cell number?

[Sean O'Gorman]

I cringed everytime he messed up a driver's name. Except Max Papass, I laughed when I heard that one. :D

[JT265]

That was good SeanO. And we now have another MarKEEEEE driver in Tarso, so it's all good.

[Rob]

Jenkins was two solid hours of bloopers. Markee, Herdies, Caprick Parcentier (or whatever it was)...

I liked this one though: "Allmendinger is easy to identify because his car is all yellow. And the other all-yellow car belongs to..."

Possibly the highlight of the whole broadcast (other than the action, of course), was Jenkins' several seconds of silence following Kendall's crack pipe comment. :laugh:

[4wheeldrifter]

Jenkins was two solid hours of bloopers. Markee, Herdies, Caprick Parcentier (or whatever it was)...

I liked this one though: "Allmendinger is easy to identify because his car is all yellow. And the other all-yellow car belongs to..."

Possibly the highlight of the whole broadcast (other than the action, of course), was Jenkins' several seconds of silence following Kendall's crack pipe comment. :laugh:

The crack pipe comment was classic TK. I wonder why he isn't let off the leash, I mean it is Spike TV after all. The silence was golden. Like accidentally telling a dirty joke in front of your priest. :laugh:

[Spicoli]

Jenkins sucked.

No more Spike for me. HDNet 100%.

[Turn7]

The best part of the broadcast was the fact that it was in a "letter box" format.

Those of us not privileged to have a HDTV, were able to see almost all of the picture without having the graphics get in the way of the action. Most of the graphics ended up in the blackened dead space at the top and bottom of the screen.

Much, much, much better than the CBS broadcast last year that had the majority of the screen cluttered and covered most of the bottom left corner and top of the screen.

:thumbup: :thumbup:

[racer2c]

The best part of the broadcast was the fact that it was in a "letter box" format.

Those of us not privileged to have a HDTV, were able to see almost all of the picture without having the graphics get in the way of the action. Most of the graphics ended up in the blackened dead space at the top and bottom of the screen.

Much, much, much better than the CBS broadcast last year that had the majority of the screen cluttered and covered most of the bottom left corner and top of the screen.

:thumbup: :thumbup:

I have a large screen, 16:9 TV and thought that the broadcast looked a bit stretched, which sort of bothered me, but not as much as the weird blurriness. The shot of the cars coming down the back stretch appearing as if from no where was bizarre and something I've never witnessed. Did anyone else have see any visual discrepancies?

[Sean O'Gorman]

The best part of the broadcast was the fact that it was in a "letter box" format.

Those of us not privileged to have a HDTV, were able to see almost all of the picture without having the graphics get in the way of the action. Most of the graphics ended up in the blackened dead space at the top and bottom of the screen.

Much, much, much better than the CBS broadcast last year that had the majority of the screen cluttered and covered most of the bottom left corner and top of the screen.

:thumbup: :thumbup:

I didn't like it that way. It was like watching CNN or MSNBC or whatever with all the information scrolling on the borders of the screen. Besides, how often do you see live (or same day, or whatever) events in that format? It looked like something that was tape delayed, or a documentary or whatever.

Overall though I could live with it. Seeing the pit stops from above took some time getting used to but I thought it was just as good. I wonder why I only saw one or two pit stops from along pit wall.

[FRANKY]

I'll be looking for HD for the next race also.

[sundaydriver2]

Jenkins was brutal. He showed no enthusiasum for the race and didn't seem to know who was who.

Let's hope it gets better with time. I dont want to have to drop a bucket of cash for a new HDTV.

[JAM26]

You would think jenkins would at least take a few moments to familiarize himself with the driver and sponsor names, and the proper cars.

"Here comes Carpentier now," as Tracy whizzes by. A few seconds later "There he goes."

[Steve99]

I thought the video on SpikeTV looked better than last years's fuzzy SPEED broadcasts. They cut away from the race too much though. It really annoyed me when the cut away to something I had already seen on Dangerous Curves. What's the point of that?

[Steve99]

You would think jenkins would at least take a few moments to familiarize himself with the driver and sponsor names, and the proper cars.

"Here comes Carpentier now," as Tracy whizzes by. A few seconds later "There he goes."

Or the replays of "Tracy" hitting the wall near the end. I was shouting at the TV: "That's Carpentier."

He called PC "carpenter" at least once this weekend.

[Lizzerd]

I think some of you are missing something. Jenkins was on HD too. Just not when Spike was showing commercials.

[FRANKY]

That's interesting. While we were watching commercials, you had a different broadcaster.

Who was it? Just during the commercials?

[Lizzerd]

Who was it? Just during the commercials?

Yes, just during the time Spike was showing commercials. Don't know who it was, but he had a British accent, was much more excited and animated than Jenkins (but far less than Paul Page), and seemed to know a heck of a lot more about what was going on than Jenkins.

[pkvracing12]

I like Paul G at the begining CHAMP CAR IS BACK!

[FRANKY]

Yes, just during the time Spike was showing commercials. Don't know who it was, but he had a British accent, was much more excited and animated than Jenkins (but far less than Paul Page), and seemed to know a heck of a lot more about what was going on than Jenkins.

I wonder if they were feeding HD to another country and were taking it from that feed.

[Robstar]

It sounds like Jeremy Shaw, who will probably be commentating tonight when we finally get to see the race at 11:30pm Monday :rolleyes:

[formulaben]

I bet you're right. AFAIK, he used to do the radio/internet broadcast in the past.

[Napoleon]

I still can not get past them using Jenkens. The guy is articulate and does a good job, but he is lemming through and through.

[rabbit]

I still can not get past them using Jenkens. The guy is articulate and does a good job, but he is lemming through and through.
Where you been stranger? :)

Welcome back! :cool::thumbup:

[BMEP]

Much worse than all the mispronounced names was Jenkins’ complete lack of enthusiasm. Not only that but he seemed to be much more interested in explaining the “push to pass” button, etc. than actually talking like there was a race going on!

It was clear that the during-the-spike-tv-commercials-announcer-dude was following the race and was actually excited about it. We were doing the opposite - every time he was on, we'd watch. When Jenkins was on we'd get food, take bathroom breaks, etc. :)

The race on HD? Excellent! Thanks HD Net!

[skidmarks]

I wonder why I only saw one or two pit stops from along pit wall.

The camera along pit wall that they carry is a standard definition, not high def. I think they avoided using it, and not as many in car shots due to video quality.

Jenkins sucked bad...did he even walk through the paddock? You can get a good idea how to pronounce names, and see the differnece in team cars if you actually go LOOK at the car.

Even after his 15 min explanation of the red maple leaf on PT's car he still screwed it up when PC brushed the wall. :saywhat:

[Big Mo]

If I'm Dick Eidswick, I'm having a heartfelt conversation with Bob Jenkins this week.

What was going on in your mind?
Are you uncomfortable doing Champ Car?
Did you not take the time to meet the teams and drivers?

Clearly Jenkins does not want to do these races. It was almost like, "Tell us how much you love eating asparagus" as his face makes a grimace while trying to be convincing.

The guy is not at home. Home for Jenkins is where the inheritor destroys a sport.

Big Mo

[KLang]

The camera along pit wall that they carry is a standard definition, not high def. I think they avoided using it, and not as many in car shots due to video quality.


The explaination I've read elsewhere is that the HD cameras can't do wireless. Bandwidth issue I assume.

[Kahauna Dreamer]

As if the 3-hour tape-delay for PST was't bad enough, you had Jenkins trying to pass himself off as an historian of Champ Car with asinine statistics ("...and that's the fifth DNF for Jimmy Vasser between 1999 and 2003" and the aforementioned mispronounciations of drivers' names. Then there was Jenkins' broadcast style...I don't know how you guys and gals heard it, but to me, Jenkins sounded like he had washed down some Vicodins with a couple slugs of Jack Daniels and he left more gaps in his phrases than a Paul Harvey commentary.

There seemed to be a commercial every seven minutes, and I for one did not appreciate seeing the Toyota ¥RL commercial about the guy with the crappy music in his helmet.

Far as I'm concerned, they could just let Bronte take Jenkins' place :D

[RacinM3]

I listened to the TV feed throughout the race on my scanner. Jenkins apologized more than once to TK during the breaks for having to (and I quote) "carry him". I was surprised that he hadn't done more research regarding driver names, numbers, and cars before his debut in his new job. It was like he just phoned it in. TK was pretty quiet in accepting his apologies.

[Adder]

It was indeed Jeremy Shaw on HDnet during the Spike commercials as International stations also got to hear from him if they didn't take the Spike TV breaks.

He took a couple of ad breaks to get into his stride, as he'd normally call the whole race, but I also thought his parts were the best bits, just a shame our broadcaster had to take some of the ad breaks for ads. :(

He's been calling the action on the International feed for the last seven years or so and has always been one of the best elements of the broadcast.

He's also a great guy to meet and talk to as well. ;)

[KLang]

I wonder what the real story is behind hiring Jenkins? He did seem to loosen up a bit during the Trans-Am race.

[Fitti Fan]

It also looked like Jenkins was reading any "correct" info right off the computer. He couldn't actually follow the race on his own. It did seem like he didn't actually want to be there but he certainly wasn't going to let Tommy take over.

For quite awhile, it wasn't like we were watching a race. It was all about the new rules. I know they need to get that stuff in, but the race action should take precedence.

Pit Stop times?????

Parker, Parker? Where are you????

[RJC1]

The fact that Jenkins is an IRL shill doesn't effect my take on his performance yesterday: he's an incompetent, pathetic, moron. That's the worst piece of broadcasting I've ever heard.

In addition to his idiot mistakes already pointed out in this thread, the "they like the cars doubled up at the start in this series" comment right at the start blew me away. "This series"? What, is he just planning on calling the one race? What an idiot. God I hope they get rid of him right away.

[Steve99]

I wonder what the real story is behind hiring Jenkins? He did seem to loosen up a bit during the Trans-Am race.

When/where was the Trans-Am race broadcast?

[DaveL]

Gotta agree with what everyone else is saying. Jenkins' lack of preparation for the race was enexcusable and I fault him for that more than anything else. And speaking of Bobs, was Varsha unavailable for this? Hey, at least he knew the frickin' names of the drivers.

[Steve99]

Varsha works for SPEED.

Did anyone else catch Jenkins call it the "Chase for the Championship"?

[JAM26]

Another classic Jenkins comment: At the end of the race "It's been a safe race, there were no injuries."
Guess it's been a while since he could say that. :rolleyes:

[KLang]

When/where was the Trans-Am race broadcast?

It was live on HDNet at 5:30 central time. No idea if it will be broadcast again anywhere else.

[skidmarks]

T/A race was on HDnet after Champcars, Varsha I think is only doing Speed F1 races. :(


DOH! I am soooo slooowwww

[RichK]

Jenkins OBVIOUSLY doesn't care. It showed.

[JoeBob]

I'll give him a break - this was the first race of the season, and nobody knew what many of the cars would look like until they rolled off the transporters on Friday morning.

This is not only a new crew in the booth, but also a new production company as well. I'd imagine they used the practice sessions for "rehersals" before the first broadcast, so Jenkins probably had little, if any, time to wander the paddock.

For his first time calling a ChampCar race in a very long time, with a new production company in the truck, I think he did okay. Hopefully, he'll study this broadcast and get better. If he's making many of the same mistakes in Milwaukee, we'll have problems.

[oddlycalm]

Jenkins is a hack. Not bothering to do any prep, and thus making TK carry him, pretty much summed up his attitude. Not that it wasn't made abundently clear in many other ways. The idiotic and meaningless stats were just another indication of a guy totally out of touch with what is going on. He was unemployed when Champcar found him, and my hope is that is a status to which he soon returns. :thumdown:

oc

[Spicoli]

Jenkins is a hack. Not bothering to do any prep, and thus making TK carry him, pretty much summed up his attitude. Not that it wasn't made abundently clear in many other ways. The idiotic and meaningless stats were just another indication of a guy totally out of touch with what is going on. He was unemployed when Champcar found him, and my hope is that is a status to which he soon returns. :thumdown:

oc

Just to set some "Facts" straight - Jenkins approached ChampCar after being cut loose from EARL. He had absolutely no interest in "practicing" his banter with TK prior to the race. Its also evident he did NOT do his homework. I mean - at least ACT like you want the ****ing job!

Anyone here could have done a better job. But the bottom line - I think you'll agree - is to ship that old coot back to the moron on 16th Street.

Clare and Kamphausen are aware of how bad a job he did. I think if they see the recorded version, we might be saying "Buh-bye" to Boob Jenks.

[Corner5]

Another classic Jenkins comment: At the end of the race "It's been a safe race, there were no injuries."
Guess it's been a while since he could say that. :rolleyes:

I had to chuckle when I heard that too.

While I thought Jenkins looked like he loosened up a bit he certainly was unprepared.Now we know how good Varsha really is. Right, Varsha is under contract with SPEED.

[Anteater]

Jenkins was dreadful! Totally clueless. Mr. Anteater and I were in stitches as we listened on the scanner. We caught up with a couple of the broadcast team members after qualifying (Jenkins was not among them). We told them that we were happy to hear their voices again on the broadcast, and one of them remarked, "We'll get Bob up to speed soon." :rofl:

I saw Jeremy Shaw in the paddock and wondered whether he was doing the HDNet broadcast (as he did so well for Elkhart Lake last year). Too bad he's not on the HDNet broadcast fulltime.

[RaceCat]

Me too, very strange....very very strange...almost surreal.

I agree. I LOVED the HDNet broadcast and I really liked the English guy who was the announcer during the commercial breaks

[JT265]

Anyone here could have done a better job. But the bottom line - I think you'll agree - is to ship that old coot back to the moron on 16th Street.

b,b,b,b,b,b,b,b,b,b,bb,b,b,but, I st, st, st, st, st, stutter and I have a nervous tic!!!!!

Please dddddon't send me back to 16th!!!!

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPLEASE D D D D DON'T!!!!! :cry: :cry:

[RaceGrrl]

The very least he could have done was learn to pronounce the driver names correctly. He wasn't prepared, and for a "professional," he certainly came off as an amateur to me. I'm not going to give him a pass on this.

The fact that he couldn't/wouldn't pronounce the names right is all it takes to convince me that he needs to be replaced. ChampCar deserves better than that, and the fans deserve better than that.

[Dave99]

The very least he could have done was learn to pronounce the driver names correctly. He wasn't prepared, and for a "professional," he certainly came off as an amateur to me. I'm not going to give him a pass on this.

The fact that he couldn't/wouldn't pronounce the names right is all it takes to convince me that he needs to be replaced. ChampCar deserves better than that, and the fans deserve better than that.
Mis-pronouncing peoples names does not earn a pass in my book either.
I'd place blame on the director in the production truck as well as Jenkins. The guy should have been in "Jenks'" ear with correct pronounciation during the breaks. Regardless, it is obvious to me that some people who are new to Champ Car this year haven't watched very closely in the not too distant past.

When Jenkins started to explain the difference between the "team cars" I thought he would have mentioned drivers helmets. I guess that's covered in Team Car Differentiation 201. Red Maple Leafs is only discussed in Team Car Differentiation 101, and Jenkins still didn't get it right.

And Herdeeze? Tagli annie? Mar keeze? Puh-leeze! I'll bet Jenkins says Beechler in his sleep every night and doesn't even know it.

[jdcooper]

To digress from the Jenkins bashing (however well deserved) I feel Spike and their production company missed some important presentation items:

Where was the visor-cam ? Perhaps the neatest bit of new photography in the last couple years. Get out your checkbook boys, and join the 21st century.

How 'bout some RPM/G load/throttle position/speed graphics

Rotatable car mounted cameras for rear shots (like last couple years)

Helmet-cam for some of the pit crewmembers also. Where ?

Airborne shots from blimp or helo ? did I just miss that ?

Dump the "Dangerous Curves" replays during the race. Maybe during short red-flags, but never during the race itself. Put Bronte in tight nomex and send her out with a camera crew for a live bit or two. Imagine the possibilities of a wet Bronte during a rain delayed race. It would keep ME watching !

Cover the RACING ! During the last couple laps they fixated on a 'checked-out' Tracy while the real race was Bourdais-Junky for second.

Head on down to RadioShack and get a scanner to bring us the pit-to-car communications. Not a word last Sunday. Often entertaining.

Now I'm just a fan, not a production expert. It seems to me, however, that the production company hasn't watched other racing lately to know what "state-of-the-art" is. It's like the staff didn't cover all the bases.
Or is it just me.........

[KLang]

Or is it just me.........

Yep. ;)

I think we need to show a little patience. Most everyone involved in the production is (I believe) new to showing an auto race.

On HDNet they did show telemetry from PT's car a couple times. Did that not show up on Spike?

[Mike Kellner]

It sounds like the HD viewers liked the British guy. Why not hire him? Jenkins is the worst type of "Professional announcer". These guys invariably ruin the races they cover. They are all Paul Page in varying degrees; they get in the way of enjoying the race, but for reasons unknown, the powers that be insist they are needed to have a good broadcast. Compare that to F1 with David Hobbs, who is not a general purpose sports announcer, but rather a well informed and articulate fan of the sport he is covering, and you see how badly we are being served. We need our own David Hobbs.

And, while I am on the subject, I love F1 having a real mechanic in the booth. That brings a whole 'nother light to the race.

mk

[jdcooper]

KLang sez:
I think we need to show a little patience.

Absolutely true. Feedback is what improves the product. The Spike TV website's feedback page is where we all should be. Execs who aren't race fans make big decisions based on internet feedback.

Remember to accentuate the positive and minimize the negative. Maybe we can convince them to cover qualifying.......

[RaceGrrl]

KLang sez:
I think we need to show a little patience.

Absolutely true. Feedback is what improves the product. The Spike TV website's feedback page is where we all should be. Execs who aren't race fans make big decisions based on internet feedback.

Remember to accentuate the positive and minimize the negative. Maybe we can convince them to cover qualifying.......

Ok, I'll do that as well. Link, please?

[Mike Kellner]

I did write them last week, politely pointing out that they had no mention of the race on their front page, and asking them to put up a link to it like they did for other shows. I have not gotten an answer.

mk

[jdcooper]

So sorry....

Try http://spiketv.com/

then the 'feedback' que on the toop right of the screen ;)

[Steve99]

They did show telemetry on Spike, but I don't think it included G loading.

[Mike Kellner]

How do we send this string to the ChampCar bosses?

They should see it.

mk

[KLang]

How do we send this string to the ChampCar bosses?

They should see it.

mk

Someone needs to let Eric Mauk know about this site. He used to post at 7G occasionally so we know he visited there. I'd like to see TK sign up as well.

[racer2c]

OC is the diffinitive Champ Car forum. And I'm pretty sure there is no 'hard card' plans in the boss's furture. :)

[Spicoli]

How do we send this string to the ChampCar bosses?

They should see it.

mk

If you care to put something together in the next day or 2, I can make sure they get to the right people. The "C" level people are aware of the problems, but they need those who watched the broadcast and are true fans with experience, to give feedback.

Suggestion? Start a thread where everryone can sound of on what you liked and didn't like, and we can go from there.


Wait....does Wilke post here? :shakehead j/k..

[RTKar]

Spikes targeted demographics would probably appreciate a more "artsy' use of cameras, better angles that show the speed better, as well as enhance the colors and sound. It seems we had too many over views that didn't capture the beauty of the cars and how they almost skate around a course...the bounces, the sliding with cars darting from behind another car.... Especially at a street course less emphasis should be shown on car in obvious control of the race from a long distance simply because an interval of 3 to 6 seconds looks a long way back but a camera at track level could portray the interval in a way to make both cars seem closer. I've always liked "in cars" too. Picture in a picture with an "in car" and an overview shot, especially of the start would enhance the drama and tension of the green flag.

[Railbird]

Let the boys at OWRS know what you want, they're the ones paying for production. Spike will hopefully deliver value for the buck but they're not gonna throw in any freebies, more cams and telemetry run up the price.

I agree with JoeBob in giving Jenkins a race or two before calling for his head, just like the rest of the format I believe we're stuck with what we got for a while anyway.

I think one thing you're seeing in the Spike broadcast is that always popular attempt to hook up with the general population. Keeping in that spirit let me suggest that if Jenks continues to bumble I for one would be casting a vote for whole new crew headed up by Vic Romano and Kenny Blankenship.

"right you are Ken"

[Madmaxfan2]

Time to seek out new broadcasting talent. TK is entertaining and edgy, but that is not the mark of a serious pro for the sport. Parker comes close.

[rabbit]

I just finally got around to watching my tape of the race. And I have to say, Jenkins did a much better job than you guys made it sound like. I half expected him to be snoring through the race. But I noticed right away, at least in the intro, that there was indeed energy in his voice. He gave CCWS credit for a number of things, and didn't sound like he was longing to be somewhere else. He even said at one point, "Southern California is, at least for this weekend, the auto racing capital of the world." The only time he mentioned Indy was when he brought up Wilson's 8th-place finish there in the USGP last year, his best finish in F1.

Overall the broadcast left a lot to be desired. But for crying out loud it's a brand new team of people working together. It takes time to feel things out and get them to where you want them. Jenkins and the whole team need some time to jel. (Having a month off before Monterey isn't going to help.) But after that, give them a couple more races.

Heck, after everything this series has been through in the last two years, I'd settle for Billy Packer and Bill Walton doing the commentary on QVC. :eek: At least there is racing to cover.

[G.]

Way too many commercials, too much Dang. Curves.

Where was the racing?

That said, I really was pumped to see that companies actually wanted to run their commercials and that it was a varied lot of companies.