Quote:
Originally Posted by Jacques Rabbit
Another angle to consider is the one of U.S. television. The USGP is an important race to put on network television, and historically has been aired on ABC and FOX (CBS did not air it, oddly enough). If the race is during NFL season, FOX won't be able to air it, and especially can't make it part of a block of four consecutive races. Not the end of the world, but I'd think you would want as much TV exposure in the U.S. as possible to make it work, and the races on FOX get sufficient viewership for a sport with zero U.S. presence at the moment.
|
F1 will desperately want the race live on a major network but the NFL and NASCAR may take preference. It may end up on SPEED which will hurt the US viewership. The USGP November weekend proposed is also the same weekend as the NASCAR finale at Homestead when all three series are scheduled for their final races.
Then we have the week before Thanksgiving factor...the biggest travel time in the US. I have no idea how expensive competing US sports are for the fan that chooses to attend but I know how expensive an F1 weekend is. In this economy some folks will have to make a choice between holiday plans with family and an expensive F1 adventure.
I still think June is the better choice if F1 wants the undivided attention of the US fan base, all 10,000 of them. If the heat is such a worry, they should have thought about that before they picked Austin.