|
I'd say the real "driving force" (which in this case is a retarding force) are the advertisers ... who probably notice that people demand no or fewer ads in their online streams (they are already paying for them) and that online ads seem not to be as effective as TV ads.
Advertisers still see broadcast TV as the Mecca of advertising outreach, followed by cable TV, going down the tiers (which is why FS1 is so coveted compared to FS2---sponsors will pay more for the Chance to be in front of more eyeballs.)
Advertisers depend on repetition, too .... but web-watchers seem to really dislike streams with a lot of commercials. Also, people can fast-forward through commercials on a recorded stream, which makes YouTube commercials pretty much worthless.
We as fans look at the race broadcast from a fan's point of view. For the series it is a revenue center (a view which killed ALMS, IMO) to be sold in small chunks for large dollars. That's why Fox doesn't care that it makes races almost unwatchable with its frequent breaks ... it is making money with each ad, and if people cannot follow the race, who cares? Fox got the money for the subscription, and got money for the advertisement.
Advertisers count on the TV format for new viewers because they can sample the entire TV population ... anyone using any kind of TV-Guide function can see any program. Nobody is going to randomly scroll through three hundred thousand YouTube channels and think "Hey, some racing thing I have never heard of! Yahoo!" but (at least in the thinking of TV folks) a person might be scrolling through the much more limited channel list provided by cable and broadcast TV and see some racing series ....
|