Quote:
Originally Posted by mspence
There must be some sort of strategy for the early news on the 2015 deal. I just can't quite work it out.
V8SA clearly don't have many enforceable clauses on Seven about channel, time etc. Otherwise we would have far more on the main channel. So the risk of them running the product down this year is high. How does that help?
Then we have the future deal, which clearly and logically is going to be far more focused on Fox rather than Ten, otherwise there's no reason for Fox to be pumping so much cash in to the deal. So we have a sense of negativity about the future and the potential audience drop. Who does that help?
There is the potential saviour in the deal - the TEN coverage - but they refuse (can't?) say what the split will be. That just further undermines the potential benefits of the deal.
I'm not sure this was the best course of action for them.
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TV deals are usually done and announced 6-12 months ahead of time. But there are (at least) three other reasons for it.
1) A TV deal is not going to remain a secret. Once a deal is done you've only got a couple of days max to announce it before it leaks out. So may as well control the announcement yourself.
2) Morale booster. Given the state of the category at the moment with RECs being handed back and others in doubt, nearly every team struggling to pull full budgets together, confirmation of an improved deal for 2015 gives all of them light at the end of the tunnel and, in some cases, incentive to hang in for 12 more months and reap the rewards next year.
You'd probably never know for sure, but that may be what swayed D'Alberto and Dumbrell to keep going because nobody expected those two to keep going at the Sydney 500.
3) Advertises that V8s is worth investing in. Other than the REC revenue drying up, the uncertainty over the TV deal right when many teams were trying to renew or sign new sponsorship deals was the biggest problem with the current deal. With it locked in 12 months ahead (albeit, with some unknown details) teams can use the extra lead time to get commercial support and plan ahead.