Partners' Performance a Matter of Perspective

Every sports event and league on TV needs partners -- people with money to get the broadcast on the air -- whether the entity buys the time and then keeps or splits its revenue or whether a network believes in the value of the activity so much that it shells out millions of dollars for exclusive rights then sells ads itself.

Mid-level events and series might buy or share time while giants such as the NFL invariably ink lucrative deals and sell their exclusive rights.

After that, how the partners behave -- in terms of what viewers hear and see on TV -- often depends on the nature of the relationship.

When a group buys its own time, for example, it's not a surprise if the coverage of the event sounds a bit breathless and hyped. When a network or station holds exclusive rights, there might be more of a chance for criticism and critique.

The Indianapolis 500, featuring the IndyCar Series, which has bought an abundance of TV time in the past, provided some prime examples of perspective impacting the performance of a partner this past weekend.

Common sense and facts were frustratingly missing ESPN/ABC's coverage -- and it started even before the race itself.

With "Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts riding shotgun in the pace car for the race, and with a camera clearly showing her sitting in that passenger seat, the rest of the on-air crew -- most frustratingly Marty Reid -- said it was Roberts job to keep the car up to speed and set the pace for the race. Really? From the passenger seat?

It's neat that she was there, and a nice cross-promotion piece, but intimating that she was driving the car was an insult to viewers who could clearly see otherwise.

Another insult or at least some laziness without perspective came with the first accident of the race, when Tomas Scheckter bumped Davey Hamilton and sent him from the race on the first lap.

Our friends in the TV booth (Reid, Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear) cited Scheckter's aggressiveness and said pushing hard early and taking chances was something he was known to do. At the same time, they said Hamilton was surprised by the move, which prompted the accident. Even in an interview with pit reporter Dr. Jerry Punch, Hamilton said the move was something Scheckter typically tries.

Well, if it's that's the case, why was Hamilton surprised? Nobody asked.

Later in a race full of hype (and hope for a close ending), ESPN/ABC missed some irony -- and no partner could mention this but viewers certainly took notice -- when Englishman Dan Wheldon thanked his sponsor, the National Guard, and said how proud he was to drive for them on Memorial Day (a truly American holiday).

Also, ESPN/ABC did not do enough to cover the spectacular last-lap accident that sent Mike Conway airborne. In attempting to protect a partner (and, in fairness, protect Conway as well because they were not sure about the significance of any injuries), they missed what was happening and left viewers frustrated and uninformed.

At that point of the race, on the last lap after Dario Franchitti had dominated, the Conley crash was the most newsworthy and significant piece of the broadcast but it was overlooked.

Also surprisingly overlooked (at least in terms of usual hype) was the sixth-place finish of Danica Patrick. She got appropriate attention for a change, and pit reporter Jamie Little asked good questions in a one-on-one standup interview afterward. It was just less Patrick than usual and that in itself was striking.

Not overlooked was Franchitti's wife -- actress Ashley Judd, who got plenty of time on TV. She has become the first lady of open wheel racing on TV. And too much can be a bad thing.

Danica's NASCAR Debut Drives TV Ratings

Expect to see even more of Danica Patrick, starting this week.

She initially committed to driving 12 NASCAR Nationwide Series races this year, then added the series' season-opening race at Daytona last weekend. She did OK on the track in her debut, eventually finishing 35th when she was unable to avoid a wreck in front of her.

She was more than OK on TV, though, as the race set a viewership record on ESPN2.

An average of more than 4.2 million people watched the race -- the most ever for a Nationwide Series on cable. Plus, many of the people Patrick pulled to TVs stuck around and watched the conclusion of the event even after she was eliminated from the race.

No doubt ESPN officials are thrilled Patrick will be behind the wheel this weekend when the Nationwide Series visits Auto Club Speedway in California. This was to be her first NASCAR race, until she changed gears and started things last week.

This week's telecast begins at 5 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2, and there's no reason to doubt that ratings for the race will not increase over those of previous years, or that her second race will be any less popular than her first.

Danica's certainly doing her best to promote herself and the sport. She has appearances scheduled on several shows this week, including: “The Ellen Show,” “The Bonnie Hunt Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live" and "CBS Evening News.”

Although some (especially other drivers who are not nearly as popular) lament the focus on Patrick at the track and on TV, she's certainly someone about whom viewers have an interest. ESPN2 has to be careful not to focus too much on Patrick, though. Or at least focus on her as a racer. Elements of last week's coverage, and the tone of that coverage, looked and sounded somewhat condescending -- mostly because they probably would not focus in the same manner on another popular open-wheel racer making the transition to stock cars.

Daytona Delay and Solid Start for Olympics

A tw0-hour delay for a pothole interrupted the Daytona 500 on Sunday but Fox Sports did about the best it could -- from start-of-the-season talk to an interview with NASCAR chairman Brian France -- as a way to fill time.

What was most lacking during coverage of the delay was a closer camera angle of what was happening at the fix spot or even more specific information about the attempt to fix the situation. Still, racing fans are a loyal bunch, so many probably stayed with the coverage -- and those who did not could flip to NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics.

During the race delay, NBC had live coverage of the nordic combined as Johnny Spillane of the United States earned the silver medal (the first for a U.S. competitor in the event) while three U.S. competitors finished among the top six in the event. On TV it was simply cross country skiing, the second half of two events in the nordic combined. That might not serve as appointment viewing for some sports fans, but the event finished in just over 25 minutes and it was contested in four laps. Again, that's something casual viewers could grasp, and certainly any who had switched over from NASCAR.

In addition to that event Sunday, NBC had Apolo Ohno finishing second in the 1,500-meter short track speedskating event Saturday night -- another easy-to-understand event that can engage viewers because of its physicality and speed. So far, it seems like a good start in terms of coverage and storylines for the Olympic network.

For NASCAR, the weekend also included Saturday's Nationwide Series race, which included the debut of Danica Patrick in the series. Some certainly think she got too much attention leading up to and during the race, but she was clearly the storyline. And, after some early race struggles, she seemed to be getting more comfortable in the car. Nobody realistically expected a top-10 or even top-20 finish in her debut, and her eventual 35th-place result was the result of getting caught in an accident she could not avoid and that was not her fault.

She'll be back, with the accompanying attention, this weekend when the series visits California.

One thing ESPN avoided or missed with coverage of the race, though, was Tony Stewart's patient pass of Patrick. He started deep in the field, came up on Patrick fairly early and kept his distance -- clearly wary of any rookie driver -- before eventually getting around her. While the broadcast crew talked about him moving through the field, it seemed like they missed Stewart's obvious attempt to give Patrick as much room as possible. From his perspective, had he pushed hard and gotten her loose, he would've been the bad guy. At the same time, if he'd have gotten to close and she would've wobbled it could've hurt his chances -- and he eventually won the race.

His pass was not a big moment in the race, but it was a subtle thing that could've been addressed for viewers.

On Sunday, Fox Sports missed another obvious-on-TV moment. They talked about legendary Richard Petty driving the pace car for the Daytona 500, but a view of the car on the track clearly showed the 82-year-old "king" of stock-car racing in the passenger seat. Not that it matters, because nobody really expects Petty to drive the car, but it was just an example of missing the obvious.