On the occasion of his Tip&Shaft Connect conference on ocean racing, our confrères asked Cédric Rampelberg, head of television at ASO, to analyze the difficulties of ocean racing in attracting television broadcasters. Here are the main lessons from his talk.
The power of ocean racing on TV
Competitive sailing has a lot going for it: it conveys strong values and societal messages in tune with our times, carried by skippers with whom the general public can identify. It's a concept that everyone can understand, and the rules are simple, unlike other sports such as rugby, which are much more widely publicized. Its schedules are adapted to the broadcasting schedules of the major TV channels, with the start of the main races at 1:02pm to coincide with TV news. State-of-the-art boats, such as Formula 1, offer a different approach to the sport. Out-of-stadium events could be used to showcase local areas, as cycling does with the Tour de France.
So despite all that, what's the sticking point?
The difficulties of ocean racing in adapting to the constraints of television.
One of the particularities of ocean racing is that it is subject to the vagaries of the weather. The start can be postponed by a few hours, or even several days, and this greatly complicates logistics and the organization of television broadcast schedules. In an economy where everything is planned months in advance, it's difficult to adapt to a last-minute change. The same applies to finishes, where the time at which the winner crosses the line is only known at the last moment.
It's also complicated to cover the race live for its entire duration, as could be done in stadiums or on the Tour de France.
In short, ocean racing is too random and time-consuming.
What can we do to get TV interested in our sport?
We need to continue what we've already started, say the experts present! There are more and more sailing events on television, and the technical resources used at the start of the races have evolved considerably. Technological innovations are emerging to make racing more intelligible, with augmented reality, drones, tracking and live data on the boats.
Another avenue worth exploring, currently under-exploited, would be to involve boat sponsors more closely in the purchase of advertising space around the programs broadcasting the races in which they appear. Indeed, if there is an economic interest, the broadcaster will be more likely to open up more slots to broadcast sailing competitions.
We could also think about creating more links between races. Just as in some sports, where you follow your team's progress from the qualifying stages through to the final. Offshore racing could work on its storytelling, to explain that certain races run earlier in the season are qualifiers for the circuit's flagship race - which would be the equivalent of a championship final in other sports. This mechanic would play on the soap opera aspect of the sport.
But perhaps we need to completely rethink our approach, and move into new formats such as docuseries, a format that allows us to see behind-the-scenes preparation and fully immerse ourselves in the race.
There's still a long way to go before we see our favorite skippers in prime time.
