At this time every year, we hear people moaning about how much advertising is shown during the annual Bathurst 1000 motor race, with “they show too many ads” being the common catch cry.
Long time readers of this blog may remember the analysis I’ve done over the years in regards to just how much advertising the Seven Network actually do show during the race – culminating in this article after last year’s race.
Read over that article to understand that the difference between the current amount of advertising is not particularly different to the traditional amount of advertising shown during the race.
Until this year, the average segment length across pre-1997 Channel Seven broadcasts, race-to-race was 707 seconds, or 11 minutes and 47 seconds; the average segment length across Channel Ten broadcasts, race-to-race between 1997 and 2006 was 721 seconds, or 12 minutes and 1 second; and the average segment length across post-2006 Channel Seven telecasts race-to-race was 694 seconds, or 11 minutes and 34 seconds.
The 28 segment lengths for this years broadcast were: 17:24, 8:25, 8:56, 7:12, 9:51, 10:29, 4:49, 5:13, 5:09, 12:21, 8:24, 8:05, 15:13, 6:33, 8:19, 9:51, 20:44, 3:38, 13:00, 4:28, 13:34, 9:15, 10:54, 16:49, 4:07, 18:55, 3:14, and 32:04, which is an average of 10 minutes and 36 seconds per segment, a little down on the average.
If only the second to last, and last segments were combined – only a slight change, and creating a 39:18 minute segment once you add the commercial break between them – the average would have lifted to 11 minutes and 8 seconds.
Very little change makes a big difference to the average. Most of the really short segments – (4 minutes or less) – coincided with safety car interludes, where nothing was happening, and Seven took a chance to save up some airtime for green flag running.
There are specific legal limits as to how much advertising they can show, and I’m quite sure they didn’t exceed them.
In 2011, the race ran for 6 hours, 26 minutes, and 52 seconds – 14 minutes more than the 2010 race, when the average segment length was 11 minute and 18 seconds. Both races were broadcast over 28 segments.
In 2010, we saw 18984 seconds of coverage. In 2011 – a longer race – we saw 17816 seconds of coverage.
Of course, in 2010 we saw Channel Seven time slip the coverage by about one extra minute at every commercial break allowing more of the race to be shown. It was controversial, and the broadcasting laws were changed to prevent it from happening again.
Overall, there was a little more advertising in 2011, but the segment lengths themselves weren’t all that different statistically. It’s just without the time slipping going on, we got to see less race, even though the race itself was longer.
What the 2011 coverage proves – given that we saw less on air time, over a longer race – was that in 2010, Seven’s claim that they slipped the race to show more of it is absolutely true. On average the segments were about 45 seconds shorter in 2011.
People demanded that the race was truly “live” – and this was the result.
The biggest problem is that nowadays, with services like Twitter becoming mainstream, people have become impatient, and expect instant and complete coverage of everything.
In a commercial world, where Channel Seven have to pay for the massive undertaking that is the annual Bathurst broadcast, instant and complete just isn’t possible.
If you want instant and complete, go to the race.
(DISCLAIMER: I have absolutely no affiliation with the Seven Network, nor any other media company. As a long-time devotee of motor racing, I have chosen to use the information available from my library of motor racing vision to illustrate what appears to be the case.)