All About RPMTV
As a Driver I always said" if we could just get some coverage we might actually be able to get a sponsor so I wouldnt go broke every week trying to go racing". And I did OK getting a few people to help us out but it was never quite what I was after.
So in Jan 2006 I started writing ideas and working on all the elements I thought we needed to launch a true network dedicated to the lower division guys. We released our first show in July 2007 ( see article ) You have to remember back then nobody was really streaming video. So I had to learn it. Hell, for that matter I had to learn all aspects of putting on a weekly show. You see I had been an electrician all my life with zero background in any of this. I was and am 100% self taught. ( see the first show)
Setting the Standards
The idea from the beginning was to do an in-house show with weekly results,points and news from local tracks. This way the guys in a pony stock got as much exposure as the guys in the west cars, Then they would have a place to show their current and potential advertisers that their reach was much further than 4000 people at the track on a saturday night. So I dove right in and quit my business as an electrician, and spent what little savings on the studio complete with cameras, telelpromters, lighting, news desk, editing equipment and all the background infrastructure required to pull this off. ( see studio)
Why so much you ask? Because a new website just starting to gain popularity called UTUBE had users posting amateur videos, I could see that this was going to be the way of things to come and we had to stand out and provide broadcast quality content or forever be considered another wanna be. This meant I had to beat this new format to the punch. So I took six months developing video compression algorithms and work flows so that our videos streamed as fast or faster and looked better than theirs. And even now Our videos still look better than most of what Utube does.
The end result was that we created and developed a broadcast standard for lower division motor sports which no-one to this day is even close to. RPMTV is the standard to which all other compare themselves to.
Keeping the Dream Alive
As time progressed and things changed we had more and more requests for race coverage rather than a talking head at a news desk. I agreed but knew the costs for that would be huge. So once again after half a dozen tests we tried it out at Perris Auto Speedway. The show was OK, needed work, but had potential. Now I had to find a way to produce these shows affordably so that local tracks and touring divisions could afford them.
in 2008 I had a conversation with Steve Fensler of the SRL who had seen the quality of the shows and understood the value and return on investment for his tour. We agreed that I would shoot the 2008 season finale at the bullring in las vegas as an example of what we could do. ( see the show here). I shot that show 100% by myself. one man. and had released the show within 32 hours of the race. Once again we set the standard, but this time it was to prove that this format was feasible at an affordable rate with a decent turnaround time.
Where we are now
Here we are mid 2009 race season and we are producing these SRL Shows on a regular basis. Each show is better than the one before and now we are compared to Broadcast Network coverage. We have found a pretty good formula and changed the way even the networks are thinking about the way the do things. Heres an example.
Usual Broadcast production costs: 25,000 to 35,000
Usual turn around time: 2 to 4 weeks
Usual manpower: 8 to 14 people.
We currently are delivering our shows within 5 days, with 2 people at a fraction of the costs. It all goes right back to the infrastructure set forth in the beginning stages of planning back in 2006.
Where to from here?
AT RPMTV we intend to continue the flag to flag coverage as we head closer to the 2010 season. What we really hope to do is cover 5 tracks weekly, but keeping within the quality our viewers have grown accustomed to . I am in the planning stages of developing a more social type of network for our weekly divisions. We have to keep this going, Utube, and user videos are fine, chances are thats not going to get you sponsored. Advertisers want a credible, dependable outlet to expose their billboards and generate sales. THAT is what I created RPMTV to be.
Do your Part
Support RPMTV anyway you can. Advertise during the shows, Buy Banner ads, LINK RPMTV to your websites, Embed our video into your websites. The only way this is going to work for the weekly tracks and drivers is if we all pitch in. The last thing I want to see, is this turn into another self-serving corporate owned paycheck for 800 pound gorilla.
