X Games

1 reply [Last post]

Sat, Aug 14, 2010 - 9:20am

nospeed

Offline

Joined: Feb 18 2010

Posts: 17

I am a little behind on the podcasts and just listened to the #27 X Games Edition and have to comment.

I have mixed feelings on the impact of X Games. It does spread awareness. My son and I started in motocross in 2002 when he was 9. For the past 8 years, whenever I mentioned to people that my son raced motocross, their response was "I know what that is, I saw it on X Games". However, I suspect that X Games may cause as much harm as good. When my son was younger the parents of his friends would not let them ride because of what they saw on X Games. It was an up hill battle to try to explain the difference between what they saw on X Games and what goes on in local motocross racing. If I look back, in all honesty, I think that X Games may actually prevent new riders from entering the sport. At least the young ones that need their parents support.

Sat, Aug 14, 2010 - 5:19pm

jhn145

Offline

Joined: Feb 14 2006

Posts: 682

Is this really what Motocross and Supercross are About?

It's a tough call on getting exposure for our "little" sport and keeping true to what motocross is all about. Purist will hate the Xgames and riders and team owners will love the Xgames because more exposure to their sponsor has a direct correlation to how much money they get. So it's a catch 22, if the riders didn't see a value in and decided not to participate in the Xgames, then the moto portion would just go away, so I am saying it's a good thing for them just maybe not a good thing for the longevity of the real sports of motocross and supercross, because they will have new advertisers jumping on board thinking they will have the same sort of ratings and exposure and then a season into it they will realize that the "real" sports have a completely different demographic and rating share than Xgames. Motocross and Supercross get sold as X-sports but really in my opinion it is an older demographic that supports our sports, more along the lines of a NASCAR demographic (probably the sweet spot is 29-40yr old males). Seriously when is the is Team Sierra Nevada beer going to form or Team Starbucks, because those are energy drinks that I actually buy. I would love to know Alli & Speeds rating numbers and demographic research on who views and who buys moto stuff, because I'm not so sure it's 18-25yr old males. Anyway to X or not to X isn't my decision, but I'll still watch and that is just about feeding my moto addiction any chance I get.
See the below article from Espn Media Zone X Games 16 Ratings

Quote:

Thirty-One Hours of Original Content Aired on Multiple ESPN Platforms

Millions of fans consumed the extensive X Games 16 content featured across ESPN global distribution platforms, including television, internet, mobile and in-person at the event. Once again, the unprecedented multimedia offerings provided complete coverage of the world’s premier action sports competition that was held July 29 - August 1 in Los Angeles. In addition to the 31 original hours on ESPN and ESPN2, the worldwide leader in action sports aired eight hours of X Games 16 competition on ESPN 3D. X Games 16 content was also distributed across ESPN’s international networks and global platforms, including ESPN3.com, ESPN.com/Action, XGames.com, ESPN Mobile, ESPN On Demand and ESPN International.

The event’s success this year included:

Television:
ESPN increased its X Games coverage to 31 hours, compared to 20 last year. ESPN and ESPN2 featured eight windows of original competition coverage.
Hosted by Sal Masekela, the X Games telecast featured one of the most talented collection of on-air commentators in X Games history that included Tony Hawk, Jeremy McGrath, Dennis McCoy and Boris Said who served as analysts for the Skateboard, Moto X, BMX Freestyle and Rally Car events, respectively.
X Games 16 delivered a 0.7 rating, representing an average of 755,000 households and nearly one million viewers (P2+), 989,000, on ESPN networks. A key male demographic group, men 12-34, maintained or exceeded last year’s ratings in several windows.
Overall, 35.4 million people from the U.S. tuned in to the X Games during the four-day event, which includes all live and repeat X Games 16 telecasts.
Attendance:

The X Games 16 total attendance between L.A. Live and The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was 138,525 – an increase of 24% from 2009. Spectators for the previous year totaled 111,200.

Online:
Total hours consumed on ESPN3.com, ESPN’s 24/7 sports broadband network, during X Games 16 was up 238% compared to last year.
XGames.com and ESPN.com/Action provided on-site coverage of X Games 16 and delivered instant results, photos, live commentary and daily recaps. Through two weeks of X Games 16 coverage (July 25-August 7), ESPN.com/Action generated over 1.3 million visits and nearly 2 million video starts, up 30% and 27%, respectively. Additionally, page views on the mobile web site were up 36% compared to the same time period last year.
The X Games Channel on YouTube also had its most-trafficked week ever, with Saturday alone (July 31) registering a record nearly half-million video views.

X Games

Comment viewing options