We were warned by meteorologists for days that the Santa Ana winds were coming to wreak havoc in Southern California. So, while tragic, the raging fires came as no surprise.
SoCal NASCAR fans received no advance warning, however, that we would not be watching NASCAR because KABC-TV would preempt the race for breaking news coverage. Hard to be mad at KABC for that ... but ...
It's not hard to be mad at ESPN and NASCAR for being content to screw the fans instead of having a contingency plan in place. The second-largest television market is being denied access to the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway. And ESPN couldn't care less ... their official response: contact the station.
Why would ESPN not preempt Pro-Bowling on ESPN? or "The Blitz" talk show on ESPN2? Re-programming certainly seems justified for a preempted Chase race! Or, here's an idea, how about putting some programming on ESPNA or ESPN2A which are currently showing NOTHING!
Once again, I have to thank ESPN ... thanks for nothing.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Wow that is bad about the fires but would they do that to football games and football fans too?
Looks like it is becoming a bit of a challenge to keep up with racing in CA.
Started to play my recording of the race figuring I would catch up to live. Just fire coverage, tried all the other ESPN channels just in case, but nothing.
I guess I should not be surprised that we West coast fans are getting screwed by ABC/ESPN. FOX is currently showing the NFL game. I guess they figure that the ten other channels covering the fire are adequate for those who want to watch non-stop coverage of Malibu burning. I have sent my email complaint to ESPN. I hope everyone else affected by this will do the same. Not that they care!
I Think it sucks that abc can't showa split screen of the race if they won't show the race every channel in Ca. has the fire on it.
Why is it ESPN or ABC's fault that a local affiliate is choosing to sensationalize...er...cover a big news story?
Pretty sure that's their option. And it's not ESPN's job to pre-empt national programming for the benefit of one TV market.
You got an MRN radio affiliate out there? Hell, their coverage is better anyway.
who cares is CA is burning up....we've been doing this for years...I'm really pissed that ABC would rather show the fire scene and just toss NASCAR out the window
ABC really sucks by showing the fire coverage and not the NASCAR race...who cares if Malibu is burning upl...it happens every year
Football got pre-empted on the L.A. CBS affiliate too, I'm told. So, this isn't just a NASCAR thing.
As someone who works in T.V. news for a day job, the ABC, CBS, and NBC stations in L.A. have to do this sort of pre-emption. L.A. folk better be prepared to not get Sunday night football either.
Remind me to erase ch.7 from my remote and remove all their sponsors as well
**Football got pre-empted on the L.A. CBS affiliate too, I'm told. So, this isn't just a NASCAR thing.**
When I checked, KCBS was showing the Chiefs/Raiders game.
#10 - KCBS can have a contingency plan, then. They moved all the news coverage to 9. Good for them. I wonder if the NBC station will lose Sunday Night Football.
Fox was showing football as well.
I'm guessing it's because both CBS and Fox stations own other stations (9 and 13) where they can put fire coverage and show football on their main stations.
Bad planning by ESPN, but it's hard to predict a blaze like that breaking out.
Actually, these fires are very predictable. We see them every year when the Santa Ana winds blow. I knew when I went to bed last night that I would wake up to news of fires this morning. So far today we have seen 7 different fires in Southern California today. The only questions are how many will we see and how much devastation will they cause.
So I get home to watch my TiVoed race and BAM! 4 hours of fire. Who cares. Malibu burns every freakin year out here! Oh those poor millionares and their million dollar insured houses...
Typical of KABC to do this - that place, like most local tv, is run by retards who blow their wad on anything they can call "breaking news" and get face time for their douche bag local anchors.
Of course the Raider game didn't get pre-empted - could you imagine the riot in East L.A. if Carlos and his homies didn't their beloved RAIDERZ!!!! It'd be like 1992 all over again...
At least be glad you didn't see the prerace and Allen Bestwick probably costing NASCAR yet another fan. He went to interview Jeff Gordon and said something to the effect (not verbatim) of "Jeff Gordon, kind enough to sign an autograph, can you put your arm down so we can see Jeff and not you." Yeah. On live, national (except for California) TV.
Just wanted to mention that ABC 3 in Santa Barbara did NOT prempt the race or the pre-race coverage. They had a news ticker at the bottom of the screen for any "Breaking News". I'd like to applaude them for that.
Probly cuz someone finally realized watching grass burn is more excit8ing than watching cars race around a track. Why don't you put down that moonshine and grab a fire hose and run on out to help...
Jamie, it's likely because a Santa Barbara station can't afford the financial loss of losing advertising from NASCAR. Stations owned by the networks, like all the major L.A. stations are, can afford to make that decision.
The ESPN on ABC coverage is the poorest coverage I have ever seen.