Just a few years ago, race coverage throughout the season was spotty at best. You had to really know where to look on various youtube channels and livestreams to find IM race coverage. Now it's as simple as following Ironman Now on facebook and they do the rest.
This year they'll broadcast 17 races, free of charge to anyone who has a facebook account. If you are a competing organization (Super League, ITU) it's got to be a blow to the viewing numbers. I hate to say this but I subscribed to ITU pay per view (season) for several years but stopped once Ironman started the free facebook broadcasts. People only have a certain amount of time to watch triathlon and regardless of what people think, it's still a niche sport.
The facebook notifications are a game changer. I've said it before, and I'll repeat it was a brilliant move to use notifications for the livestreams as it's a no-brainer to tune in now. If I'm awake and not busy and I get a notification that a race is on-I'll watch it. If I'm busy at the time, I may go back and watch it.
But they have to be careful not to over notify people! I subscribe to notifications from: Ironman Now, Ironman, Ironman 70.3, and Ironman World Championship facebook pages because I don't want to miss anything important. Well... if I get notifications from several of those pages in the same day it clogs my feed. I want to know when the channel is broadcasting, but I don't need a notification with highlights, results, podiums presentation, and finish line speeches, from several different facebook pages... and... I think you get the point. I may need to stop notifications from a few of those pages if my feed is overwhelmed with alerts.
The commentators are fine IMO. They all have the credentials to do the broadcasts as well as anyone. I know lots of people will argue with me on this but it's like that in every sport/news broadcast/TV show from the beginning of television history.
SportsStats has done an amazing job getting a lot of splits from the course and getting that info out on the IM mobile website and app. A ton of info can be derived just from the race splits! The IM announcers keep up on those splits as that's the core of racing. Whether I have the commentator volume on or off, if I have the visuals on the leaders and know the race splits, I can pretty much figure out for myself what's going on in the race. Granted, the commentators often provide inside information from the marshalls/media/on-course personnel. But I can always figure out the gist of the race from the livestream and latest splits if I want to turn down the volume.
-------------------
Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram
This year they'll broadcast 17 races, free of charge to anyone who has a facebook account. If you are a competing organization (Super League, ITU) it's got to be a blow to the viewing numbers. I hate to say this but I subscribed to ITU pay per view (season) for several years but stopped once Ironman started the free facebook broadcasts. People only have a certain amount of time to watch triathlon and regardless of what people think, it's still a niche sport.
The facebook notifications are a game changer. I've said it before, and I'll repeat it was a brilliant move to use notifications for the livestreams as it's a no-brainer to tune in now. If I'm awake and not busy and I get a notification that a race is on-I'll watch it. If I'm busy at the time, I may go back and watch it.
But they have to be careful not to over notify people! I subscribe to notifications from: Ironman Now, Ironman, Ironman 70.3, and Ironman World Championship facebook pages because I don't want to miss anything important. Well... if I get notifications from several of those pages in the same day it clogs my feed. I want to know when the channel is broadcasting, but I don't need a notification with highlights, results, podiums presentation, and finish line speeches, from several different facebook pages... and... I think you get the point. I may need to stop notifications from a few of those pages if my feed is overwhelmed with alerts.
The commentators are fine IMO. They all have the credentials to do the broadcasts as well as anyone. I know lots of people will argue with me on this but it's like that in every sport/news broadcast/TV show from the beginning of television history.
SportsStats has done an amazing job getting a lot of splits from the course and getting that info out on the IM mobile website and app. A ton of info can be derived just from the race splits! The IM announcers keep up on those splits as that's the core of racing. Whether I have the commentator volume on or off, if I have the visuals on the leaders and know the race splits, I can pretty much figure out for myself what's going on in the race. Granted, the commentators often provide inside information from the marshalls/media/on-course personnel. But I can always figure out the gist of the race from the livestream and latest splits if I want to turn down the volume.
-------------------
Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram