News Around the World
Nathan Outteridge and Artemis did not have a happy time of it in Portsmouth at the AC World Series. But two races prove nothing and a couple of errors sends you well below ‘the fold’… as happened to the Swedish squad. The gusty conditions and short chop also exposed the weaknesses (above) of the J-foil configuration – as discussed on page 36. Lucky that Bermuda is about flat water
technology as well as sailing skill, defending in home waters, the majesty of size… and a tradition of keeping challengers and defenders separate until the first meeting of the Match itself. Lip service is paid to tradition and heritage, while eroding both in favour of creating a product that will make as much money as possible through television, pay-per-view internet coverage and income from the much-vaunted stadium experience. Fans who turned up to watch the action at Portsmouth were charged a whopping $US55 a head to sit on a headland and watch the distant action. Having paid for entry, patrons then complained of being bullied by over-officious security staff and fleeced exorbitant amounts for a cup of tea from merchants no doubt desperately trying to recoup the high costs of trading in this ‘privileged environ- ment’. So much for the stadium experience.
Despite a rash of announcements of TV deals leading up to the event, couch-potato viewing from further afar was patchy at best. Television New Zealand, for example, baulked at the reportedly ‘astronomical’ broadcast costs and so local viewers here lost out – unless they were prepared to fork out $US7.99 for a smartphone app. All this for two races on the Saturday and nothing on Sunday, when the wind blew too hard. A quick and unscientific phone around of a few diehard Cup fans revealed none had made the pay-to-view investment.
Having worked so determinedly to turn the America’s Cup into a commercial enterprise, organisers now have to compete in the marketplace on a value for money proposition. On that basis, com- parisons have inevitably been made with the Extreme Sailing Series, which is now in its ninth year. Compared with six teams competing in three America’s Cup World Series events for 2015, Extreme Sail- ing provides a year-long programme of nine international teams staging high-octane crash-and-burn stadium racing in eight venues on three continents. And shoreside fans get to watch for free. Recently, for example, some 45,000 spectators lined the banks of the River Elbe in Hamburg to witness nine Extreme 40 cats racing so close to the shore that fans had to duck drenching spray off the rudders of the boats. Despite winds from 8kt to 32kt and intermittent
16 SEAHORSE
thunderstorms, the four days of action saw 26 races completed. Live streaming on the internet, complete with SAP graphics and commentary, is also free. Live TV coverage internationally as well as year-round coverage in sports and sailing magazines, news broad- casts and an eight-part TV series saw the Extreme Series record a 25.3 per cent increase in global coverage in 2014. Viewing figures were set to go higher still in 2015 as BT Sport confirmed a rights deal to host the eight-part dedicated TV series, adding to a 50-strong list of international broadcasters that includes CNBC (Europe, Asia), Fox Sports (globally), Sky New Zealand and Universal Sports (USA).
The catch-cry of the America’s Cup marketers is that it offers the world’s best sailors and the world’s fastest boats. But, with tight restrictions imposed on sailing their AC45Fs, Cup teams frequently hone their skills competing in the Extreme Series, so the star quality crosses over quite freely. There is similar crossover in some of the commercial branding. Land Rover, for example, is the marquee sponsor of Extreme Sailing and also a major partner with Ben Ainslie Racing’s Cup programme.
That said, while the Extreme 40 cats may have been worthy of the name when first launched, they have now become clunky and old hat. However, news that the Extreme Series is to update its fleet with either GC32 foiling cats of a new foiler design of its own further blurs the distinction – particularly as the Cup yachts are now downsized and primarily one-design.
In the hard world of commercial marketing the gimlet-eyed accoun- tants care very little and generally know less about the subtleties of history and heritage. They play a numbers game where cost and return are their catechism.
Name recognition is part of that equation, however, and, thanks in no small part to memories of the compelling contest in San Fran- cisco, the America’s Cup brand continues to exert a strong attraction. Attesting to that are recent announcements that BMW and Louis Vuitton – which celebrated an incredible 30-year attachment to the event in San Francisco – have returned to the table with major sponsorship deals. An enthusiastic review by Matt Boyer of
INGRID ABERY
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