Clear Channel squeezing out competitors?

Anyone else uneasy over this?
http://venus.13x.com/roadracingworld/index.html

This is the same media company that owns CCS. Anyone care to venture as to when/if they will move from locking up access to stadiums to locking up access to Race Tracks?

The parent company (Clear Channel Communications) is already the subject of some legal proceedings with respect to anti-trust allegations in the broadcast and concert/music promotion industry.

This can't be a good omen with respect to what could happen at club level (CCS vs. WERA). Hope WERA is watching all this. CCS has been getting a number of other sanctioning orgs to become "affiliates" (such as OMRRA and LRRS) lately - said affiliates happening to control events at specific tracks (OMRRA controls PIR). I'd hope I wouldn't have to join another organization just to race at particular tracks (as evidently I'd have to do should I take up Supercross)

Just concerned. Anyone else noticed or is it just paranoia on my part?

Charlie Mc #90

 

Don't talk about CCS. They ARE watching us. Can forward the e-mail to prove it.

 

Forward it to me. I'm curious.

Charlie Mc #90

 

Check your e-mail

 

Damn conspiracy theorists..

 

Believe me? I did tell her I was just joking. Wasn't sure she knew how much we joked on the BBS.

 

CCS is doing that in response to the AMA playing games with switching promoters. Just keeping their competitive edge and I think this sound like the Edmondson deal on the AMA's part.

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Keith Snyder
Ducati 748

 

I think the AMA just made it's second biggest mistake. We'll see.

 

clear channel is doing that because SX is probably really really profitable. road racing is another story. I don't think CCS have the budget to lock up race tracks. as a matter of fact I know they dont have the budget. clear channel apparently has not put CCS/roadracing as a priority enough to spend big money on. But as the membership grow at a healthy rate, watch for them to pay more attention to it. still not a spectator sports though, unlike the SX

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motoclubs.com

 

They were in business with AMA sanction for 27 years building up Supercross and the AMA guys then tell them to go pound sand, and they're supposed to do....what? Give up the business? Quit? Go home?

This isn't squeezing a competitor. This is protecting a business they built up.

As for "locking up" racetracks, these aren't racetracks. They're stadiums they temporarily convert into a Supercross track or Monster truck track, and then put back to the way they were after the 67,000 spectators leave. Nobody is gonna be able to lock up a purpose-built racetrack which needs rental days and weekends to make money or even survive.

[This message has been edited by John Ulrich (edited 11-22-2001).]

 

Just out of curiosity, isn't (wasn't) it true that to run at Mid-Ohio SCC (??) you had to have an AMA license?

...and I do agree with Charlie, I don't like these exclusivity deals with venues. It seems to me that the only reason to have them is to eliminate competition.(Kind of like Ticketbastards)


[This message has been edited by Due North (edited 11-22-2001).]

 

C'mon folks...don't you think this will spur on a competition of sorts? AMA may get their act together as a result. ClearChannel may diversify and include roadracing. It's only just begun...

On a totally unrelated subject, do you all think these one-rider superbike teams in AMA may leave more room in the class for up and comers? Heck, the exposure alone would be worth it, no?

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond and deal with it.

 

Hey print it. I'm curious too

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Michael Roberson #66 www.robeysracing.com

[This message has been edited by GSXRGUY (edited 11-22-2001).]

 

Check your e-mail.
I'm not gonna print it because there's really nothing to it. It's just funny that one of the head administrators(?) from CCS e-mails me direct within 5 minutes of posting(jokingly) on the '02 CCS schedule thread whether or not they're still in business. Big Brother(or Sister) IS watching

 

what is her name, as a ccs staff member, i know most of the admin folks. ill tell you if "she" is legit. by the way, whats up with your username, whats your beef with ccs? "chip" would have been less obvious.

 

Stacey Clark is a (semi?) regular lurker on the BBS. (I think she counts as "legit", Matt!) Hey Stacey, you have a good Thanksgiving?

Hmm....that's odd. The CCS/FUSA site seems to be down right now. Interesting.

 

No beef with CCS. It's just all my friends started racing WERA. Don't like going to the track by myself.

 

I thought WERA started or was part of the initial FUSA series and as such the old FUSA races were much closer IMHO to direct competition to the AMA series. So much so that AMA copied it with their FX series.

Dirt track well AMA has managed to push out every single viable contender to H-D in their flat track series. So someone that produced a more level field for other manufacturers to enter would make sense.

Hmm FUSA and WERA both have good purses without resorting to demanding fees from the track to hold the races. Sponsorship of the series by having full grids and lots of happy customers is best way to bring in bigger purses, again IMHO. You make something that people want to support. Besides prior to the Edmondson debacle AMA pro racing made money from roadracing and used it to subsidize other forms of racing. "Zimmerman, Maxwell, and Janson all testified that the Joint Venture was overcharged on insurance to subsidize the
AMA's other, less-profitable racing disciplines, including motocross, Supercross, and dirt track." quoted from Roadracing World March 1999

 

All I want to know is who has the fatter purses and who will be airing races on TV regularly. Promotion is everything, and money is always good.