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[elmono311]

NASCAR fans sent a loud message to WKYC (Channel 3) -- one that still will be echoing in October. The station pre-empted NBC's coverage of the NASCAR Nextel Cup race in Watkins Glen on Sunday to air an Indians game. Racing fans promptly filled up the voice mail and the e-mail baskets at the TV station. As a result, the station is in discussions about swapping another Indians game for the one it planned to air Oct. 1 [Kansas], which again would conflict with a NASCAR telecast on NBC. The station did not intend to anger racing fans, said Terry Moir, director of programming for the NBC affiliate in Cleveland. When the station made a deal in March to televise 20 Indians games, NBC's racing schedule still was tentative, Moir said. As game day drew closer, the station began to explore airing the race on a delayed basis, either later Sunday afternoon or overnight. Channel 3 and other stations have managed to do that with some programming when it conflicts with local sports telecasts. But, Moir said, NBC's broadcast rights do not include allowing delayed telecasts of NASCAR races. (The Speed channel has a deal for race replays, with a three-hour telecast of Watkins Glen set for 2:30pm/et Thursday.) Channel 3 could have tried to swap games with SportsTime Ohio, which televises most Indians games. But Moir said the station already had swapped games with STO in July and did not want to do it again so soon. Channel 3 accordingly stuck with the Indians game, and the station had a pretty good one for baseball fans. ``It was never our intention to upset people,'' Moir said. So with another Indians/NASCAR conflict looming in October, she said: ``We're going to see if maybe we can exchange a game with SportsTime.'


I have to say... WTF?! The director of programming needs to be hauled out into the street and shot. I live in Toledo and if we get a Fox Sports station that airs Cleveland Indians games all the time, then the people in Cleveland can turn on Fox Sports. Man, NASCAR is going to come down hard... very hard... on this affiliate. And they didn't intend to anger race fans?! What in the world did they think they were going to do? Dance around in the streets singing and throwing flowers in the air?! No, they want their race. They want their race live.

[Vengeance]

It doesn't sound like they were too bright.

[Supermercado]

They probably went to the same broadcast journalism program as the chucklehead in Columbia that cut off 24.

[disnut8]

It's total bullshit about not airing the race on a delayed basis.  That's why we stayed up until freaking early in the morning after Hurricane Francis to watch the damn race over Labor Day.  Total crap for an excuse.  The Orlando NBC affiliate aired the entire race starting at midnight AFTER they had covered the storm for the day.

[elmono311]

I bet every other major sport has the same rules in their broadcast rights. I really only see ESPN Classic re-airing sporting events.

[disnut8]

Not true.  Down here, the Braves games are on TBS live and then rebroadcast on Turner South after the game is finished.  Granted, it is the Braves and it's all Turner but you can easily start watching the game at midnight.  And sometimes NASCAR rebroadcasts later.  Olympic coverage is sometimes tape delayed because of time differences.

[elmono311]

They still show the game live first, though, don't they? That just means Turner has rebroadcast rights but still has to air the game live. And the major sports in this country aren't played in different countries like the Olympics are.