In the wake of the announcement of the FIA WEC’s new for 2014 ‘Second Screen’ App we had an opportunity during and after the Press Conference to ask questions of both Pierre Fillon (the App is an ACO initiative) and Gerard Neveu.
Q&As (all answers Gerard Neveu unless otherwise noted)
Will a full archive of race video be available on the website, or via the app?
Gerard Neveu: “Not the full race coverage no, the app will give access, with a week’s delay, to 52 minute highlights packages of every race.”
What about multiple devices – is the price a one-shot device or multiple devices?
“It will be for up to five devices on the same platform.”
What about wifi capability at circuits, this will require a very good level of bandwidth to support large numbers of users at a track?
Pierre Fillon: “Whilst we are working on improving wi fi capability at the track the app is really for people who are not at the track.”
Gerard Neveu: “It is a very good question, it is a big concern for us. There is a big variation between the tracks, some are good with coverage, others, for example in Brazil, there is a worse situation. It is, for sure the start of a new adventure and the technology is ready for that. But it is impossible to think that for example at Le Mans you could provide the wifi capacity for 200,000 people.”
“The ACO is working very hard to build in more facilities and more capacity but the reality is that it will never be enough. Try for example to send a picture from your mobile phone at half time at the Stade de France and find out if you can!”
“We really believe that this app can help the people who stay in the paddock, for example, because there is always more capacity there than in the some of the fan areas.”
“However if you are somewhere else other than at the event you will have access as if you were there – that is exactly the target of the app.”
“We also know that the specifics of endurance racing, the regulations, the different classes, and the actual length of the races makes it impossible to fully understand if you just watch the TV. To find a broadcaster that will agree to a proposal to broadcast live a full race of 6 hours is unusual.”
“The App is therefore a compliment to the full TV coverage, to give fans the depth of information that they need to get the best out of the event.”
You have said that the aim of the app is to get more visibility for the Series, more access for the fans. Last year fans could watch the video streaming free, could get access to live timing free. Do you think it is a good idea in terms of raising visibility to suddenly take away the free access and now selling it to the fans?
“It is a good question but I would just ask for your patience. I don’t think you will be asking the same question on Sunday because you can’t really compare what you had last year to what we are offering this year. It is like the difference between a golf cart and a sports car.”
“We had a lot of requests for more detail, more depth and that is what this provides. More news, more highlights, more access to the cameras. Last year you had a simple option to watch live streaming of the race. Here you have a lot of options as to how you choose to do that.”
“The problem is that when you do that it is not permitted to offer a service free of charges you have to make a choice, a strategic choice.”
“The first presentation to Apple saw them say they were very impressed, that this was the most beautiful motorsports app that they had seen, but that they were surprised that we were offering it for such a low cost. They have a good experience of the market and said they were 100% sure that we could push.”
“We told them though that this was not our business strategy, that we wanted to increase visibility, that we did not want to make any profit on the revenue from the download. We have another plan for that.”
“We wanted to keep the price accessible for a large majority of the fans. If you take a full package including Le Mans we believe that this is a very reasonable price at €30. In France, at a movie theatre, that price will get myself and my two kids in for one movie. Our service gives you the whole season for that, including the premium event at Le Mans. How much does it cost for Moto GP, Formula One or WTCC for the whole season – Have a look and benchmark and you will see!”
Is there a commentary available on the app?
“Yes to commentary – It is a voice you know very well, John Hindhaugh will be the voice for the whole races. He has a very good knowledge and as we explained earlier there is complexity to the formula and it as very important to the ACO that we have someone to explain correctly the endurance.”
“I am not saying that’s not the case on TV coverage but here you can be sure that you have a good commentary with someone who knows very well Endurance, the WEC and Le Mans.”
If you log in online, can you use the same account on other devices?
“No, there are three markets, one online, Android and IOS, there is no cut across.”
“It is complex. I asked for an opportunity to buy 200 apps because we wished to offer the opportunity to you the media, and to others, to get the app to experience it. That is not possible because Apple say that it is only the owner of the iPad that can buy it across available platforms? ”
How big a team is working on this app?
“We have three teams currently working on the project – a 6 person development team which will, of course, begin to wind down.”
“There is a 4 person team from WEC helping the development team to bring them all of the knowledge they need of the WEC and endurance racing.”
“Then we have a 6 person team dealing with content including a cameraman, reporters etc.”
“Then we have the opportunity to work too with the existing TV crew, with the Director here who looks after our TV output and ensures that the variety and quality of the pictures is at the maximum possible.”
How many languages will be available?
“Text will start in both French and English to start, commentary will be English from the beginning.”
“From there we will see where people download the app from and that will help us to determine where the highest demand for other language services exists.”
“Early signs are that there are already a lot of downloads but the data we need to decide on developments will be coming along very soon. If we discover, for example that 10,000 people from Japan have downloaded then it would be a good situation for us to decide whether or not to do something in Japanese.”
The Sportscar Audience is one that has become used to interactivity. This is an impressive but complicated App – what reassurance can you give about a feedback mechanism for the inevitable comments and teething troubles?
“Social media, there is a feedback button on the app itself – There is a special team dedicated to responding to those enquiries, in particular in the early days.”
“We are very aware that the fans will have comments and opinions. We know that many of those points will be that they would prefer this was free, but with respect that is not the question at this point.”
“We want as many people as possible to download the app fro free, and for many of them to use the premium service too because we believe it will add enormously to their ability to enjoy the race.”
“We want to get some feedback too from you, the media, and from the competitors too as to how you find the app is working.”
Will there be a Paypal payment option (some have complained that there are financial penalties from some markets without this).
“Not yet it will depend on the level of demand for the paid service.”
The key here is surely to determine what this is designed to do, and what it isn’t designed to do?
“Absolutely – there is no doubt that this is principally being promoted as an opportunity for those not at the track to develop more understanding of what is going on on track. This is an absolutely essential part of adding the additional level of information that we need to complement the existing TV coverage, to get people more depth of access and understanding.”
What does success look like?
I will be sad if we don’t have some dozens of thousands in the next couple of weeks having downloaded the app and by the end of the year I would like to see around 200,000 – If we can manage that it marks a very significant uplift on what we were getting through the website last season. It’s about building an audience, not just building the knowledge of our current audience but finding a new one.”
The WEC Twitter feed announced in February that live streaming would be free? (answer requested via FIA WEC PR)
“That was an error, which we are obviously very sorry about, and was issued without knowledge of the restrictions which exist over offering free versions of content that sits within a paid for app.”
