From NY Post
NEW YORK — NBC Sports is shifting into overdrive to produce a live two-hour, high-octane telecast of . . . the International Auto Show.
Cars. On display. In Detroit. Surrounded by hordes of people.
“We’re using our NASCAR team, who are used to creating a live, fast-paced feel to events,” says NBC Sports programming chief Jon Miller. “Imagine it as a two-hour pit stop that celebrates the automotive industry.”
It’s actually not such a far-fetched idea. NBC stumbled into an unexpected ratings hit two years ago when it began broadcasting the “The National Dog Show” on Thanksgiving.
And if there’s one thing Americans love as much, if not more, than their pets, it’s cars.
Each year, nearly a million people visit the car expo, which takes over 700,000 square feet of exhibit space at Detroit’s Cobo convention center. An equally jam-packed version of the show visits New York every spring.
The telecast, which airs next Sunday just before the NFC (Fox) and AFC (CBS) championship games that afternoon and evening will zip around from interviews with representatives of the different automakers and pre-taped test drive segments to live banter among NASCAR broadcasters Bill Weber, Allen Bestwick and Benny Parsons.
Reporters Dave Burns and Marty Snyder are also big part of the show.
NBC plans to examine all 70 new car models unveiled this year at the show, Miller says, and profile close to 45 of them in depth.
“The people at Nissan will showcase some of the new models that are coming out, like the 350ZX,” says Miller. “Then we’ll throw the show over to Marty, who will be over at Subaru, and for about 45 seconds or a minute they’ll show him top-line information about their new cars.
“The telecast might then zoom back to Weber at the Lexus booth talking about the new GS430 or the RX400 and then shoot over to Burns at Infinity.
“They’re going to be running around just like they do in the pits at the NASCAR races,” Miller says.
NASCAR champs like Kurt Busch will test drive hot, new cars.
“You’re going to see test drives of BMWs and the Porsche Carrera and the new Mustang,” Miller says. “Jeff Gordon is doing the test drive of the new Corvette.”
Another taped segment will be about the Toyota hybrid gas/electric car, which the automaker claims can be driven 625 miles on one tank of gas. NBC’s Snyder will drive it from Charlotte, N.C. to Detroit, “and put it to the test,” says Miller.
Like the network’s NASCAR coverage, the television screen will feature constantly updating graphics, such as a preview menu detailing which makes and models the show will be profiling in the next few minutes.
Across the top of the screen, the telecast will display the running order of new cars based on price ranges, with small pictures of the autos.
“There’s a lot of data,” he says. “We’ve got more stuff than we can fit into two hours.”
But Miller cautions that the show will avoid becoming a commercial for new cars.
“It’s not an infomercial believe me that’s not what it’s intended to be,” he says. “But it is intended to celebrate the automotive industry, and we’re not excluding anybody.”
Copyright 2005 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
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