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ABC should be penalized for NASCAR stunt

I was very unhappy with ABC Sports on Sunday. With 34 laps remaining in the Checker Auto Parts 500, ABC cut away from the race only to show “America’s Funniest Home Videos” as originally scheduled. You just don’t do that ABC. Not during a sporting event and especially not when the outcome is still in doubt (which it always is in NASCAR until the checkered flag waves).

As it happens I was watching the race about 50 minutes behind real-time via my DVR. By the time the notification of the channel switch scrolled across my screen the race was already over in real time. Not only did I miss the ending, I could have missed the moment when the championship was clinched.

Would ABC switch channels for the fourth quarter of the SuperBowl? Of course not. They shouldn’t do it with Auto Racing either. This is your one warning Disney/ESPN/ABC Sports (and NASCAR to some extent for even allowing their broadcaster to do this). Pull this crap again and I’ll get my racing fix from somewhere else.

6 thoughts on “ABC should be penalized for NASCAR stunt”

  1. Have to disagree. Nothing more frustrating than going to watch a show and find that the whole schedule is off all night because some game or race ran over. For ever week since the new season of THE UNIT started, it has not started on time. As a result, my DVR records when the show should be on, but clips the end because the show starts as late as 45 minutes. I have been forced to extend the recording time on THE UNIT by 1 hour just in case. Seems Sunday is an issue for CBS to stay on schedule.

  2. Pingback: NASCAR not happy with ABC either | The Disney Blog

  3. I wasn’t watching, but if I was — I’d have been pissed off. I’m not the world’s biggest NASCAR fan, but I definitely think ABC botched it big-time. If they didn’t want the possibility of races intruding into their precious primetime shows, then they shouldn’t have signed on to show the races.

  4. I would have commented sooner, but I was at Disneyland for four days. (insert your personal jealousy here)

    I have to agree with the first comment. As as ardent hater of all things sports, there is nothing in the universe more annoying than to tune into my favorite show or start a recording only to find that it’s been trampled on by some sporting event.

    It’s called “Scheduled Programming” for a reason. Sports events should be scheduled so they have enough time to finish or find a channel where no one cares what comes next.

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