Mecum drops the Velocity Channel and heads to NBC

[XDCX]

Over the years I've enjoyed watching the Mecum Auctions on the Velocity Channel and I figured something was up when the commercials for the most recent auction indicated it would be their "Farewell Broadcast."

Last Saturday, Frank Mecum, Mecum's CEO, indicated that NBC was going to broadcast the 2014 auction schedule. It wasn't clear who NBC would be using for their on-air talent.

NBC will air the auctions on one of their cable channels - not the main network channel. It appears NBC is doing the same thing that ESPN has done over the years and they're spawning-off sister channels.

It will be interesting to see how Mecum's new relationship with NBC works out. I thought the Mecum/Velocity relationship was a good fit - time will tell if this was a good decision for Frank Mecum and his auction company.

[Lakeshow]

Just can't leave well enough alone can they?

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by Lakeshow

Just can't leave well enough alone can they?

It will be interesting to see if changing networks was a good decision for Mecum.

Mecum is pitching the change that they'll now have access to 100 Million homes because of NBC's reach but I wonder whether people are going to forget about the Mecum events because they no longer get reminders by watching Velocity. For me, I watch a fair amount of programming on Velocity and that's what reminded me to set my Tivo to record the next Mecum Auction.

While Mecum will be on NBC, they'll often be on NBC's "Esquire Channel" - hell, I didn't even know there was an "Esquire Channel" and it not a channel that I'll probably be watching if Mecum hopes to remind me of future auctions.

[chryslersrt8]

Surprised it won't be on nbc sports channel since it currently uses a lot of "filler shows".

[Lakeshow]

I agree with X, while I do get the Mecum email updates it is usually while watching Velocity that I remember to DVR the actual program.

[XDCX]

I think in some ways Barrett-Jackson faces the same dilemma with the elimination of the Speed Channel.

I completely forgot that Barrett-Jackson was holding an auction in Reno this past summer and I never recorded it. I know Fox Sports picked-up the Speed Channel and renamed it but I can't remember watching anything on that channel.

[XDCX]

I thought of this thread since Mecum is holding an auction in Houston this week.

I went out of my way to find the two different networks Mecum was using to broadcast yesterday's auction. The first network, the Esquire Channel, broadcast the auction in low definition and there was a horizontal bar across the top and bottom of the TV. Maybe there was a high definition broadcast that Esquire offered but if so I couldn't find it.

The second portion of the auction was carried by NBC Sports and it was in high definition and was very similar to the broadcast that used to be offered by Velocity - even the announce crew is the same.

I thought it was interesting that there were some portions of the auction that were not going to be broadcast at all - the coverage was limited to watching via the Mecum.com website.

I'd love to know what the ratings are for this season of the Mecum auctions - I'm guessing that it was a huge mistake for Mecum to dump the Velocity Channel.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by XDCX

Maybe there was a high definition broadcast that Esquire offered but if so I couldn't find it.

OK, there is a high definition version of Esquire that's offered by my cable provider. I'll make sure to record on that channel in the future.

That said, there's also a low definition broadcast on the NBC Sports Network so I'll have to be careful not to record that channel by mistake.

I've only watched a small portion of the Houston auction but from what I have seen the prices seemed pretty reasonable.

[XDCX]

I thought of this thread the other day when I saw a commercial on Velocity advertising that they'd be broadcasting the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction this year.

In the past Barrett-Jackson was always on the SPEED Channel and it appeared to be a great relationship until the SPEED Channel was dissolved when it was sold to FOX.

Mecum dumped the Velocity Network and headed to greener pastures at NBC and their cable channels.

A year or so later and Mecum auctions are almost impossible to find on NBC's obscure cable channels that often televise the auction with a same day or next day delay. Barrett-Jackson, by contrast, now gets great LIVE coverage on the network that Mecum ditched. I still like the Mecum auctions and their broadcast team but I think Dana Mecum made a poor decision when he dumped Velocity for NBC.

Also, props to Velocity for making the best out of a bad situation.