KPRC‘s decision to go with local news instead of the Monaco Grand Prix Sunday morning angered viewers enough to prompt general manager Jerry Martin to post an apology on the Houston NBC affiliate’s website.
“I wanted to let you know that we heard from many Formula One fans this weekend regarding our decision to air our local news in lieu of the Monaco Grand Prix. We will reevaluate the decision for next year’s race,” said Martin. “Our rationale for not airing the race was based on KPRC being a “news comes first” local television station, which includes holiday weekends.”
Martin explained the station had data showing viewers in the Houston market aren’t known for watching motor sports. “I know this rationale does little to assuage your emotions regarding this matter since you are fans of F1, however, I do understand what it means to be a fan of racing,” added Martin before promising to reassess how the station handles the broadcast next year. This year’s race was the most watched Formula One race on US TV in six years.
Martin told TVSpy the station didn’t keep track of how many complaints it received. But it did point to the apology from its facebook page saying, “We received several emails, calls, tweets, and Facebook posts from Formula One fans regarding our decision to air our local news in lieu of the Monaco Grand Prix. We mentioned before and we’ll mention it again, your feedback is VERY important to us as we strive to bring you the best in programming and news. KPRC General Manager has heard you and his response is here”
You can read Martin’s entire statement by clicking here.