Yes, I found the yachting extremely boring. Yes, I found the money thrown about by some of the individuals involved to be obscene. Yes I found the ease with which allegiances were bought to be offensive....
...but I actually think the potential income stream that could have been generated by a NZ win almost justifies the Government expenditure. But for some poor decision making and a sail failure NZ be looking at a huge windfall in years to come.
Sure, I'd rather watch something more exciting but I can't think of another event that would generate anywhere near the income of hosting an America's Cup regatta. The Government would have to tip in $34m to get less than a weeks worth of MotoGP/A1GP etc action with little TV coverage outside the actual event.
The America's Cup goes on for frikkin' months and the worlds media seek to pad out coverage by featuring more about the host country than just 3km laps of the track during a 45min bike or car race.
$34m sounds like a lot of dosh to you and me but in the world of advertising it's not a lot of money. Coke/Pepsi/General Motors etc spent that much on just a few minutes exposure during the Superbowl.
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Originally Posted by Holy Roller
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