Eco-Challenge – Managing Without It?

Rob / 18.05.2003

All the recent rumour about what will happen next with Eco-Challenge has been fuelled by the odd ‘soft’ news leak and a lack of any definitive statement. Now, Mark Burnett, the man who made the race, made his fortune, makes the headlines, and makes the decisions, has spoken to the Sports Illustrated Adventure website. Where the race is headed is not that much clearer though!

The feature, by Kelli Anderson, raises the question of what would happen to adventure racing if Burnett dropped the race to concentrate on other, more lucrative T.V. projects, of which he has many. And that is made very clear. (In fact much of the piece is biographical and looks at where Burnett will go next.)

Before getting to the first quotes from the man himself though they set the adventure racing context. The shows on Fiji are airing in the USA now and the cable network is waiting to see viewing figures before looking at a new contract. Meanwhile Eco-Challenge are said to be preparing for a race in early 2004 and Primal Quest have clinched a deal with CBS, something Eco-Challenge has never yet pulled off.
Then …. “Obviously, if I wanted to, because of my TV success, I could push a button and get it done. I\'m thinking of what is the right thing to do. I\'m just taking a pause.\"

Eco is credited in the article with almost single handedly fuelling the sports phenomenal growth over the last 10 years, coming in at a point where it “ …. consisted primarily of two events, the Raid and New Zealand\'s Southern Traverse, and it was practiced in obscurity by a scattering of hyper-fit masochists, few of them Americans.” It is a very US oriented perspective which says the idea that “Burnett might ditch Eco-Challenge is casting a shadow over the sport.”

Even if this is the case in the USA, it’s not as true elsewhere. Would the loss of Eco-Challenge really affect races and racers in New Zealand, the UK or South Africa, let alone the non-English speaking world which is even further removed from the influence of US cable TV networks? Some might even argue losing Eco-Challenge would be a good thing as AR could concentrate on growing as a sport not a ratings winner.