Its all reruns anyway.

 

You guys sure complain a lot. Since we don't have many shows that feature ATV's, I'll take what I can get.

 

Like nearly every TV show, ATV Television is produced in a group of thirteen shows. After the last of this group has aired, the Outdoor Channel re-runs this group from the first show to the last. It is during the original showings and the re-runs that a new group of thirteen shows are being produced. Keep in mind that while the Outdoor Channel only airs one show per week, that particular show airs on three different days during that week (Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday).

Kodiakbob is absolutely right when he says that a company advertising on the show has nothing to do with how a machine or accessory places in the rankings. The Kawasaki Prairie got the top nod as best ATV of the year the past two year and they weren't an advertiser at the time. On the other hand, it wouldn't exactly be fair to the manufacturer(s) OR the viewers to exclude a company because they advertise on the show.

Moo,
WheelCow

 

I watch the show as much as I can and Doug Myers is all wet. He likes the old Honda Technology, swingarm and drum brakes. Get into the present Doug. IRS and single disc brakes is here to stay, better ride! He is right about one thing, no front locker.

 

I work in advertising and have been approached by Mr. Meyer. I can positively say that his reviews dramatically favor advertisers. You are naive to think that any show that relies on a core group of advertisers (like an ATV show) wouldn't skew their opinions towards those that pay the bills. That's the facts, and for all those that disagree, wake up and realize what kind of world we live in.

 

Jimmy, you may be right. But when his show first began, and before Yamaha was a sponsor of ATV Television, Doug tested and highly endorsed the 2000 Yamaha Kodiak, and a year later named the Raptor as best sport quad.
He is a rather opinionated person, especially his favoritism of Honda's, and front differential lockers, and his obvious dislikes of certain Polaris features. But, I think you have to admit that he has, to a point, influenced (in a positive way) some in the ATV industry.
While I laugh and sometimes shake my head when listening to Doug's rants, I do find both of his shows informative and worth watching.

 

I really liked the sport edition better when they showed more of the races, product comparisons and stuff. Now it seems like it it heading for the weekend sport people who like to trick out their quads for weekend play - I sure wish that a sport station will start running some national quad races - You see a lot of skate boarding, surfing, , and supermotor, but nothing on quads.

 

So you're telling us that there is no medium (television, print, radio, etc) which is giving the public their straight thoughts? Everytime a TV show or magazine pins the blue ribbon on an ATV they did so because the ATV manufacturer advertises with them?

Well....you couldn't be more wrong.

There is a short food chain in any such medium. It goes like this:

1. The Audience
2. The Advertisers

If it were any other way, why then do the the manufacturers, who ARE the advertisers, keep sending product to be evaluated even after they received a less than flattering review. In the case of ATV Television, why did Kawasaki drop their advertising on the show after ATV Televison gave the Prairie 650 & 700 the blue ribbon two years in a row? Honda has been with the show for many years (maybe from the start) yet to my knowledge has never received the overall blue ribbon. I recall that the Honda Rincon 650 received VERY poor marks when it was reviewed. Yet, every year (or whenever a new machine comes out) Honda and all the manufacturers promptly ship the new machines off to ATV TV to be reviewed...again. The audience is ultimate the source of funds. Treat them like idiots or let them catch you being disingenuous and they'll be gone....leaving little point for advertising. This is especially true in our sport.

It looks to me like many magazines and TV shows are getting away from handing out blue ribbons. Too many people throw tantrums and make all sorts of wacky accusations when the machine they own doesn't win. I remember when I bought my first ATV. It was a Yamaha Grizzly 600. A couple weeks later I came across ATV Television while surfing around the dial. They promptly took a huge dump on the machine for which I'd just paid several thousand dollars. It really didn't bother me at that moment. What did hurt was realizing over the next few weeks...that they we right on the money. I sold it a month or so later and bought a different one...after doing a lot of research.

Moo,
WheelCow