It’s a day we’ve been waiting for a long time: March 14 is the day Unlimited MotoGP will be released on Amazon Prime. The series is expected to be available in 170 different territories around the world.
As midnight passed in Europe, social networks lit up with responses to the series. And unfortunately, those responses are far from positive. Not because of the content of the documentary series, but because the editorial decisions appear to be made by Amazon Prime.
In the UK and US, the only version available is the dub version, in which the actors voice people speaking in their own language. In Australia, India and some Southeast Asian countries, MotoGP Unlimited is not available at all.
The issues reported appear to be the result of decisions made by Amazon, and not Dorna or The MEDIAPRO Studio, the show’s producers. But the process by which these decisions are made is very confusing.
MotoGP Limited
In most territories, especially in most European countries, the series is offered with a wide selection. In my own case (based in the Netherlands and with an Amazon account located here), I have the original audio selection – where each participant speaks their own language, with English subtitles English – or some dub in different languages: English with audio description (where all speakers are voiced in English and actions are described, for the visually impaired), Western Spanish, Italian, French and German. In addition, there are many options for subtitles.
However, for anyone living in the UK or US, those options won’t appear, according to reports from people in those countries. There, the only option is the English dub version and subtitle selection.
This drew a wave of criticism. Fans in the UK and US repeatedly complained about the dub quality and labeled the film ‘unwatchable’. Their hopes for the series were dashed.
The good news, at least for UK viewers, this is a “technical issue” and should be resolved soon. On Track Off Road’s Adam Wheeler contacted Amazon UK and was told the original version will also be available.
How much disaster does this launch have for MotoGP’s hopes of finding new audiences? First, it’s worth noting that social media outrage cannot be considered representative of the entire audience.
The commenter pattern is self-selected, and as a rule, people tend to comment more often if they have a negative opinion of a development. People who are satisfied with a product tend not to use Twitter to promote the truth.
Hardcore
Second, the people who started complaining in the early hours of Monday morning were die-hard fans who stayed up all night waiting to see the movie.
As a rule, these are committed MotoGP fans who understand well the way the team’s riders and staff speak and their native language.
Hear them voiced by British actors (variously described as “a 50-year-old hedge fund manager” and “an accountant” by some Twitter smarts) and with no option to choose the original language that naturally arouses their cryptic words.
How non-fans will experience the series is another question. They can hardly commit to hearing riders speak in their own language like die-hard MotoGP fans. The way they see the movie is more likely to be determined by the overall appeal of the movie.
It’s too early for non-fans who’ve actually seen the series for us to know how they’ll receive the series.
Unlike MotoGP fans, they didn’t sit by their TVs, phones or tablets waiting for the final series to appear on the Amazon Prime video platform.
Seeking publicity
However, this is a bigger problem. Even though you’ve watched an episode, the series won’t show up on the Amazon app home page – it only appears after the Documentary category is selected.
If the purpose of the series is to make MotoGP known to a wider audience and attract new viewers, then getting the attention of the series is the biggest priority.
Also in the same category is someone’s decision not to launch at Amazon Unlimited MotoGP in Australia, India, Indonesia and other territories at the moment. A press release issued by Dorna today says that the series is “available on Prime Video in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as North America”.
Given that Jack Miller is one of the characters the series focuses on, and he’s a huge star in Australia, it seems odd that the series isn’t available in his home country.
Similarly, given the importance of the Southeast Asian market and the potential for growth in the Indian subcontinent, not offering the series in Southeast Asia and India would seem like a big mistake. Let alone the fact that the series is not yet available in Indonesia, where the country will host its first Grand Prix in 25 years.
Whether or not the backlash from fans on social media is exaggerated, the launch has yet to generate the hype Dorna hopes for the series.
With Valentino Rossi retired, the series has faced a drop in viewership (although thankfully, the progress Dorna has made in making the series one of the most exciting racing series leading and most interesting on the planet has limited the damage caused by the passing of the series ‘biggest media star).
Being negated by negative comments will discourage non-fans, or even fans, from watching it.
A solid start
That is a shame. I’ve only watched one episode so far, and what I’ve seen is enough to make me want to watch more.
The first episode is devoted to the first three races of the 2021 season, two races in Qatar and the first round in Portimão, requiring viewers to have a basic knowledge of the MotoGP format, in terms of practice, qualifying and race.
As a result, the first half of the episode doesn’t offer much that no one with a MotoGP.com video is willing to offer. There is race footage and the kind of behind-the-scenes that we sometimes get on the MotoGP.com website, and especially in the “Unseen” series of videos.
But as the episode goes on, a little more context is revealed. There’s a focus on the human side, with Jack Miller’s struggles, and stories of trauma when Marc Marquez returns and Jorge Martin’s big bump at Portimão collide.
We get a more honest assessment of Marquez’s injury, and the work he has to do to recover. We heard the fear of Ángel, Jorge Martin’s father. We get our first glimpse into the complexity of Maverick Viñales’ character.
The first hints of who will appear when the heroes and villains of the series begin to appear.
What doesn’t have is TV series being produced: by 2021, there’s no need, there are enough TV series. Personality and attitudes are revealed, sometimes unintentionally.
Razlan Razali’s confrontation when he was snubbed by Valentino Rossi for his autograph in 2005 was an insight into the team’s situation.
And Paolo Ciabatti’s reaction when Jack Miller crashed into the Portimão – barely saying “Jack” – hinted at how high expectations are inside the factory Ducati garage and how low the tolerance for failure is.
We know from the trailer and from those who attended the premieres in Paris and Madrid that the drama surrounding Maverick Viñales leaving Yamaha and Petronas’ departure from the SIC team featured a lot.
I hope that the next episodes will provide more depth and a behind-the-scenes look at the sport.
The chosen format – chronologically of the season, rather than focusing on a specific theme for each episode, like F1’s Drive to Survive – imposes a specific narrative structure on the series, but when used Used skillfully, it can help shed light on the character and personality within the sport.
Nothing risky
In addition, I also listened to the dub version with audio description.
Although I don’t know if the voiceovers in this version are the same as in the version without the audio description (I assume they, simply from a cost perspective, wouldn’t be worth them being dubbed). twice), the voiceovers are no worse than any other dubbed film in other languages.
Dubbing always takes something away, although it can be a good alternative for people who can’t read the subtitles for whatever reason.
The dub version is at least more linguistically correct than the English subtitles. The translation of “pilotos” in Spanish/Italian as “driver” and not “driver” is a particular pet of mine, although that is in no small part due to my aversion. with car.
Overall, the English subtitles, at least for the English subtitled version, are rather poor, mainly due to one’s unfamiliarity with the sport or knowledge of the terminology and jargon used. .
Will MotoGP recover? Of course it will. The sport is in good health, and as the opening round of the 2022 MotoGP season has shown, is still rife with surprises. The impact of the faulty launch of Unlimited MotoGP the series will soon be forgotten, especially if the series is released more widely and the option to watch the original audio version is restored everywhere.
Once the wave of disappointment from die-hard fans wears off, we can begin to better understand how successful the series has been.
In any case, MotoGP has little to lose and much to gain. The worst case scenario is Unlimited MotoGP canceled after the second series (currently being filmed) was released.
In that case, MotoGP continues as before, a hugely popular but somewhat niche sport featuring some of the best racers and racers on the planet. Anything more than that is a bonus.
