[VIDEO] NBCSports Goes Behind the Scenes with Mecum Prime

If you are a Corvette enthusiast or collector then you obviously are familiar with Dana Mecum and his auction business. Over the years Mecum has grown his company exponentially and one of the key parts of that success is why most Corvette enthusiasts are familiar with the “King of Corvettes.” That key ingredient has been his relentless drive to offer the largest and best selection of Corvettes of any collector car auction in the world. For example, at his Kissimmee event in January 232 Corvettes of the almost 400 Corvettes offered found new homes.

Those enthusiasts who have never bid or consigned a car to auction may not realize that rarely does a sale come together as smoothly or as flawlessly as it may appear to spectators or TV viewers. And that is one reason a new TV show, Mecum Prime, premiered recently. According to Dana Mecum the objective of the show is to show the auction experience in its entirety.

The NBCSports network premiered the new show which is based on the hugely popular Mecum collector car auctions. The show, Mecum Prime, which aired Thursday evening is a welcome addition to the typical auction coverage which usually is confined to comments on the condition and features of a consigned automobile as it crosses the auction block. Though “live coverage” is extremely important to collectors, especially those bidding by phone, for the first time an auction program goes beyond this typical coverage and gives viewers a behind the scenes look at the auction including the interaction between Dana and Frank Mecum, their bidder assistants and the consignors and bidders.

The show gives examples of the effort that goes into bringing buyers and sellers together and there is no better example of this than watching Dana Mecum in action during an auction. The energetic president of the company has earned the nickname of “the dealmaker” and from watching his son Frank at work, it appears that a “new dealmaker” is in the works. While TV coverage of an auction in progress in many ways is similar to a baseball game play by play broadcast, Mecum Prime compares to a post game summary that reviews the highlights, important plays and strategies along with comments and interviews from the star players.

The first Mecum Prime, which aired this past Thursday, February 20, on NBC Sports concentrated solely on Mecum’s Kissimmee event, the largest automobile auction in the world.

Though no schedule has yet been published it appears Mecum Prime will air following each of Mecum’s auctions. NBC and its networks will also broadcast portions of each of Mecum’s collector car auction schedule, now thirteen automobile auctions a year.

This is Mecum’s first year being broadcast by NBC Sports. Mecum severed years of affiliation with Velocity (formerly HDTV) TV at the end of 2013 and made the move to the much larger NBC and affiliated networks such as NBC Sports and Esquire beginning with the Kissimmee auction. Among the enticements to make the move was the lure of more viewers due to the broader NBC audiences.

Though over forty hours of live coverage were broadcast on one of the NBC® networks during the important Kissimmee event, most Mecum fans were disappointed with the TV coverage on the biggest and most important day of the auction, Saturday, which only showed two hours of live coverage compared to six hours of live coverage on the less important days. How that happened is still a mystery but Dana Mecum is known for his dedicated effort to keep collectors thoroughly in the Mecum auction “loop” and apparently Mecum Prime is a step in that direction.

Though no schedule has yet been published it appears Mecum Prime will air following each of Mecum’s auctions and if you are a Corvette enthusiast, collector or just enjoy the action of automobile auctions make sure you tune in to NBCSports’ Mecum Prime. And if you can’t be in Houston for the next Mecum collector car auction which takes place Thursday, April 10th and runs through Saturday, April 12th, keep an eye out for the TV coverage and the next Mecum Prime.

Here’s a preview of what you can expect on Mecum Prime:

Rick Tavel writes about automobiles with an emphasis on Corvettes and the hobby in general. You can see his website at revenantrt.blogspot.com

Source:
Mecum Auctions

Related:
The Top 11 Corvettes of the January 2014 Auctions
Top Corvettes Go Unsold at Mecum Kissimmee
1967 Corvette L88 Sells for World Record $3.5 Million at Barrett-Jackson – Updated w/ Video