Craig Jackson is interviewed on-air during the 2001 Scottsdale Auction.
Two decades ago, two forces collided that changed the collector car world forever.
When Craig Jackson took over the leadership of the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company following the untimely death of his brother Brian in 1995, he had a vision: to broadcast the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction on national television.
Craig Jackson and Steve Davis take a turn in front of the cameras during a recent auction.
That same year, Bob Scanlon ‒ now Executive Vice President and General Manager of Velocity and Automotive Content for Discovery Communications ‒ joined two other former ESPN executives to create and launch Speedvision. One of his top priorities was finding programming.
“I came across a chance videotape that, at the time, was dated,” Bob remembers. “Even so, it was intriguing. It told the story of two men who created an auction company that sold classic cars. The men, Tom Barrett and Russ Jackson, were obviously true showmen. Flashy jackets and ties, selling big cars from the golden age of Hollywood, like Duesenbergs, Rolls-Royces and Bentleys.”
The result was that Craig joined forces with Bob Scanlon and Roger Werner (now director of TEN: The Enthusiast Network), and they struck a deal. In 1996, as Barrett-Jackson was celebrating its 25th anniversary, Speedvision launched its first coverage of the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, taping part of the event.
“We pulled phenomenal ratings,” Craig recalls. “It was groundbreaking, and changed the world of car collecting forever. It brought new blood into the hobby – we put this on television and it just kicked the doors down.”
Cristy Lee from “All Girls Garage” is among the familiar faces providing behind-the-scenes coverage for Velocity and Discovery during the Barrett-Jackson auctions.
Response to that taped coverage was so positive, the decision was made to present six hours of live coverage of the Scottsdale auction in 1997 – an unprecedented move in the collector car industry. That live telecast was the first for Speedvision. “It was a learning experience for everyone,” says Bob, “but the undeniable takeaway was that Craig Jackson and his team had created something unique in the world of automotive events.”
Two decades later, things have come full circle. Speedvision morphed into SPEED and then Fox Sports 1. Live coverage of the Barrett-Jackson auctions continued to grow and thrive through the broadcasts on National Geographic and the Fox networks. It was unprecedented in 2014 when Barrett-Jackson became the first and only collector car auction to be aired live on regular network television (Fox broadcast two hours of live coverage), no cable subscription needed. In 2015, Barrett-Jackson sealed a deal with Velocity and Discovery Networks, opening up the auctions to an even larger global audience and broadcasting 100 hours of the auctions live. Craig welcomed the opportunity to be back on an all-automotive network with Velocity and to join forces once again with Bob Scanlon.
“I’m proud to have been part of creating one of the most successful and longest-running live television series ever,” says Bob. “I’m equally proud to be part of the greatest production team in television that brings the thrilling Barrett-Jackson auctions live to Velocity and Discovery Channel viewers at home. We’ve created something uniquely special with ‘Barrett-Jackson Live.’”
Mike Brewer from “Wheeler Dealers” during a “Barrett-Jackson Live” broadcast.
Velocity is continually working to expand “Barrett-Jackson Live” globally, and has also made great strides digitally: The Scottsdale auction will air live on the VelocityGO app for mobile devices and VelocityChannelGO.com. A unique aspect of the “Barrett-Jackson Live” coverage is the online gaming extension known as “Auction Insider,” where fans can participate in a fantasy bidding contest for the opportunity to win prizes.
“It’s great to work with Bob Scanlon again – we make a good team,” says Craig. “We’re all car guys; we love this. I really want to thank Bob, Roger Werner and all the visionaries who pioneered this incredible television coverage – and the millions of fans for watching. We’ve reached new milestones every year, including being the first to go live bilingually on Discovery en Español and internationally on Discovery Turbo UK and Velocity Canada. From the day of that groundbreaking broadcast 20 years ago, we have continued to push the limits of collector car TV programming.”
For the TV broadcast schedule of the 2017 Scottsdale Auction, click HERE.