Its a combination of problems in my view. The current choppy style of editing in WRC, is more a case of the "current editing fashion" in advertising. The younger folks are so used to that style of editing that they lose interest if each clip lasts longer than 3 seconds. I've noticed this trend ever since they began using "quick cut" editing in TV commercials a while back to force people to concentrate on the commercial.
I agree I appreciate the engineering development side of racing as much as the drivers or driving techniques. Since the move towards "super star" drivers the focus has shifted from the hardware to the driver. I think a large fraction of the audience could care less what the guys are driving, they just want their team to win.
I am not a fan of the current trend toward "more competitive racing". They are choaking out simple inovations and pushing up the cost by forcing a very narrow range of improvements that come at a high R&D cost.
I'd like to see more (to use a classic American expression) "run what ya brung" type racing, where the rules are very basic, and inovation is encouraged. That is one of the things that makes American Bracket Racing at the drag strip so popular. The equipment rules are very simple and open, they create the competition by using a timing handicap system where vastly different cars can compete in very close races. In the final few rounds, they are frequently being decided by thousandths of a second, and litterally inches at the finish line.
Maybe someone needs to create a racing series that mandates low cost inovative design, like some form or WI, and a 80 octane fuel
Larry