NBC Sports is racing toward its first NASCAR bow under the 2013 agreement that brought the sport to its networks. With the deal handing the company rights to the final 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races (including the Chase), final 19 NASCAR XFINITY Series events and more, Daytona will once again serve as the centerpiece of the world of racing on 4th of July weekend as fans tune in to see NBC’s spin on the sport. NBC already announced talent that includes Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett, race announcer Rick Allen, and pre- and post-race host Krista Voda.
Racing action over the holiday includes the Subway Firecracker 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series Race on July 4 at 7p on NBCSN, followed the next day by the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at 7p on NBC. Cynopsis Sports spoke with both Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, and NBC Sports Executive Producer Sam Flood to discuss the partnership and what fans can expect.
Flood on what NASCAR brings to NBC: NBC Sports has established a proud legacy of storytelling and NASCAR presents so many stories for us with 43 drivers and their teams competing against one another in what is truly an all-star game every week. Through our experiences in covering NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, and even outside of motorsports with Tour de France, The America’s Cup, Horseracing’s Triple Crown and Olympic Downhill and Track and Field events– we have learned how to capture and present the drama of racing. As the home of NASCAR’s championship run for the next 10 years, we’re looking forward to building on the momentum and passion that last year’s elimination-style playoff format introduced and explain to the fans at home why the stakes and tempers involved are now greater than ever.
On producing NASCAR: Covering NASCAR is like covering the Super Bowl every week. One lap around Daytona International Speedway measures 2.5 miles, which requires tons of cable and an enormous complement of cameras, microphones and related equipment– there’s nothing like it in all of sports. In football, the players don’t carry cameras on them like the drivers do in NASCAR. All of this allows us to bring viewers inside of these cars as they are running three-wide at 200 MPH into a turn and brushing against one another. Combine all of that with unparalleled access to the athletes, crew chiefs and personalities that drive this sport and there are remarkable opportunities for us from a production standpoint.
On challenges: During NBC’s previous partnership with NASCAR, which ran from 2001-2006, the sport was enjoying all-time highs in terms of ratings and viewership. Our biggest challenge as we begin this partnership is to recapture those fans that have strayed and get them re-engaged in the sport. In addition, a lot has changed in the media space since 2006, including the emergence of Twitter and other social platforms, so we’ll be looking to engage fans in new ways and incorporate social media elements into our coverage.
On NBC’s personal touch: We’ve always paid a great deal of care and effort in surrounding our broadcasts with the very best on-air talent in the business, and this NBC Sports NASCAR team is no exception. Our 12-person crew was hand-picked and will be bringing fresh viewpoints from behind the wheel and on top of the pit box with Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte. We’ve also got multi-generational perspectives and Hall of Fame credentials with Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett, and our team of reporters will have everything covered from pit road, to breaking news, to the history and culture surrounding these marvelous towns and tracks that we’ll be visiting week-to-week throughout the season and the playoffs.
Phelps on what NBC brings to NASCAR: It’s hard to pinpoint just one so I’ll give you three things we’re excited about with NBC. First, it’s how NBC makes big events bigger. Whether it’s The Kentucky Derby, The Stanley Cup, Sunday Night Football or the EPL, NBC has a way of turning a big event into must see TV. The far-reaching Comcast and NBC portfolio is leveraged against its biggest properties and we’re excited that NASCAR will be one of those “symphony” properties. Secondly, one of NBC’s greatest assets is their expertise and legacy in storytelling. Driver star power is a key initiative for NASCAR and we are certain that NBC will bring their Olympic style storytelling to NASCAR, making our sport more appealing to a wider audience. Lastly, NBC is one of the best networks in the world at marketing and advertising and we’re excited about NASCAR being a beneficiary of that work. How our sport is presented and marketed is important because we’re a global brand and we’re confident NBC will always do what is in our best interest while also pushing to grow and expand our brand.
On innovation: NASCAR is one of the most technological sports in the world and we believe that, in partnership with our broadcast partners, we can continue to innovate and evolve the product and how it is consumed both in the stands and at home. NBC, as you’ve seen from their broadcast of other sports, is continually innovating and we’re very excited about that leadership quality. NASCAR is quite possibly the greatest live product in the world and in partnership with FOX and NBC we believe we can become the greatest TV product as well. I look forward to seeing what new and fresh ideas come from NBC over the course of the next decade.
On lessons learned from the Chase: Last year’s Chase was a roaring success. Increased excitement, improved racing, higher ratings, better attendance and maybe most importantly, overwhelmingly positive fan feedback about this new elimination format. With that said we still have some work to do on educating the casual fan about this new format, the elimination component and the winner-take-all aspect that has made the final race in Miami a must attend event. We believe broad understanding and recognition of what our playoffs have become is step one so look for our marketing and communications efforts to reflect that accordingly in year two.
We also learned that the excitement and success of the Chase can carry over into a new year and a new season. After finishing up in ratings during the 10-week Chase stretch last year, NASCAR got off to another hot start in 2015. While viewership for the year is relatively unchanged, viewership on FOX is up +9% this year. On FS1, our 2015 events rank as the 4th (Martinsville), 5th (Dover), and 8th (Pocono) most-viewed events since the launch of the network in August 2013. That momentum to start the season was in part fueled by a fantastic Chase last year and we believe the run up to this year’s playoffs will be tremendously popular events across TV, digital and social platforms.
On sponsors: Sponsors are benefitting from the move to NBC in several ways. One, being part of the NBC Sports family means NASCAR, and the sponsors in the sport, are surrounded by other top-tier sports properties like the NFL, EPL, Olympics and NHL. NBC, currently in more than 116 million homes, will broadcast a large portion of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup including the Championship race from Homestead Miami Speedway. Our partners are also benefitting from this move because the sport is being integrated across the entire Comcast and NBC portfolio on platforms such as TODAY, Jimmy Fallon, E! and a host of powerful regional sports networks. Lastly, our partners are very excited that NASCAR has two broadcast partners committed to growing the sport. FOX and NBC have made major commitments for the next decade and have each made NASCAR a core tenet of their strategy. That type of positioning is good for the sanctioning body but it’s also great news for all of our stakeholders including our valued partners and sponsors.
