NASCAR.... On the Rise?

NASCAR.... On the Rise?

He looks ready for the challenge...

In recent news, NASCAR plans to overhaul their media operations. This move is being made to strengthen their leadership structure and to refocus business strategies. The man in charge of the overhaul is Steve Herbst, the current overseer of NASCAR's broadcasting and global media rights.

What is Being Done?

NASCAR is disbanding the NASCAR Media Group and they are reshaping it into a compact NASCAR productions. The NASCAR Media Group was only around the sport for four years. The NASCAR Media Group strives on innovation. In fact one of the principals that the NASCAR Media Group relied on was "Innovation at every turn." The innovation that NASCAR Media Group had previously yearned for will now be directed through the sanctioning body. The sanctioning body has decided to have a more involved role in what is produced and where it will be shown. The major example of the sanctioning body getting more involved will be seen at the beginning of 2013 when the sanctioning body will take operating control of the official Internet site. Under NASCAR's new look, NASCAR productions will give up the outside programming that they previously had. Previously, NASCAR productions produced programming with college sports. On the restructuring of NASCAR, NASCAR's CEO, Brian France, said, “Over the last two years, NASCAR has taken a number of steps and made significant investments to drive long-term growth and build value for industry stakeholders.” 

The Good.... And the Bad

NASCAR has involved itself in some initiatives that have and will promote their sport and acquire more fans. One initiative that will kick off this weekend at the Pocono 400 is the new relationship between NASCAR and Twitter. The relationship was built to enhance the fan experience. This new product that will be used is the first in any sport. 'Twitter.com/#NASCAR' will provide fans with tweets and pictures from insiders of NASCAR including drivers, pit crew members, families, media, NASCAR representatives, and fans themselves. The goal is to bring what goes on behind-the-scenes to life for the fans.

Now time for some bad....

At the conclusion of the FedEx 400 race in Dover, Delaware, Fox ended its NASCAR Sprint Cup racing coverage. All of the races on Fox averaged a 4.8 network rating and averaged 7.9 million viewers. These numbers were down from last year. Last year the networking rating was 4% higher at a 5.0 and they had 8.6 million viewers. Although the numbers were down this year they are still great in comparison to other sports. For example the NBA playoffs on ABC only average 5.6 million viewers per telecast.

Final Thought

NASCAR may be climbing in the sports world, that you have to respect. The ability of NASCAR to eliminate outside productions and to better streamline their sport will make reaching out to new markets more accessible. Although NASCAR witnessed a menial dip in viewership, all the positives outweigh the negatives. The best thing for NASCAR to do was forming a relationship with Twitter. Social media is new and it is great for attracting a younger audience. Speaking of Twitter......

@dmrosen7

Drew Rosen

Information from nascarmediagroup.com, motorsport.com, cbssports.com, jsonline.com