Is NASCAR for sale?

[Simple Fan]

I just don't get how you can be a fan and want less racing. All the current tracks need to stay. Not really any other tracks that are good enough for NASCAR in my opinion and I'd hate to see NASCAR running at these podunk short tracks.

 

[Charlie Spencer]

The Current contract by Fox and NBC was made with the expectation that their cable channels would become profitable. I think the boardroom has made a grave error for the simple reason they don't understand race fans AND the future of cable will not be profitable in itself.
The future fans will do 30 second tune-ins on their phone.
I doubt this contract will last another 10 yrs and if it should, I doubt Nascar will be profitable afterwords.

Do we know that the networks' sports channels aren't more profitable than they were before the contracts?

 

[AtomicPunk55]

I just don't get how you can be a fan and want less racing. All the current tracks need to stay. Not really any other tracks that are good enough for NASCAR in my opinion and I'd hate to see NASCAR running at these podunk short tracks.

Im a fan and 36 races is to much for me so I dont watch all of them. My opinion is that Nascar races with cars on tracks that don't come off as entertaining on TV for people and after a while the whole thing gets boring for them and they dont watch as much.

 

[Simple Fan]

Im a fan and 36 races is to much for me so I dont watch all of them. My opinion is that Nascar races with cars on tracks that don't come off as entertaining on TV for people and after a while the whole thing gets boring for them and they dont watch as much.

People are to picky. Just enjoy the damn race that's on TV and stop hoping for a classic every week. 36 races is fine and its part of the challenge.

 

[Formerjackman]

People are to picky. Just enjoy the damn race that's on TV and stop hoping for a classic every week. 36 races is fine and its part of the challenge.

Catering ONLY to the hard core fan is a sure way to kill this thing. In order to be truly successful, you have to have broad appeal, and most people are NOT interested in a sports season that goes on for 10 months, especially when some of it is not all that enticing. I think the low ratings and attendance for the "playoffs" is a good indication that by the time we get to it, fatigue has already set in. How many people even here, start off the season all gung ho and excited and by September you don't hear a peep from them? College football is one of the biggest things going right now and they only play 11-13 games. An NFL Super Bowl run is 20 max. No other major racing series even runs 2/3rds as many races as Cup does. I watch every lap of every race and have for decades, and I'll just tell you that by mid-October, I am more than ready to look at something else for awhile. What you DON'T want is the mentality that says , "So what if I miss this week's race, they'll always be another one next week". I'm not sure how many of you ever talk to people that USED to be fans and are not now, but the length of the season is one of the major complaints I hear. That and constant rule and format changes are probably the two biggest gripes I get.

 

[AtomicPunk55]

People are to picky. Just enjoy the damn race that's on TV and stop hoping for a classic every week. 36 races is fine and its part of the challenge.

We used to have 3 channels in black and white depending on the weather and had an antenna we would go outside to move around to get a better picture. Some guy inside would be yelling when the pic got better or worse hahaha. We were pretty good at accepting what was on but westerns were our favourite. My point is we were mello with what we got back then but people are pretty demanding these days and they want to be entertained when they watch something. This is just my 2 cents and what I think.

 

[AtomicPunk55]

Catering ONLY to the hard core fan is a sure way to kill this thing. In order to be truly successful, you have to have broad appeal, and most people are NOT interested in a sports season that goes on for 10 months, especially when some of it is not all that enticing. I think the low ratings and attendance for the "playoffs" is a good indication that by the time we get to it, fatigue has already set in. How many people even here, start off the season all gung ho and excited and by September you don't hear a peep from them? College football is one of the biggest things going right now and they only play 11-13 games. An NFL Super Bowl run is 20 max. No other major racing series even runs 2/3rds as many races as Cup does. I watch every lap of every race and have for decades, and I'll just tell you that by mid-October, I am more than ready to look at something else for awhile. What you DON'T want is the mentality that says , "So what if I miss this week's race, they'll always be another one next week". I'm not sure how many of you ever talk to people that USED to be fans and are not now, but the length of the season is one of the major complaints I hear. That and constant rule and format changes are probably the two biggest gripes I get.

My 2 cents is the races they showed last night were for hard core fans and that casual fans would be bored by them. I am hoping the 500 is better but if it is going to be a couple of lines riding around with a car getting turned cuz the air got taken off it every 30 laps or so it will be another hard core only race. I have to believe that even some hard core fans are losing interest in stuff like last night.

 

[ToyYoda]

Catering ONLY to the hard core fan is a sure way to kill this thing. In order to be truly successful, you have to have broad appeal, and most people are NOT interested in a sports season that goes on for 10 months, especially when some of it is not all that enticing. I think the low ratings and attendance for the "playoffs" is a good indication that by the time we get to it, fatigue has already set in. How many people even here, start off the season all gung ho and excited and by September you don't hear a peep from them? College football is one of the biggest things going right now and they only play 11-13 games. An NFL Super Bowl run is 20 max. No other major racing series even runs 2/3rds as many races as Cup does. I watch every lap of every race and have for decades, and I'll just tell you that by mid-October, I am more than ready to look at something else for awhile. What you DON'T want is the mentality that says , "So what if I miss this week's race, they'll always be another one next week". I'm not sure how many of you ever talk to people that USED to be fans and are not now, but the length of the season is one of the major complaints I hear. That and constant rule and format changes are probably the two biggest gripes I get.

The only reason we're at 36 races in the first place is because of overexpansion during the 90's/early 00's boom. 2001 was the first year for the 36 race schedule, they were only running 29 races a decade earlier. Now that the boom has long since passed, I wouldn't mind seeing the schedule contracted to 28-30 races. There are a few tracks with two dates that could stand to shed one. I mean, is anybody clamoring to see these guys run at Kansas twice a year?

 

[Charlie Spencer]

The only reason we're at 36 races in the first place is because of overexpansion during the 90's/early 00's boom. 2001 was the first year for the 36 race schedule, they were only running 29 races a decade earlier. Now that the boom has long since passed, I wouldn't mind seeing the schedule contracted to 28-30 races. There are a few tracks with two dates that could stand to shed one. I mean, is anybody clamoring to see these guys run at Kansas twice a year?

As I recall, those 29-30 races covered the same overall number of weeks as the current schedule. They started the second or third weekend in Feb. and ended the weekend before Thanksgiving. They just had more open weekends than we have now. If the two primary owners of tracks agreed to drop some of their races, you'd still need NASCAR to agree to starting the season later and / or ending it earlier

It's tough to make changes when the Immovable Object and the Irresistible Force are working together.

 

[Team Penske]

Do we know that the networks' sports channels aren't more profitable than they were before the contracts?

I don't have any hard evidence showing Yes or NO. I do however see the next generation tuning out from any cable stations. As a matter of fact, none of the kids like my granddaughters
will tune in to anything not on their phones.
BTW. It has been said "if you can't get your kids to leave the nest, "Turn off the internet".

 

[Team Penske]

My 2 cents is the races they showed last night were for hard core fans and that casual fans would be bored by them. I am hoping the 500 is better but if it is going to be a couple of lines riding around with a car getting turned cuz the air got taken off it every 30 laps or so it will be another hard core only race. I have to believe that even some hard core fans are losing interest in stuff like last night.

YUP just don't see the need to wad up all them cars just so Nascar can brag about the speed.
Years ago we had 650 HP cars raised off the track and the sport was growing every year.
Now we have 800 HP, cars sitting right on the track and the fans are leaving because it is boring. If we wanted this type of racing, IROC would have been the hit of the century.

 

[gnomesayin]

Do we know that the networks' sports channels aren't more profitable than they were before the contracts?

I don't know regarding pure profitability, but the NASCAR races have undoubtedly allowed FS1 to reach peak audience numbers that they otherwise don't outside of MLB playoffs, and I believe that NBCSN's largest audiences ever are for NASCAR. The NASCAR content has been used to build out those networks. Whether the networks and rights fees are sustainable as the cable television model gets disrupted is a different matter.

 

[AtomicPunk55]

I don't know regarding pure profitability, but the NASCAR races have undoubtedly allowed FS1 to reach peak audience numbers that they otherwise don't outside of MLB playoffs, and I believe that NBCSN's largest audiences ever are for NASCAR. The NASCAR content has been used to build out those networks. Whether the networks and rights fees are sustainable as the cable television model gets disrupted is a different matter.

Do you know if NBCS and FX1 were able to raise the amounts they charge to providers? I seem to remember reading that the hope was they could raise rates plus increase subscribers and that would cover the amounts paid by the network. I dont think they were planning on getting as much as ESPN but maybe about half that amount.

 

[gnomesayin]

Do you know if NBCS and FX1 were able to raise the amounts they charge to providers? I seem to remember reading that the hope was they could raise rates plus increase subscribers and that would cover the amounts paid by the network. I dont think they were planning on getting as much as ESPN but maybe about half that amount.

Not substantially, and you're right to raise that point. That is the missing or still unrealized part of the plan.

ESPN will rake an estimated $7.57 billion this year from those fees, which is just a massive amount of money. And interestingly enough, it’s not FS1 that’s second. It’s the NFL Network, with $1.18 billion. FS1 is close behind with $1.16 billion, while ESPN2 is fourth with $940 million (making the argument that FS1’s real competition is ESPN2more compelling). From there, it’s a huge drop-off to Golf Channel ($340 million), NBCSN ($310 million), MLB Network ($200 million), ESPNU ($200 million), NBA TV ($180 million) and FS2 ($180 million).

http://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-757-billion-subscriber-fees-fs1-116-billion.html

 

[gnomesayin]

Or expressed on a per subscriber basis:

 

[AtomicPunk55]

Not substantially, and you're right to raise that point. That is the missing or still unrealized part of the plan.



http://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-757-billion-subscriber-fees-fs1-116-billion.html

That was a real good read and it is kind of like there is ESPN and then everyone else. I was a bit surprised to see FS1 be so low versus ESPN but it was a big surprise to me to see NBCS be so low is compared to FS1.

 

[AtomicPunk55]

Or expressed on a per subscriber basis:

Seeing 68 cents a month for NBCS on that graph is hard to believe.

 

[ToyYoda]

You really think Fox or CBS, NBC will put up even half of what the current costs are? I just don't see it happening, it's too much of risk, the return on it is not promising.

Well, no....that was kind of my point with the Monster example. They're paying about 40% of what Sprint was to sponsor the Cup Series.

 

[Kiante]

Well, no....that was kind of my point with the Monster example. They're paying about 40% of what Sprint was to sponsor the Cup Series.

After the bubble burst, we are all seeing where NASCAR is now. The growth period has ended, but the thing is that motorsports has always been a "niche" thing and its not going to reach the masses as NASCAR wanted. I think NASCAR should be happy in their position because the bottom isn't going to fall out anytime soon, ratings are usually consistent, and the possibility of growth is there. Just it won't be as exponential as it was in the 90s' into the mid 00s'. NASCAR sets the standard for North American motorsports in terms of title sponsor worth, its just really realistic of Monster's offer sheet.

I mean heck Mello Yellow (Coca-Cola) is shelling out $5 million a year for NHRA, that's peanuts IMHO. Stating the obvious, but NASCAR has things pointing in the right direction though, just the Gen 7 car cannot come soon enough to improve the racing on the ham-fisted intermediate schedule.

 

[aunty dive]

There’s little chance this thread will become a case study for second year MBA students.

 

[AtomicPunk55]

After the bubble burst, we are all seeing where NASCAR is now. The growth period has ended, but the thing is that motorsports has always been a "niche" thing and its not going to reach the masses as NASCAR wanted. I think NASCAR should be happy in their position because the bottom isn't going to fall out anytime soon, ratings are usually consistent, and the possibility of growth is there. Just it won't be as exponential as it was in the 90s' into the mid 00s'. NASCAR sets the standard for North American motorsports in terms of title sponsor worth, its just really realistic of Monster's offer sheet.

I mean heck Mello Yellow (Coca-Cola) is shelling out $5 million a year for NHRA, that's peanuts IMHO. Stating the obvious, but NASCAR has things pointing in the right direction though, just the Gen 7 car cannot come soon enough to improve the racing on the ham-fisted intermediate schedule.

The first group feeling the pain is the teams and they are managing OK as near as I can tell. Drivers and other people on the team will make less money but no one will be starving. Teams will still spend as much as they can but it just won't be as much as before. The tracks will have to figure out how to make do without the big broadcast bucks and Nascar will probably have to lower sanctioning fees and other charges or some tracks will have to leave after a new broadcast deal is done. Nascar will be fine as it is teflon coated.