It's getting down to that time of the year. Two more weekends of racing and then the whole thing starts over again before we know it.
As usual, there are lots of questions out there about the NASCAR TV partners and media issues associated with the sport. This is your time to ask them.
Here are some issues that have been asked about this week to start:
The current NASCAR TV contract runs through the end of the 2014 season. Negotiations on a new deal, possibly with new TV partners, will be done in 2012. We should know what TV networks will begin to televise the sport in 2015 by the end of next year.
There are currently no plans for NASCAR on FOX to offer side-by-side commercials or RaceBuddy for the 2012 Sprint Cup Series races.
The suggestion has been given that the Nationwide Series add a RaceBuddy application at NASCAR.com and also stream post-race interviews live from the infield media center. We will keep you posted on that one.
Wednesday NASCAR announced Kid Rock will perform his hit "Born Free" to open the Dec. 2 Sprint Cup Series banquet at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.
Click on the comments button to ask your questions and we will try to get them answered on Thursday. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
34 comments:
Your initial thoughts on how the TV partners will pan out for next deal ?
Two networks ? Three again?
Nastionwide ? Trucks ?
I'd wonder if it would be best for the Sprint Cup TV deal to be paired between two networks over the whole year. Say between Fox and TNT. Fox would get the major races with TNT picking up some near the end of the year when conflicts with football arise. Otherwise they could split the tracks that get 2 races a year.
NASCAR would never do it, but the Nationwide Series should not even be televised. Just use it as a carrot to get people to come out on Saturday to the tracks.
With many aspects of the sport, TV or otherwise, they may need to take a few steps back in order to go forward again.
Starcade76 wrote:
"With many aspects of the sport, TV or otherwise, they may need to take a few steps back in order to go forward again.
Yeah.
Like showing the races.
Ooops! (shuffles papers around on deskand looks confused Did I say a bad thang?
Reporting from a production truck tonite i am,
AR
For example if FOX offers so much money to telecast races for 8 years, does FOX also make an advertiser sign an 8 year contract?
I know advertisers probably don't sign anything for 8 years but FOX has to know what revenue it will receive from season to season to make an intelligent bid.
How important is the advertiser and how much does the advertiser have to commit?
Why does the ticker dissapear so often?It's way too small to read anyway.When it's gone and comes back,you never know where it's going to reset to.This applies to all networks.
JD, do you know if the tv partners have been making less/more/same amount of money each year from the beginning of the contract to now? Have they charged advertisers more/less/same each year to keep revenue constant? Do they really charge race teams a fee to mention/show their sponsors on tv? What is tv's response to the idea that if they do not show/talk about the sponsors of the last place cars, those sponsors are likely to say it is not worth it and leave? Thanks JD for all you do. MC
Will NASCAR Now live another year?
Will Nascar offer streaming services to Xbox/Playstation/Boxee devices similar to services provided by MLB/NHL/NBA?
I'm curious as to whether or not Faux and BSPN will actually hire some decent commentators for the new contract.Fans have complained constantly about DW, Larry Mac, Crusty, Brad, etc. and neither network has taken the hints.
Why in the name of car racing can we not get more wide shots of the track?
Why can't ESPN get rid of the bottom ticker. It's too many moving graphics on the screen. Arrogant to keep it during all the races. NASCAR & other sports, deserve better.
Bottom ticker is a huge annoyance & can spoil other races/games for folks DVRing.
Sorry for the delay.
Anon 9:07,
Brian France said he would welcome the return of the current NASCAR TV partners. Negotiations start shortly and we should know what will come in 2005 by the end of next year.
Starr,
Originally NASCAR wanted to have the Cup races on broadcast TV. Hence, FOX and ABC. Now, things are a mess.
The real Cup races in play are the final 17 that include the Chase. They make little sense on ESPN and have almost no support programming.
You know NASCAR. If someone comes with the cash, who knows what will happen?
Charlie,
Advertisers are not tied to rights deals. National ads come in all kinds of ad packages. Some run all season, but many have "flights" that are much shorter like movie openings and CD releases.
Anon 1:02,
The tickers come and go. They drive me nuts. The scroll is computer generated, so it needs to be reset. I still think losing them and making the announcers update that info would result in better telecasts.
I'd like to know if NASCAR will negotiate to have to put a better broadcast out there.
for example, less hyperfocus.
MC,
The networks rarely disclose profit or loss on a series unless there are PR points to be scored.
Ad rates are set by volume and ratings. No fee is charged for a mention, but rather a race or team sponsor may not be mentioned if TV ad inventory is not purchased.
Busch,
The writing on the wall for NN is not good. Bad timeslot, no re-airs and little support in-house. I don't expect it to return in its present form.
Dylan,
Not in the near future. NASCAR sold those rights and nothing has ever been done to distribute content through those platforms. It's a shame.
MM and Sophia,
The networks who paid for the rights can telecast races using whatever production styles they choose.
How do the Sprint Cup owners, drivers, crew chief, etc. perceive the coverage by FOX and ESPN?
Years ago, before the current contract was signed, I believe it was Kenny Wallace who asked Mike Helton about fans complaining about the number of commercials. And Mike said there was nothing they could do about it at that time. Doesn't look to me they did anything to address it in the current contract either.
It would seem NASCAR just wants to maximize it's revenues however it can. It would be nice if they could specify a maximum number of commercial minutes in a race and then let the networks bid on the races on that basis.
As little passing as there is in Formula 1, you still feel you have seen the race. And, I believe, part of that is the fewer number of commercials.
Will SiriusXM get to broadcast 128 over their Internet App/Mobile Devices as part of the contract? Either with or without the MRN/PRN/Indy events?
I want to know if it could be written in the next contract for advertisers to allow break ins during their commls when something happens on the track? It doesn't happen all that often, so I can't see why they wouldn't. I know I would be more inclined to buy/use their products if they did this.
What's VS up to regarding getting into the act? They could probably get a good deal on NW races. The way BSPN treats that series now, VS could do no worse. A high school A/V class could probably do a better job than BSPN.
I wish fox wasn't so arrogant and would allow side by side commls. Can't nascar demand they do that? As we know, racing doesn't have time outs except YFs. It's the nature of the beast and why doesn't fox get this?
I wonder how things would be if brian france was more like his dad and granddad?
What will happen to Racehub once the season is over? Any chance that it will go through the offseason?
Scarlet,
NASCAR puts on a seminar in January that uses "data" to show the drivers that anything they say critical of the sport on TV has a negative effect.
That is why you NEVER see any of the Sprint Cup Series drivers talking about the TV coverage.
Dennis,
Talk about the tail wagging the dog!
It was NASCAR's high prices for rights to Sprint Cup Series races that resulted in the networks having to increase ad time to pay those bills.
Round and round the money goes!
Ken,
The Turner guys paid good money for those online rights. All they are asking from Sirius is some money and Sirius is saying no!
You want to play, you got to pay!
I see totally different approaches to all of the online content in the new TV contract.
Anon,
SPEED loves the Hub, but that network is once again in a state of flux as you can tell from other shows like Trackside.
No info yet on what the off-season will bring or what form this show might take for 2012.
If one or more of the present broadcast networks are left out of the next contract, are any of their on-air personalities likely to show up on a new network? Or are they likely to be held in place by contract or another network's desire for a fresh start? In particular, I would be pleased to see Bestwick, Craven, and Joy working for new bosses who would let them do their jobs right. I also like the TNT broadcast team of Petty/Dahlenbach.
Though it is fun for us to read this site, and hear the "If NASCAR survives this Network Disaster" type comments...There are 3-4 Million people returning to watch each week, and as far as I can tell there are maybe 20 people returning to the TDP each week.
Most of whom I assume are Industry Insiders (Radio folks who never got there shot at TV, ESPN folks who did not get hired at FOX, and etc) taking anonymous "Pot Shots" at each other. Ironically many of these people are probably eating lunch with one another today in Phoenix.
A quick Web Search will prove that there is a Daly Planet for every sport, even Woman's Softball, usually run by a "retired" insider, and I can tell you first hand that the producers and directors up here in Bristol do obsess on these sites. Look at DeadSpin. But never the less "Imperfect" rating systems or not the Advertisers and more importantly the fans are there in significant numbers and NASCAR as with all sports will survive without the few who claim the will never watch again. Though they seem to each week, and we love them and you too JD.
Anon 8:54PM,
There used to be 7 million watching. The big difference between then and now seems to be ESPN. Huh.
Anon 8:32PM,
When announcers are contracted for a specific sport, those contracts rarely extend beyond the current rights agreement.
ESPN has NASCAR through 2014, so they signed Rusty Wallace until then and made it public. FOX has DW until that time.
Some announcers, like Jerry Punch, find themselves with new opportunities when a sport changes channels. Jerry did football for years after NASCAR left ESPN.
It should be interesting to watch the scramble if one of the big TV partners changes.
@Daly Planet Editor - That is what I was hoping for. I think SiriusXM NASCAR radio is more of an asset now to NASCAR and reaching the largest audience makes sense. I don't see NASCAR allowing the complete ownership of all online content again. I think that has really hurt the efforts of all broadcast partners.
Ken, it has been the #1 problem. NASCAR created this intricate network of rights of all kinds and now they can't get out of those deals for three more years.
Imaging not having live race video available online for purchase?
We thumped them so hard just to get side by side commercials.
It's been like pulling teeth.
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