TV Contract Key To Saving NASCAR

The words leap off the page of the New York Times website:

In hindsight, Mr. France’s broadcast deal, which brings in about $500 million a year, may be the main thing that saves NASCAR from ruin.

Click here to read the entire article from Susanna Hamner entitled "NASCAR Sponsors, Hit By Sticker Shock."

Ms. Hamner calls NASCAR "particularly vulnerable" to the problems with the economy and points-out that automakers provide approximately one-third of the total sponsorship in the sport.

“Many of the major sponsors pulling back have been involved in our sport for decades,” NASCAR Chairman France tells Hamner. “They’re making cuts, and we’re affected.”

Perhaps, the most surprising financial figures used in the article were in reference to the Camping World sponsorship of the Truck Series. Hamner quotes Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis on the fact that Camping World is only paying 2 million dollars a year for the title sponsorship, half of what Craftsman was paying in 2007.

“We told them what we could afford,” says Lemonis. “They were very sensitive to us and offered an appropriate price for the market conditions.”

Ultimately, the single consistent source of income for NASCAR may be the scheduled payments from the NASCAR TV partners. In 2005, Mr. France was part of the team that reached a $4.48 billion, eight-year TV deal with ABC-ESPN, Fox, the Speed Channel and TNT.

At the time, this was viewed as icing on the NASCAR cake. Teams and owners were flush with the cash of sponsors standing in line to get involved with the hottest sport in the nation.

TV networks also wanted their piece of the action and were willing to pay top dollar. Now, Hamner suggests the TV contract may be the only thing that allows NASCAR itself to survive this economic downturn.

As Fox, SPEED and ESPN gear-up to start the season in Daytona, it should be interesting to see what changes the TV networks have decided to make in the overall coverage of the sport given the new financial dynamic.

One thing is for sure. NASCAR will continue to get paid in full over the next six years even as many teams in all three of the national touring series struggle just to survive.

There are 63 days until the 2009 Daytona 500.

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"Ride Of Their Lives" Does Re-Air At 4PM On Sunday (CMT Network)

To start this column, click here for the video link to the Ride of their Lives trailer from the CMT website.

When Kevin Costner appeared at the Sprint Cup Banquet, there was some information being given out about about a future film project to which he would lend his voice.

Like many other media members, I assumed it was a project for 2009. As it turns out, The Ride of Their Lives program is airing Saturday, December 13th at 9PM ET on CMT.

One quick check of the NASCAR.com front page reveals absolutely nothing about this project or the fact it is on CMT tonight. Even clicking to the NASCAR.com News Center will not help. The Turner folks who run NASCAR.com are not very kind to programs appearing on other TV networks. It would seem this is the case with CMT.

Here is the CMT summary of the program:

The history and heroes of NASCAR are brought to life through the men and women who lived the dream. The Ride of Their Lives, narrated by Kevin Costner, is a story of family bonds and personal struggle, rebellion and teamwork. These are the threads that weave through the sport's first 60 years and a half century of Daytona 500 races. From the moonshine runners of the postwar years to the superstars of the 21st century, The Ride of Their Lives celebrates a sport that grew from humble Southern roots to become a national spectacle.

This project is being co-produced by The NASCAR Media Group and CMT Films. DALE was the original project that sparked this follow-up. "On the heels of our success with DALE, which was the largest selling sports title ever and was nominated for 2 Emmys, we are pleased to be working again with CMT and with a talent of the stature of Kevin Costner," says Jay Abraham, COO, NASCAR Media Group. "This new film will give fans an exciting inside view of the history and evolution of the sport from the unique perspective of some of the families that made the sport."

So, it looks like fans lucky enough to catch this program will have some final NASCAR-themed TV programming before Christmas. This two hour program has the original airing from 9 to 11PM Saturday, but also re-airs on Sunday from 4 to 6PM Eastern Time.

Update: TDP will NOT have a review of the program. Comcast, my cable provider, apparently has placed CMT on a tier to which I do not subscribe. This is certainly a new development for me as I have enjoyed CMT as a basic cable service for years.

So, it will be up to the NASCAR fans and TV viewers to add your review and comments about this program over the weekend.

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What A Week Of Stories

Thanks to the guys over at Rowdy.com for featuring me on the December 12th podcast. To listen, just surf over to Rowdy.com and click on the "listen now" link on the Rowdy Podcast.

To listen once the Dec. 13th podcast is up, just click "listen now" and then "past shows" on the pop-up window. Choose the 12-12-08 selection.

Here are the featured TDP columns for the week. Click on the title to read and comment.

The Sprint Cup Series banquet in NYC was not exactly as "live" as ESPN made us think.

Good old "Digger" from NASCAR on Fox made it all the way to The New York Times.

Toss Marty Reid's name into the ESPN rumor mill for NASCAR next season.

DirecTV officially cancelled NASCAR Hot Pass for 2009 to the dismay of many fans.

Fox Sports announced it would be dropping the live on-location Major League Baseball pre-game show starring former NASCAR reporter Jeanne Zelasko. Does this mean the Hollywood Hotel could become a victim of the cost-cutting at Fox?

Veteran NASCAR reporter Mike Mulhern joined the ranks of the unemployed. Several other members of the traveling NASCAR press corps will also not be returning for 2009. What does this mean for fans?

This certainly has been an amazing week for all the wrong reasons when it comes to NASCAR and its various media components. Please feel free to add your comments to this post on any of the topics listed above. Thanks again for the kind words about the Rowdy.com podcast, always fun to work with Buck and Bass.

To add your comment, just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. Comments will appear shortly after they are submitted. The rules for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thanks for stopping by.