Original Coverage & Source Attribution: sports.yahoo.com
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell delivered a blunt truth to the sports world on Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. While television ratings for the Cup Series are sagging, the front office refuses to panic. O’Donnell argues that the old metrics do not tell the whole story anymore. He pointed to a 5 percent rise in track admissions and a 12 percent jump in kids under 12 showing up to races, per Newsday. The sport is shifting its focus from the couch to the digital feed, betting that new fans will find the action online first. This is a bold gamble for a league built on tradition, but the numbers back the move.
Digital First Strategy
O’Donnell knows that a fan in New York or Seattle cannot drive to a race every weekend. The solution is to meet them where they live. “If you’re in New York or you’re in Seattle, and you don’t have a race, what is that entry point?,” O’Donnell said Friday. The answer is short clips and influencer content. To expand the series past its southern origins and enter international markets, the sanctioning body is leveraging YouTube and social media influencers. This strategy acknowledges that the path to a ticket starts with a viral moment on a phone screen.
While critics might focus on the drop in broadcast viewership, the CEO sees a different picture. NBC viewership for last week’s Cup race at Martinsville Speedway was down 15 percent from last year, according to Newsday. With an average of just under 2 million viewers, that event became the least-watched non-delayed Cup race on broadcast television. Yet, O’Donnell insists that social impressions increased 34 percent year-over-year. Since 2013, interest levels among adults ages 18 to 34 have reached their peak. The sport is not dying; it is just changing how it breathes.
Sponsor Money Talks
Money flows to where the attention is, and NASCAR is seeing fresh cash. “Fans are coming out to the racetrack. New brands are investing in the sport like never before,” O’Donnell said. The activation from sponsors around teams and drivers is at a high point not seen in years. This spending power proves that brands believe in the future of the sport even if cable TV numbers dip. “It’s been a long time since you’ve seen the activation from sponsors around our teams and drivers,” O’Donnell noted. The league is also celebrating the addition of Dodge as a fourth manufacturer, adding more competition and buzz to the garage.
O’Donnell pushed back hard against the narrative that NASCAR is struggling. “If you compared NASCAR to a new sport that’s just emerging you’d say it’s an incredible success story,” he said. The league has maintained a consistently large television audience across 36 straight weekends. The success of The CW’s first season as the home of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series shows that the younger demographic is engaged. In 29 of 32 races, the series held the position of the network’s No. 1 sports property. NASCAR is building off a strong foundation while trying to grow those numbers even more.
