The Impact of Real-Time Platforms on Sports and TV
As an avid sports enthusiast and social media user, live sports events have provided the ultimate convergence between broadcast media and the real-time web. Watching a NFL game and tweeting with my “Twitter Friends” has enriched the experience and the anticipation of every play – making Twitter a must have viewing companion. And beyond the personal connections and individualized real-time conversations, Twitter provides extended access to professional analysts from print, TV and web properties – adding an extra dimension to the viewing experience. For instance, you no longer must rely on the narrow opinion of the booth announcers to discuss a coach’s challenge or a key decision to go for it on a 4th down – or even just the thrill of sharing your excitement when your favorite team scores a touchdown.
Like most, I generally watch sporting events live; but because of the time-zone of most races I often watch Formula 1 time-delayed via my DVR. As such, tweeting in real-time is not a viable option. This has led me to become more distracted and less engaged during F1 races than prior to my “tweet while watching habit”.
When examining the broader television industry, mass-market penetration of DVRs made many fearful of time-shifting viewing – because viewers often skip over commercial advertisements. While time-shifting provides the ultimate flexibility, it also further alienates users and inherently makes TV less social. I don’t believe I’m alone in preferring to experience my viewing entertainment with others – physically or virtually. People should not have to choose between time convenience and real-time social interactions. Herein lies a major opportunity for innovation.
The discrepancy between my experiences between the NFL and F1 has been a real eye opener to the incredible potential of more personalized real-time platforms to enhance television and movie viewing. While Twitter has become the most widely adopted real-time communications platform, I expect more vertically focused services to accommodate the unique opportunities of the broadcast media industry.
NASCAR Needs a Chief Digital Officer
I wanted to briefly share some additional thoughts after listening to my readers. As you recall, I have written numerous times about NASCAR’s need to implement a far reaching digital strategy. Without a doubt – NASCAR has demonstrated it does not have the expertise to generate or execute such a significant undertaking.
I believe it’s time for NASCAR to hire a Chief Digital Officer to lead the development and implementation of a marketing strategy and business model to engage fans across digital platforms. And equally as important, work in concert with broadcast partners, corporate sponsors, teams, drivers and digital media entrepreneurs to maximize the potential of the digital medium.
For the sake of all stakeholders, let’s hope Brian France is listening and takes intelligent action that is currently available to quickly reverse the downward trends before ratings, attendance and corporate sponsorships are permanently in reverse.
Getting NASCAR Out of Reverse: Digital Strategy
The “secret” is out: NASCAR is facing significant problems. Since 2007, when the downturn became more pronounced – NASCAR’s management has attributed their accelerated drop in race attendance, corporate sponsorship deflections, and decline in television viewership to the faltering economy. But clearly, any objective person should recognize the economy has only heightened the fundamental flaws of the NASCAR business model and strategy. As many know, I have written extensively about the problems within NASCAR – so I will not beat the dead horse. However, I do hope Brian France is reading my suggestions and perhaps will answer the call to establish a viable business model and new strategy. As a long time fan, I was extremely fortunate to realize my dream at the age of 23; when against all odds, I became a NASCAR team owner and lead Toyota’s Flagship team to its first NASCAR victory in 2004. It would be wonderful if every young talented and aspiring driver (and maybe owner) could have the same opportunity and thrill of fulfilling their dreams. Unfortunately, the NASCAR I grew up morphed over the years to alienate their grassroots. Today, unless you have wealthy parents there is little chance and more likely, no chance of reaching the dream of becoming a NASCAR driver.
What most fans don’t realize is an insider’s little known secret – nearly ALL NASCAR teams are financial failures. Even the most successful teams, such as Hendrick Motorsports or Penske Racing – are dreadful businesses – and would be unsustainable if not for their wealthy owners. Unlike nearly every other sport, where the most successful and popular teams are profitable and have long term shareholder value, the on-track success or even popularity of a NASCAR team has little impact on the financial results of the team. It is shocking to learn that the operating budget cannot even be met for a team that wins every single race, when the race winnings are barely 40% of the operating budget. How can teams survive – and even more so, how can this sport survive?
Some may argue an antiquated assessment – successful on-track performance will translate into more sponsorship dollars. However, in today environment the annual NASCAR team budget (each car) exceeds $20 million dollars.
With that being said, NASCAR has the potential to unlock opportunities to revive the financial outlook of the sport. But it must begin with reacquiring all the digital rights that have been irresponsibly divided and parsed between Turner Sports and Sprint. NASCAR needs to stop licensing and giving up rights for short term financial gains of the sanctioning body and recognize that the digital channel may be the last and best hope for teams to survive. This begins with a cohesive digital strategy that works across all broadcast partners – instead of isolating TNN (Turner) from Fox, ESPN, and NBC. If NASCAR.com is going to offer a live simulcast of races during TNN broadcasted races, which I support, NASCAR needs to find an acceptable business model to extend this platform to all broadcast partners. While this would be a good foundation, the real opportunity is to unlock real-time data from the on-board black boxes (telemetry) and team communications to a broader set of partners and participate with revenue sharing agreements to monetize these underutilized assets. (NASCAR Must Embrace New Media: Proposal Attached).