The growth of Formula 1 in the US has been well publicized and was underlined again this week with the Apple TV rights deal and contract extension for the United States Grand Prix.
However, F1 isn’t the only motorsport enjoying a surge in popularity Stateside, with Autosport Business Exchange: New York focusing on the rise of racing in America.
As part of the programming, a panel of influential names from NASCAR, IndyCar and MotoGP discussed what they felt were the key reasons behind the general increase in interest in the US.
on the eve of Apple is confirmed as F1’s new broadcast partner in the US on a five-year deal from 2026All the experts agreed that it is very important to have the right platform to screen their respective games.
IndyCar viewership increased, averaging 1.3 million viewers across 17 races – up 20 percent year over year – and much of that was attributed to a new deal with Fox, which also acquired a third of IndyCar in July.
Mark Miles, president and chief executive of Penske Entertainment and IndyCar, said, “Frankly, we had a great year, probably exceeding our own expectations or even ambitions to some extent, and Fox was a major part of that.”
Mark Miles speaks during the Autosport Business Exchange New York
Photo by: Getty Images
“The premise of the Fox deal was that if we could actually get every race live on a single network platform, people would know where to go to watch. And we had to figure out if young people would go to network television to watch it.
“Well, they did. We’ve almost doubled our demographic 18-34 at Fox, so my thought is don’t let anyone tell you that this network can’t attract young people, they are.”
Miles also praised Fox’s dedication to presenting a strong product on television: “I think the consistency, I think the way they did the shows, I think the talent they showed, the guys in the trucks are totally committed, and they’re not just committed to racing, they’re obviously invested in racing more broadly, but they really care about IndyCar.
“It’s been great, and on top of all that, during the Super Bowl, well before the first race, the promotional things they did were great and it’s continued to happen. So it’s a great partnership, and when they inquired about purchasing some things we thought it was a great opportunity.”
Elsewhere, NASCAR followed F1 when it came to taking its racing to a streaming service, with Amazon Prime Video signing up earlier this year to show five NASCAR Cup races live every season. While still working with a traditional broadcaster in NBC, NASCAR executive vice president and chief brand officer Tim Clark thinks the partial switch to Amazon is helping bring new eyes to the race.
“I think for all of us, to some extent, there are almost too many stories to tell in motorsport and that presents a bit of a problem,” he said.
Tim Clark arrives at the Autosport Business Exchange, New York
Photo by: Getty Images
“There are multiple apps, there are multiple drivers, there are multiple data points, there is onboard audio, there is onboard video – it all sounds great on paper when you look at the diversity of stories you can tell.
“But if you can’t present them appropriately and reach the right audience at the right time, it becomes problematic. Your media partners are going to play a big role in this. For us and our desire to be young and reach new audiences, the media rights deals that we have with partners like Amazon have a little diversity across networks and cable and streaming.
“In five races in our first project with Amazon, the average age of our audience dropped by six years. It would have taken us a decade or more to attract a younger audience like that.”
MotoGP is entering a new era after being purchased by Liberty Media earlier this year, although it is unlikely to see an immediate change in broadcast partners, raising plenty of questions about whether Liberty, which also owns F1, will use a similar strategy to develop its own two-wheel option.
For Dan Rossomondo, chief commercial officer of MotoGP and Dorna, it’s not that simple, especially when it comes to replicating the success of F1’s Drive to Survive on Netflix.
“It would be impossible to replicate their success and the playbook doesn’t work the same way,” he said. “I’ve been in this job for two and a half years, and I’ve had at least 50 people come into my office and say, ‘You should do Ride to Survive.’
race start
Photo by: Gold & Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
“My comment on this is, if you can guarantee me that there’s going to be a global pandemic, if you can guarantee me that when the season comes to the last stage, the last race, they will be filming, and everyone will watch, and it will have a cultural crossover effect, I would sign up for it tomorrow.
“But you can’t guarantee that. We’re also just a different business…but I will say what we have is a really passionate, young, diverse, global fanbase. So I think Liberty is looking at how do we bring the game to more people, how do we get them into the game, because once they get into it, they stay in it and they love it.”
Clark agreed that it would be foolish to think that the Drive to Survive blueprint could be applied to every motorsport series to achieve the same level of impact.
“This group might soon turn into a Drive to Survive support group,” he joked. “I got phone calls a few times, ‘Hey, have you thought about driving for NASCAR for a living?’
“I was like: ‘It turns out you just call 1-800-NETFLIX, and you order it, and they’ll do it. I hadn’t even thought about it. I wish you would have said something sooner!’
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