At The Drive-In: NASCAR Achieves Goals Of First Simulcast

NASCAR Calls HD Theater Simulcast A Success

By Jon Show, Staff Writer

NASCAR’s first-ever live HD simulcast of the Daytona 500 may have drawn only around 150 attendees at each Regal CineMedia theater in N.Y. and Irvine, but NASCAR Digital Entertainment Managing Dir of Broadcasting & New Media Jeffrey Pollack said that the goals of the experiment were met. Pollack: “We didn’t expect to sell out. That wasn’t the goal. ... The first goal was to test the medium of digital cinema and see if it’s a good way to showcase our content. The second goal was to give the local stations and NASCAR more reason to make more noise about the start of our season. On both goals, we accomplished what we set out to do.” Tickets to each event were free, though Pollack said that a pair of tickets for the show in Irvine was later sold on eBay for $62. NASCAR, local Fox affils and other media outlets, as well as the California Speedway, conducted promotional efforts to drive attendance to the movie. Chevrolet served as the event’s lone sponsor, airing its own spots in time designated for local ads during Fox’ broadcast. When asked about future NASCAR viewing events at theatres, Pollack said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we did something like this again this season,” though NBC and TNT, which hold TV rights to the second half of the NASCAR season, have not yet been contacted. Looking further down the road, Pollack predicted, “We would love to see a massive promotional effort in a select number of markets for a select number of races that helps our network partners drive tune-in.”