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Finance

ISC Announces Operating Income Growth For Q2, First Half Of '11 Due To Expense Reduction

A reduction in expenses helped ISC overcome drops in ticket revenue to deliver an operating income growth for the second quarter and first six months of the ‘11 fiscal year. The company saw its admissions revenue decrease by $5.7M in the first quarter and $8.2M in the first six months to a total of $29.9M and $66.0M, respectively. Attendance totaled 960,000 in Q2, down approximately 4% from 1M during the same period in '10, ISC President John Saunders said. ISC cut its expenses by $6.2M in Q2 and $9.1M in the first six months of the fiscal year. ISC Vice Chair & CEO Lesa France Kennedy said in a statement that the decreases in revenues were primarily a result of schedule changes at Kansas Speedway, which did not host the Izod IndyCar and NASCAR Camping World Truck series races it had hosted in Q2 of ‘10. Kennedy added, "The performance of our events-to-date, coupled with the cost reduction commitments we outlined last year, continues to generate results in line with our expectations. While the economy remains our biggest hurdle to admissions-related revenue growth, we feel confident that our commitment to improving the guest experience is positioning the company for long-term growth." The company reiterated its financial guidance for the fiscal year when it expects to post total revenue of $635-650M. It has secured 94% of its target corporate revenues and has only one Sprint Cup Series race entitlement left to sell. Saunders: "We remain encouraged by the level of corporate marketing activity.” Advance ticket sales at ISC tracks are down 6% on units and 7% on volume from ‘10, but Saunders said that the company hopes to see those numbers improve as the national unemployment rate decreases. Saunders expressed optimism that NASCAR would secure an increase in TV rights fees when it sits down to negotiate a new rights agreement beyond '14. He pointed to the fact that the sport is DVR proof and NASCAR's recent hiring of Steve Herbst as VP/Broadcasting & Global Media Strategy as reasons for his optimism.

GOING BACK TO CALI: After failing to reach an agreement on sanctioning fees and cutting ties with IndyCar in '11, ISC has patched things up with the series. The company's California track, Auto Club Speedway, will host a race next year that Saunders today said will be "profitable." IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard, in an interview with SBJ, said, "I always said that we're doing events with promoters and partners that want to see us grow and I really believe (Auto Club President Gillian Zucker) wants to see us grow." Bernard said that IndyCar asked for "a little less" in sanctioning fees than what the series was after last year but added that IndyCar would "net the same thing" because of "partnership elements" such as suite inventory, ticket inventory and presenting sponsorship that Auto Club will allow IndyCar to sell. Bernard said IndyCar is in contact with other ISC tracks, including Chicagoland Speedway, and could return to other ISC venues in ‘12. Bernard was on his way to Toronto for this weekend's Izod IndyCar race. He said that the race organizers are expecting a huge walk up for the race, which is up 12% from last year in pre-sales. Bernard said, "I'm tickled to death."

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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