ISC reported an increase in revenues for Q1 '12, which company execs said exceeded internal expectations. The year-over-year increase excludes Phoenix Int'l Raceway’s spring race, which was moved from Q1 in '11 to Q2 in '12, and lost revenue from the new Sirius sponsorship, which is lower than the previous one. Total revenues in the first quarter were $127.4M. Attendance revenue decreased to $32.5M, down from $36M in '11 largely because the Phoenix race was moved to the second quarter. For Q1, broadcast rights revenue was $53.7M, motorsports-related revenue was $27M, concessions revenue was $11M and other revenue was $3M. Total expenses were $97.7M. ISC reported that advance ticket sales for Sprint Cup Series events remain soft, off 8% in units and revenue. ISC President John Saunders said that was an improvement from years past when ticket sales were off 11%. ISC reported that 86% of sponsorship revenue is sold. There are four Sprint Cup and two Nationwide race entitlements that are open or not announced. Saunders said that early season ratings results for both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series “breed optimism regarding the prospect of NASCAR’s next broadcast rights agreement.” Saunders also trumpeted the performance of the Daytona 500’s first running in primetime. He said, “Without significant promotion, the 500 won the night during primetime among adults 18 to 49.”
