Nextel's groundbreaking $750 million investment in NASCAR should jump-start the series' fledgling wireless business, but not without the company having to work through an area that features a substantial number of players, according to people familiar with the deal.
NASCAR.com already has several wireless business partners, and several other cell phone companies began selling subscriptions to NASCAR content in February. How to guarantee Nextel sufficient return while continuing to grow the wireless business in conjunction with these other providers is a challenge that NASCAR and Turner Sports Interactive are starting to address.
Turner Sports Interactive runs nascar.com and owns the wireless rights to the series.
"Nextel is in a class by themselves, given their investment in the sport, so they should have a more-than-reasonable expectation that they will be treated well," said Drew Reifenberger, executive vice president of Turner Sports Interactive.
Reifenberger said that what he called some "serious" investments made by other companies need to be considered, though he declined to provide specifics.
"NASCAR has assured us that all of that was contemplated," Reifenberger said. "So we're not concerned."
Turner last summer entered into a multiyear partnership with San Diego-based Digital Orchid to develop and sell nascar.com To Go, a subscription-based mobile service that makes many of the Web site's interactive services available to cell phone users. AT&T Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile were signed before this season, and Turner had planned from the beginning to add other providers, including Nextel, Reifenberger said.
"Nothing has changed," Reifenberger said of the discussions to bring in additional carriers.
The products currently available on nascar.com To Go include daily news, leaderboards, driver information, schedules, real-time race results and standings, in-car audio and screen savers. Subscribers pay $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. Reifenberger did not say how many people had bought subscriptions.
Considering the breadth of offerings already available, giving special consideration to Nextel subscribers could be complicated.
One product that is not part of the nascar.com To Go package is the track graphics and global positioning telemetry available on nascar.com to subscribers of PitCommand, a product developed for Turner by interactive entertainment company Sportvision.
Sportvision CEO Hank Adams said his company planned to have discussions with Nextel about new and creative ways to activate the sponsorship.
"We're kind of following NASCAR's lead on this," Adams said. "They've told us they'll talk to us about it."
Nextel officials said at the June 19 press conference announcing their sponsorship of NASCAR's top series that other wireless companies with existing deals with NASCAR will be grandfathered into the deal, but only car sponsors Alltel and Cingular were cited specifically.
NASCAR officials have pointed out that the series has existing relationships in virtually every sponsorship category, and managing existing and new partners comes with the territory.
For now, both Reifenberger and Digital Orchid CEO Barry Nussbaum said nothing stands in the way of Turner's efforts to broaden and expand its wireless partnerships.
"It's our intention to work with as many carriers as possible," Nussbaum said.
