On the cusp of major changes thanks to a new media relationship with Fox Sports that starts next year, the NHRA had a mixed 2015 season from a commercial perspective, with attendance up, ratings down and sponsorship sales somewhere in the middle.
The drag-racing series had an attendance uptick in the low to mid-single digits over 2014, according to President Peter Clifford, who took over for Tom Compton midway through the season after the latter left for personal reasons. Officials touted that it marked the fourth straight year of increasing attendance.
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The circuit’s broadcasts move to Fox Sports next year.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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In the final year of its 15-year relationship with ESPN, however, ratings were down 10 percent, from 569,000 average viewers last season to 513,000 viewers this season. The series averaged 524,000 viewers in 2013.
The series added a new partnership with Sunoco, but a significant number of event title sponsorships and sponsorship categories remain unsold. Gary Darcy, the NHRA’s senior vice president for sales and marketing, noted categories that the series is looking to fill during the offseason include beer, spirits, packaged goods, technology/wireless, quick-service restaurant and home improvement. Unsold event title sponsorships include the April race in Las Vegas, the April race in Charlotte, the May race in Houston and the June race at Bristol, Tenn.
“Overall, it was a good year for us,” Clifford said. “On the sponsorship front, we have several new sponsors in the last year that have come on board. … On television, we’ve had a great run with ESPN for the last 15 years, but we’re also really, really looking forward to our move with Fox.”
Clifford said the series has seen an increase in interest for available inventory since the news of the Fox deal, which will roughly triple the number of races that are shown live and put the series on broadcast TV for the first time.
“Having sponsored events is very important — we have a few unsold races now — but we’re seeing with the new Fox deal a lot of interest in the sport and inquiries, which is why we’ve doubled our sales staff,” Clifford said. “We’re already getting a lot more calls and interest, and we’re out sharing our plans and initiatives with all the key sponsors … because they’re a big part of our plan going forward.”
The series plans to bring back and expand its “Baptism by Nitro” marketing campaign for next year, and is working on expanding its social and digital media presence as part of the move to Fox. It also is working with key track owners — including Speedway Motorsports Inc., which controls four dragstrips — on possible capital improvements and ways to better the fan experience.
“The NHRA’s outlook is as healthy as we have seen it in a long time — new series partners were introduced and existing sponsors extended their deals,” Sakiya Daniel, vice president at Team Epic, which counts Sunoco as a client, wrote in an email. “This provides a great sense of optimism around the series for 2016’s in-person attendance figures, T.V. ratings, and general fan engagement and interest.”
