NBC Sports’ ad sales executives dismissed prospects of a sophomore slump on its NASCAR package, saying they have renewed 85 percent of last year’s advertisers for the network’s second season, which starts July 2.
The network’s NASCAR ad sales have been helped by NBC’s decision to package the motorsports ad spots with other NBC properties, like the Olympics, “Sunday Night Football” and “Thursday Night Football” — all three of which will bring big ratings to the network this year.
The network is asking around $700,000 for its half-season NASCAR packages, sources said — a number that essentially is flat with last year. That breaks down to $35,000 per race over NBC’s 20-race slate.
Network executives would not say what percentage of the ad sales inventory remains unsold. NBC splits NASCAR’s media rights with Fox Sports for the Sprint Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Its first Cup race is the Coke Zero 400 on July 2.
The network’s ad sales efforts come as viewership for NASCAR’s races on Fox have seen double-digit drops this season. Through 12 races this year, NASCAR race viewership on Fox and FS1 is down around 12 percent compared with the same time frame last year.
Last season, NASCAR averaged 5.1 million viewers on both Fox and NBC — numbers that were helped by a seasonlong storyline on the retirement of popular driver Jeff Gordon. NBC averaged 3.8 million viewers for NASCAR’s 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs. Many of those races competed with highly rated NFL programming, which kept viewership down.
Ad buyers have not been shy about bringing up NASCAR’s ratings troubles during their meetings with NBC executives this spring, though they still are drawn in by the big audiences that watch each weekend.
“Ratings are down, but it’s live sports, and live sports in general is still very strong,” said Adam Schwartz, director of national broadcast, sports media for Horizon Media, who represents NASCAR sponsors such as Geico and Golden Corral. “Compared to the general marketplace, NASCAR is still a good place to go.”
Jeff Clachko, NBC Sports’ senior vice president of advertising sales, said that the big TV audience is a selling point for the network.
“Ratings come up, but the bottom line is it’s still a massive audience week in and week out,” Clachko said. “There are plenty of properties that have seen a slight downtick in ratings; NASCAR’s no different. But for the most part, advertisers still see the value in being part of the sport.”
Returning advertisers for NBC include the sport’s three auto manufacturers — Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford. Outgoing title sponsor Sprint, Geico, Smithfield and Hardee’s also have renewed their deals from last year.
Sonic returns as presenting sponsor of NBC’s “Countdown to Green” pre-race show, and Advanced Auto Parts joins as title sponsor of NBC’s post-race show.
New advertisers include Shell Pennzoil, Credit One Bank, Paramount Pictures, Golden Corral and the Propane Education & Research Council.
One major brand that is not returning this year is DraftKings. The company, which has an official game with NASCAR, was one of NBC’s most visible advertisers last year, but it has done almost no activation in the sport this season.
“Coming out of what we deemed a very successful year one, we have a lot of positive momentum,” Clachko said. “Our renewal business is extremely healthy. … And we’ve been able to increase our new advertising base.”
NBC also signed deals with Smithfield, which produced documentaries with the network around the team it sponsors, and STP, which is embarking on its first major ad buy in several years. STP is working on a 10-part digital series to educate consumers about how the company’s products tie into the science of NASCAR.
