How NASCAR’s Constant Efforts for the Casual Fan Could Go In Vain After the $7.7 Billion Media Deal

NASCAR has forever claimed that every move that it makes, as controversial as it may be, is in the interest of the sport and the common fan. Reduction in horsepower, elimination of stage breaks, changes in playoff formats, and other such decisions always demand some justification. And every time the promotion comes up with a new announcement that means a big change, several voices come up for and against it. The current offseason has been no different.

After the new $7.7 billion media deal that was announced a few days back, drivers and stakeholders have been coming up with their reviews of it. One prominent voice that has recently detailed the negative aspects of the deal’s dynamics is that of the sports investor, Joe Pompliano.

How NASCAR’s move to maximize revenue affects the casual racing fan

With the media deal with NBC and Fox expiring at the end of 2024, NASCAR’s goal for the offseason was to find a way in which it could maximize its revenue from the new deal and address the profitability concerns of teams. Now, the promotion has chosen to do this through signing a coverage agreement with 4 different partners. The core criticism that has been stemming from this is that having too many partners makes it impossible for fans to find the content that they want to watch.

Joe Pompliano agrees. He said, “We [NASCAR] are going to partner with four different organizations including streaming partners that are going to pass these costs on to the consumer. You and I, and other motorsports fans are going to have to go pay these subscription companies. […] NASCAR has chosen to maximize revenue to an extent that it’s now hurting the consumer. That’s obviously a problem for the future of the sport.”

By picking a range of streaming partners, NASCAR has made it necessary for fans to carry certain subscriptions if they want to go through an entire season. The monetary aspect of it when combined with the difficulty in finding content, especially for the elderly fans, creates a deadly combo that might be hugely detrimental to NASCAR’s efforts of bringing in new fans to the sport.

The already declining viewership could get hurt by NASCAR’s new partners

One of the biggest talking points about NASCAR’s viewership in 2023 was how it averaged better than the NHL Stanley Cup final. With an average of 2.86 million watchers for every race, the sport proved to be one of the most popular ones in the country. But one aspect that lies underneath this facade is that the number is significantly lower than what it used to be at the turn of the century. Surprisingly, it is even lower than in 2022, when the average viewership per race was 3 million.

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With several voices coming out about how it is going to be difficult to find content in all these many streamers, the take of Bubba Wallace’s spotter Freddie Kraft stands out. He said in the latest episode of the Door, Bumper, Clear podcast, “We are right back to being all over the place. What’s even worse, I think, is that I saw a chart about where to find it for practice and qualifying, and that was basically off-streaming! There’s no way to find any of that stuff.”

Whether NASCAR’s proposed solution to satisfy the teams ends in dissatisfying fans, particularly the veterans, remains to be seen. Come 2025, we will have a lot more clarity on the schedule of the year from NASCAR and it’s streaming partners. Let’s hope the path to profitability doesn’t end up hurting the fanbase like Pompliano fears.

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