The growth of Formula 1 in America is well publicised and was underscored again this week with the Apple TV rights deal and a contract extension for the United States Grand Prix.
However, F1 is not the only motorsport enjoying a Stateside popularity boom, with the focus of the Autosport Business Exchange: New York centring on the Rise of Racing in America.
As part of the programming, a panel of influential names from NASCAR, IndyCar, and MotoGP discussed what they felt were key reasons behind the general spike in interest in the U.S.
On the eve of Apple being confirmed as the new broadcast partner of F1 in America on a five-year deal from 2026, the experts were all in agreement that having the right platform to screen their respective sports is a must.
IndyCar viewership increased, averaging 1.3 million viewers across 17 races – up over 20 percent year on year – and much of that has been attributed to a new deal with Fox, which also acquired a third of IndyCar in July.
“We had a fabulous year, frankly, exceeding our own expectations, or even ambitions, maybe, to some extent, and Fox was the key,” said Mark Miles, president and chief executive of Penske Entertainment and IndyCar.
Mark Miles speaks during Autosport Business Exchange New York
Photo by: Getty Images
“The premise of the Fox deal was that if we could actually get every race live on the same network platform, people would know where to go to watch. And we’d have to find out whether young people would go to network television to watch it.
“Well, they did. We nearly doubled our 18-34 demographic on Fox, so my view is don’t let anybody tell you that this network can’t draw young people, they’re doing it.”
Miles also praised the dedication from Fox to deliver a strong product on television: “I think the consistency, I think the way they did the shows, I think the talent they put together, the people in the trucks, totally committed, and they’re not just committed to racing, they’re obviously invested in racing more broadly, but they really care about IndyCar.
“It’s been fantastic, and in addition to all that, the promotional stuff they did right out of the box, well before the first race, during the Super Bowl, and it just kept coming. So it’s a great partnership, and we thought it was a great opportunity when they inquired about buying some of the stuff.”
Elsewhere, NASCAR led F1 when it came to taking its racing to a streaming service, with Amazon Prime Video signing up earlier this year to show five NASCAR Cup races live every season. While also still working with a traditional broadcaster in NBC, Tim Clark, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief brand officer, feels the partial switch to Amazon is helping bring new eyes to the races.
“I think for all of us, to a certain extent, there are almost too many stories to tell in motorsport and that presents a bit of a problem,” he said.
Tim Clark arrives at the Autosport Business Exchange, New York
Photo by: Getty Images
“There are multiple apps, there are multiple drivers, there are multiple data points, there is onboard audio, there is onboard video – which all sounds great on paper when you look at the diversity of stories you can tell.
“But if you can’t surface those appropriately and reach the right audience at the right time, then it becomes problematic. Your media partners are going to play a huge role in that. For us and our desire to get younger and reach a new audience, the media rights deal that we’re one of has a bit of diversity across network and cable and streaming with a partner like Amazon.
“Five races in our first project with Amazon, the average age of our viewer got younger by six years. It would have taken us a decade or more to get that type of an infusion of a younger audience.”
MotoGP is entering a new era having been purchased by Liberty Media earlier this year and, while that is unlikely to see an immediate change in broadcast partners, it has led to plenty of questions about whether Liberty, which also owns F1, will use similar tactics to grow its two-wheel alternative.
For Dan Rossomondo, chief commercial officer of MotoGP and Dorna, it is not quite as simple as that, especially when it comes to replicating the success of F1’s Drive to Survive on Netflix.
“It would be impossible to replicate their success and also the playbook doesn’t work in the same way,” he said. “I have been in this job for two and a half years, and I’ve had at least 50 people come to my office and say, ‘you should do Ride to Survive’.
Race Start
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
“My comment on it is, if you can guarantee me that there’s going to be a global pandemic, if you can guarantee me that they’re going to be filming when the season comes down to the last lap, the last race, and everybody’s going to be watching, and it’s going to have a cultural crossover effect, I’ll sign up for it tomorrow.
“But you cannot guarantee that. We’re also just a different business…but I will say that what we have is this really passionate, young, diverse, global fanbase. So what Liberty, I think, is looking for is how do we market the sport to more people, get them into the sport, because once they’re into it, they stick around and they tend to love it.”
Clark agreed that it would be foolish to think that the Drive to Survive blueprint can just be applied to every motorsport series to bring about the same level of impact.
“This group could probably quickly turn into a Drive to Survive support group,” he joked. “The number of times I got phone calls that were, ‘hey, have you thought about doing a Drive to Survive for NASCAR?’
“I was like: ‘it turns out all you do is call 1-800-NETFLIX, and you order it up, and they’ll do it. I just hadn’t thought of it. I wish you’d have said something sooner!”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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