NASCAR has taken a step in the right direction by expanding on the internet and posting full race replays on their YouTube channel. There are numerous fans every week that miss the race or don’t have cable/satellite. This will allow them catch up on Monday. While other sports have advanced in the area of providing content on the internet, NASCAR has fallen behind. Here is an overview of a few products offered for other sports:
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NHL GameCenter Live
- Live games (subject to regional blackout) and full length replays
- Access to archived games through the NHL Vault
MLB.TV
- Live games (subject to regional blackout) and full length replays
NFL GameRewind
- Replays of current season games including playoffs
- Access to archived games including Super Bowls
How does this stack up against NASCAR’s top product? Let’s take a look:
NASCAR RaceView Premium
- Live virtual video of each Sprint Cup Series race
- Live Leaderboard
- Listen live to officials, radio, and team communications
These are good features but they don’t do a lot to help me feel like I’m at the race. The audio options and access to the leaderboard are great. However, I don’t like the product because of the 3D virtual video. I don’t want to watch a computer animated representation of an actual race! To top it off, if I miss the race I can’t watch or even listen to the replay.
A new product is necessary to keep NASCAR current. The ultimate goal would be putting together a product offered over the internet that will give fans at home the closest experience to being at the race track. This means a live race broadcast, multiple camera angles, race audio, and all the dashboard options the FanView has. Offer the product for the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series as well.
How about race archives? Offering all of the above in replay format would be a hit for NASCAR and bring them up to speed with other sports. Judging by the reaction to almost any change that NASCAR wants to make, most fans are nostalgic and hold on to the way things were in “the good ‘ol days.” They love to reminisce about Awesome Bill, the Dale and Dale show, and the Alabama Gang. Capitalize on it! Fans would go crazy for a classic race archive and it would appeal to everyone from new fans to Dale Jr.:
#OldRaces pic.twitter.com/JxlyoM0nu1
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) September 22, 2014
Hopefully the new Xfinity partnership and new TV contracts will put NASCAR in a better position to offer this type of product. The trend of supplementing cable and satellite with products like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, WWE Network, and numerous other content providers is a trend that NASCAR needs to recognize and jump before it is too late.
What do you think? Would offering more live and archive content over the internet be beneficial to the fans? Be sure to comment below and let us know what you think.
Aaron Hale is Staff Writer for BeyondTheFlag.com on the FanSided Network. Follow us on Twitter @Beyond_The_Flag and “Like” us on Facebook.