Local NASCAR TV Blackouts

[Marc]

Bruton Smith, Speedway Motorsports owner, has suggested NASCAR follow the lead of the NFL.

He proposes local TV blackouts for Sprint Cup (presumably NNS as well) in the event a race fails to sellout. As many of you are aware the NFL restricts a local game broadcast if a game fails to sellout 72 hours in advance.

Smith believes a similar system would aid attendance in NASCAR.

I posted my thoughts on the matter a couple days ago (enjoy your swim Bruton) and Mike Mulhern also noted the idea in addition to the possible sale of Dover to Smith and SMI.

[Clance' McClannahan]

As you may know, I used to work for Directv, in Marketing and Customer Retention. One of the biggest problems regarding these "Blackout Areas" is, it is up to the Stadiums to decide what that blackout area will encompass. It is also done in baseball and basketball.
For instance, when I lived in Boise, we were considered in the blackout area for Seattle, Salt Lake, Portland, and Phoenix events. Many States around the event all throughout the US suffered the same consequence. You live 1500 miles away from the game, but oh well show up or don't watch it. Fan Blackmail.
It was insanity at DTV on game days...no network had control over these decisions and it was very frustrating, both for customers/fans, and employees.
I certainly hope this does not happen in NASCAR. What they need to do is come up with lower ticket prices, and special packages that would make it more enticing and affordable for the fans to attend the events.
LVMS is an example, althought not the norm. Airline tix to Las Vegas are cheap. I can fly round trip for 50 bucks. Many of the hotels give discounts if you are there attending the race. Of course they are also gambling so it pays off.

There is plenty to do in the areas around every single track. The track should join in with the communities around them and come up with some affordable and creative packages to draw the fans out.
Shutting them out will reduce attendance, not increase it. What an idiotic idea.

What Smith fails to realize or say out loud, is that NFL and others, also lost fans on the deal. NFL changed it blackout areas to the immediate broadcast area in the city where the game was being played and /or within 100 miles, at one point. It did not increase attendance, except for the immediate local fans. They also lowered the prices in many venues for locals which added to the increased attendance.
Anything to get a buck.
The economy still sucks, people still can't attend races like they would like. I hope Smith doesn't make it worse.
Total stupidity for the Racing World.

[Marc]

Total stupidity abut sums it up.

The NFL blackout is down to 75 miles if I remember correctly. One thing neither of us mentioned and I remembered after I posted my blog entry... the hundreds of times over the last couple decades where a company (always local for the PR value) bought all remaining NFL tickets to prevent a blackout.

That screws up any valuable stats on how their system works.

[Flat Out Fast]

SOOOO ,,,he makes it where you have to buy a package instead of being able to just walk up to the window and buy a single race ticket .Attendance is in the ground over that ,so now they want to force you to buy the packet if you want to see the race if you're local ? lol Makes me laugh ( sarcastically of course ) ! Sometimes I think these people actually have already made so much money on raceing that they now want to just ruin it ,so that they'll have more time to spend it ! They are truely trying to run all their original fans off ! JMO

[Flat Out Fast]

Besides ,,,, nascar is not like football ,,,in the sense that if they black you out for a race on a givin Sunday ,,,there's not another race you can pick-up to solve your weekly raceing crave ,,,,like you have with football .

[Charlie]

Won't happen. Unlike NFL, MLB, etc., NASCAR is driven by sponsors. Sponsors pay more for TV exposure than what is viewed by track goers (is that a word?). Will not happen. No chance.

[Marc]

Precisely, excellent point.

There's also the "home team" thing. A very large percentage of fans travel from other states for a NASCAR event. Other than a couple examples, like Charlies Lovable Losers the Detroit Tigers (lota Ohio and Indiana fans there), that's not true for the stick and ball sports.

[Dustin]

I interviewed David Hill, Fox Sports Chairman, and we talked about many topics, including Bruton's comments. Hill doesn't hold back in his criticism of Bruton. Check it out and what Hill said about later starting times, NASCAR's Chase and Larry Mac's English at my blog

[Marc]

As well as he shouldn't, Smith's idea was wacky.