Alex Meshkin

Has anyone noticed the decreased television advertising from Anheuser-Bush, Miller and Coors during NASCAR Sprint Cup race telecasts? Following the split of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser and Dale Earnhardt Inc.; Anheuser-Bush has apparently rapidly diminished their dominate presence over our weekly telecasts. In my opinion, this is the procuring cause to Miller and Coors’ also reducing their media placements during NASCAR broadcasts. While I don’t have the numbers to backup my observations, nonetheless, I think the anecdotal evidence is enough to question the “Dale Jr” effect on the return-on-investment (ROI) of the NASCAR television contract for Fox, NBC, TNT and ABC/ESPN.

So I question, is their enough of a demand to offset the loss of beer ads? If so, I certainly would be surprised if that demand will withstand the current economic pressure. But for sure, no one expected the self-interested actions of Teresa Earnhardt to have such a negative impact and affect so many other parts of the NASCAR food chain. It seems apparent that you can add the broadcasters to the list of people and companies that are keeping their distance from Teresa Earnhardt.

Earlier this week, ESPN expanded its motorsports digital content business through the acquisition of Racing-Live.com. Racing-Live.com covers Formula 1 (F1-Live.com), Moto GP; Superbike (Moto-Live.com), Rally (Rally-Live.com), off road Rallies (Raid-Live.com), Endurance Sports-Cars and Kart racing.

This announcement follows the acquisition of Jayski, a NASCAR gossip site in 2007. Racing-Live.com strengthens ESPN’s global business and provides a digital avenue to monetize Formula 1 racing through the site’s three million unique users per month.

I’m delighted that ESPN now offers sports fans world-class online coverage of football, rugby, cricket and motor racing, said Lynne Frank, Managing Director of ESPN, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Racing-Live.com is a leader in its category and has built a solid base from which to further develop our digital motor sports offering. We are particularly pleased that Racing-Live.com joins ESPN in the middle of another fantastic Formula 1 season.

It is going to be interesting to observe how ESPN integrates Racing-Live into its portfolio of digital media businesses; given Racing-Live isn’t the first digital media acquisition made by ESPN. Since the acquisition of Jayski in 2007, very little has changed and even its website has remained almost identical since its inception in 1996. The business model of Jayski is very different than traditional media sites and focuses primarily on unofficial team generated content – basically translated; employees’ of race teams share gossip, rumors, opinions and often lies about their employers and/or competitors. This model has created a very sticky site and thus was a procuring reason for ESPN acquiring Jayski.

Some may wonder if the Jayski model would be successful in Formula 1. I seriously doubt it and this is why: NASCAR is a unique culture with the rumor mill driven primarily by the close physical proximity of all the race teams. Speaking from personal experience; if I had lunch with a driver from another team – it would instantly be posted to Jayski …”hearing XYZ driver may be headed to Bang Racing.” While there is an element of truth to the “gossip”- it is usually twisted with an element of fiction.

Because the culture of NASCAR Sprint Cup is clearly trending more towards Formula 1 than vice-a-versa; and with the super teams becoming more self-sufficient and less reliant on vendors to support the sponsorship development process; it is likely that Jayski’s sources will be minimized at best and rumors and the like will become less prevalent.

With that said; don’t expect to see ESPN exporting the Jayski business model over the pond; but maybe expect to see Racing-Live expanding into mainstream American motorsports.