ESPN, Turner take wait-and-see approach on NASCAR talks

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http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/02/25/Media/ESPN-Turner-NASCAR.aspx

By John Ourand & Tripp Mickle, Staff Writers

Published February 25, 2013, Page 4

ESPN President John Skipper was not in Daytona last week for the
biggest race on the NASCAR circuit. Neither was David Levy, Turner’s
president of sales, distribution and sports.

Even though ESPN and Turner’s exclusive negotiating windows for
NASCAR’s media rights expire in late summer, the networks still are
months away from serious talks, according to several sources. The
exclusive window formally starts in early summer, but networks and
leagues frequently start negotiations well before that time.

The fact that ESPN and Turner’s top executives were not in Daytona
last week is a sign that the networks are opting to wait and see how
well NASCAR’s TV ratings and ad sales perform during the early part of
the season.

Publicly, ESPN and Turner executives say they are happy with NASCAR
and want to keep the packages.

“There’s no secret we want to continue that conversation with these
guys,” said Julie Sobieski, ESPN’s vice president of programming and
acquisitions. “Our negotiating window doesn’t begin until later this
year. So right now we’re excited about the start of the season and
we’re putting all of our efforts toward that.”

Privately, network executives last week expressed concern about
NASCAR’s TV performance, which last season posted its lowest
viewership numbers for its current deals. The 2012 races averaged 5.79
million viewers, which was down 10 percent from the previous year.
ESPN is less concerned with the Nationwide Series, which draws fewer
viewers (an average of 1.99 million watched 32 races last season), but
has been growing.

There is one big reason why ESPN and Turner may try to do deals before
their exclusive negotiating windows end: NBC is waiting in the wings
and has made no secret of its desire to partner with the racing
circuit. NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus has a long history
with NASCAR, having worked with the group during stints at Turner
Sports and CSE. Sources said NASCAR also is warming to the idea of
working with NBC.

The biggest question deals with the number of packages NASCAR plans to
sell. Currently, Fox has 13 races, Turner has six and ESPN has 17.
There’s a chance NASCAR may combine the Turner and ESPN packages,
sources say.

Still, ESPN and Turner are not feeling pressure to lock down rights
early.

Norby Williamson, ESPN’s executive vice president of programming and
acquisitions, was the highest-ranking ESPN executive in Daytona. Jon
Diament, Turner’s executive vice president of ad sales and marketing,
was the highest-ranking Turner Sports executive there.

The lack of senior-level conversations last week stood in stark
contrast to a year ago when Fox jump-started its negotiation with
NASCAR at Daytona, ending up with a deal in October. Fox renewed its
deal for eight years, paying $2.4 billion, a jump from its previous
eight-year, $1.76 billion deal.