April 14, 2014
- Subway ‘exploring’ F1 sponsorship: Subway is considering a ground-breaking sponsorship deal with Formula One which could see several of the sport’s teams and superstar drivers teaming up to promote the brand. Subway was founded in the US in 1965 by billionaire Fred DeLuca but the UK and Ireland has become its biggest market outside America since the company opened its first store across the Atlantic in 1994. Its sponsorship strategy centres on athletes such as English boxer Anthony Ogogo and Holly Bleasdale, who holds the British pole vault record. Zak Brown, chief executive of JMI which handles Subway’s motorsport sponsorship, says that F1 would be the “perfect” fit. “I took the Subway Chief Marketing Officer to meet Bernie [Ecclestone, F1’s chief executive] in Montreal last year, and I would say they have been exploring it for a year,” says Mr Brown. “They are all about the consumer, they are massive media buyers so they would look at a sport and see if it stacks up from a media point of view and Formula One does.” Subway is JMI’s oldest client and first worked with it in 2002. JMI is responsible for bringing Subway to F1’s American rival NASCAR, where it sponsors a team, a driver and a race (#99 Carl Edwards, no Cup race in 2014). Mr Brown says it is likely Subway would follow the same model in F1.(in part from The Telegraph), no word if thie would affect the sponsor of the #99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford and/or Carl Edwards.(4-14-2014)
- Darrell Waltrip to speak Tuesday at Samford University: NASCAR Hall of Famer and NASCAR on Fox analyst Darryl Waltrip will become downright professorial when he speaks next Tuesday, April 15, at Samford University in Birmingham, AL. The school’s Journalism and Mass Communication Department will host Waltrip, who will speak on campus in Reid Chapel, starting at 11:00am/et, followed by a one-hour meet-and-greet with Waltrip afterward. While admission is free and open to the public, there will be a silent auction of NASCAR memorabilia to raise money for Feed the Children, a charity Waltrip supports that provides resources for those without life’s essentials.(NBC Sports)(4-14-2014)
- Early Darlington TV Ratings: Primetime coverage of “NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing From Darlington ” with 5.921 million viewers, adults 18-49 a 1.4 rating in front on Saturday. In 2013 FOX was the top draw on Saturday (4-13-2013) with its coverage of “NASCAR: Sprint Cup Racing from Texas” (5.908 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.5, #1).(Futon Critic), for past TV Ratings for the 2014 races and a 5-year comparison chart, see the 2014 TV Ratings page.(4-14-2014)
UPDATE: Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Southern 500 from Darlington (SC) earned a 3.2 overnight rating on FOX, down 9% from each of the past three years (3.5) and the lowest ever for a Sprint Cup telecast on FOX (dates back to 2001). The previous low for NASCAR on FOX was a 3.3 overnight for the 2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500 from Phoenix, also on a Saturday night. Six of the seven lowest rated NASCAR races on FOX in the metered markets each took place on a Saturday night – 2014 Darlington (3.2), 2013 Richmond (3.4), 2012 Richmond (3.4), 2011 Richmond (3.4), 2010 Richmond (3.4), and 2009 Phoenix (3.3). The lone exception was the rain-drenched 2012 Fontana race, which earned a 3.4 overnight on a Sunday afternoon. Prior to this year, the Darlington race took place in May opposite the NBA Playoffs.(Sports Media Watch / Sports Business Daily)(4-14-2014) - Darlington Race and Commercial Breakdown: For those of you NASCAR fans that like stats and love to hate commercials, here is the breakdown for Saturday’s race. Began recording the times at the Invocation of the race at 6:30 PM, and stopped at the waving of the checkered flag at 10:41 PM (all times are EST). Fox was the broadcast team for this event.
Total number of commercials: 125
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 72
Number of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 112
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 68
Number of ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials during race broadcast (split-screen): 13
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 10
Number of times Fox utilized ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials during this broadcast: 3
Total number of brief promos of products/services during the race broadcast: 50
Total amount of time these brief promos take during broadcast: app. 6 min. 10 sec.
Start time to record race/commercial periods: 6:30 PM
End time to record race/commercial periods: 10:41 PM
Total minutes of complete race broadcast: 251
Minutes of race broadcast: 194
Minutes of traditional commercials (not split-screen): 57
Minutes of ‘Side-by-Side’ commercials (split-screen): 6
Number of missed restarts: 0
Number of ‘mystery cautions’ (debris not shown): 0
Total race brdcst time 194
Total comm. brdcst time 57
See past races, links to more detailed reports on the 2014 TV Commercials page.
The commercials during the race are equal about 15 minutes of commercials for every 60 minutes of total time (15 minutes of commercials, 45 minutes of the race). For instance, a 30 minute sitcom on network TV usually airs approx. 8 minutes of commercials.(4-14-2014) - Texas TV Ratings: Rainout coverage of last week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Texas earned a 2.4 final rating and 3.8 million viewers on FOX. The race was postponed to Monday.(Sports Business Daily / Sports Media Watch)(4-14-2014)
- Sadler goes green at Richmond: OneMain Financial and NASCAR driver Elliott Sadler will support the NASCAR Green initiative in a month-long campaign to draw focus on environmental awareness. The campaign will culminate with a green paint scheme for the #11 OneMain Financial Toyota at Richmond International Raceway. Throughout the month, the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship contender will participate in several green initiatives, such as assisting in RIR’s tree-planting event at the end of April at a local park along the James River. In addition to the all green paint scheme at Richmond, OneMain Financial will announce a unique partnership later in the month to further reinforce its dedication to environmental sustainability and other green initiatives.(Joe Gibbs Racing), see an image of the car on the #11 team paint schemes page.(4-14-2014)
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