Brian France discusses fan base disruption, millennials, stage racing and other changes
Ahead of Homestead-Miami Speedway, Brian France sat down with the media to discuss the 2017 NASCAR season. There was a lot going on that week. His comments were mostly overlooked.
I recorded the press conference, with the intention of printing it at a later date. Here it is.
Brian had some interesting things to say on the state of the sport, changes and the future.
“We’ve had a great year,” Brian France stated in the yearly NASCAR address. “Not a good year, a great year. That’s evidence of the competition, particular in the playoffs.”
“There are things out of our control. How millennials and other fans of ours are consuming, not only our sport, but all the sports. That’s obviously a challenge for everybody.”
“Attention times, the platforms they want to view and consume our sport, they’re changing. TV is still and always will be critically important. But, other things are giving us a great opportunity and we’re positioned well there.”
Nearly 50% of Millennials don’t watch any form of traditional TV, myself included. Instead of the cable bill, they’ve elected for digital internet option such as YouTube TV.
“But, it’s true, there is always disruption when you have the kind of changes, on a macro level, in sports. Then, couple that with our transition stuff, it’s understandable.”
“But, I’m glad that we made all the decisions that we made in the last 5-8 years. Thank goodness we did each and every one of those.”
In the last 5 years, NASCAR has made no greater effort to make the cars equal. In addition, they’ve create a playoff format and introduced stage racing.
“Imagine if we didn’t. Imagine where we would be. We wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the things that are available to us today.”
“The biggest thing we’re excited about is, we’re on a fast track to get the competition level up. Some of that has been done by formats, like stage racing.”
Brian France indicated that Brent Dewar is now leading the charge from the competition standpoint. Dewer took over the row as NASCAR President earlier this year.
Related: Brent Dewar promoted to NASCAR president
“We’re realistic about things that are changing, that we can’t control. But, we like where we’re at and we like where we’re going,” Brian France concluded.
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