ICE North America Digital - Day 2 ICE NA Digital Event Guide - Day 2-v6 | Page 15

INTERVIEW
Why eNASCAR’s 15 minutes of fame
will lead to long-term success
On May 16th, NASCAR postponed all forthcoming
races in its Cup series until early May, leaving a
primetime hole in the scheduling program of Fox
Sports 1.
The following day, it announced the creation of
eNASCAR Pro Invitational in collaboration with long-
term partner iRacing - a new gaming league where
professional athletes would battle it out on virtual
tracks to fill the broadcasting void. What happened
next was quite remarkable.
The first race at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway
attracted 900,000 viewers - smashing ratings
records for any other televised esports competition
– and trended number one on Twitter. Over the
following four events numbers steadily increased to
over 1.5 million.
Scott Warfield, Managing Director of Gaming at
NASCAR, believes that the series has given an
opportunity to show the world what esports can be
from both a sports entertainment perspective and as
a betting opportunity.
“Postponing the live events was a jarring inevitability
and something that all sports leagues have had
to deal with – basically taking away a form of
entertainment from our fans,” he said.
“Luckily, we were able to quickly pivot to our esports
strategy. iRacing has been a partner of ours for
11 years, so we knew through our collaborative
Coca Cola e-series and Heat Pro league for video
consoles that we had a fantastic product which
would keep fans engaged in the absence of
NASCAR Cup races.”
Although the figures for Pro Invitational are
significantly lower than the NASCAR Cup average,
which would typically receive around 4 – 4.5 million
viewers, the virtual series’ races now make up the
five highest rated televised esports events in U.S.
history. And it has chartered new territory too: over
25 percent of viewers of the Miami competition had
not watched any other previous NASCAR event this
year.
Warfield said: “A lot of the positive reaction is
because the iRacing product is so real. For each
virtual event we’ve looked to recreate every
component of the real-life equivalent, from the
pre-race concert to bringing in the professional
NASCAR Cup drivers and following the original track
schedule.”
High tides lift all boats
Many athletes already
used and promoted the
driving simulator rigs as a
training and engagement
tool, affording a level of credibility to the platform that
has helped boost ratings.
Thanks to this sudden surge in popularity, Warfield
believes NASCARS’ two existing esports mainstays -
Coca Cola and Heat Pro – will see long term gains.
He said: “The numbers for our existing leagues have
gone through the roof – but will this stick around?
Before the coronavirus pandemic, esports was
already on an incredible trajectory. That curve has
now been accelerated as sports like eNASCAR have
been given 15 minutes of fame.”
For the betting industry, esports has provided a
lifeline to many sportsbook operators by filling the
void left by the suspension of most major leagues
and sporting events. But as well as maintaining
engagement among traditional bettors, the increased
prominence of esports is also attracting a younger
audience.
“There are sports fans all over the world that are
thirsting for content and the same can be said for
bettors. If you look at what’s been popping with
sportsbooks, it’s ping pong, it’s Belarus football,
it’s Korean baseball - and now there’s this peak of
interest in eNASCAR because of the realistic nature,”
Warfield explained.
“The benefit we have is that our esports products
are available on platforms where a lot of younger
people flock to and are broadcast in more attractive,
shorter formats. So, while we’re trying to capture
any and all eyeballs, an additional element is that
as the sports become more youthful, so will the
operator’s sportsbooks.”
As the popularity of betting on esports propels into
untested waters, Warfield asserted that integrity
remains critical. He emphasised the importance
of clarity with the audience and ensuring an
understanding of the event rules.
Warfield is set to discuss the he benefits of esports
to the betting and gaming industry, on 12 May. Click
here add to your schedule of sessions you want to
stream.
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