In August of 2024, a group of executives from The CW flew down to Daytona International Speedway on a mission.
The CW had no official business in the garage at the time other than knowing they were an incoming broadcast partner. NASCAR signed the company to a seven-year deal to be the exclusive home of the Xfinity Series beginning in 2025, but in late 2024, moves were already being made to get off on the right foot. The trip to Daytona was one of those moves.
“We … met with the Xfinity Series teams in the garage to show them that we were there,” Mike Perman, the SVP of Sports for The CW, tells RACER. “We had conversations about what they think is working, what they would like to see. So, we were able to have face-to-face conversations to say, ‘This is what we’re doing. We’re the new players in town.’
“I think that was very positive and surprised a bunch of people that we’re going to take good care of the series. Not that it was a surprise that we were going to take care of it, but there’s a partner here that this is our top priority. I think that made a big impression on the garage.”
Brian Herbst, NASCAR’s EVP, chief media and revenue officer, gave another anecdote about the all-in nature of The CW. Per Herbst, there is an entire production team dedicated to the Xfinity Series throughout the year, and after producing races during the weekend, they are looking for stories during the week. Doing so includes visiting team shops in North Carolina to gather items for inclusion in the broadcasts.
“It’s the first time we’ve had that in at least over a decade, and really in NASCAR’s history, where you have one production unit (NASCAR Productions and The CW) focusing on the Xfinity Series fulltime and not split with the Cup Series,” Herbst says. “That sort of focus and dedicated, single mind share, has been really helpful on the production side.”
The CW ended up jumping into the fray early by broadcasting the last eight races of the 2024 season. And unlike in the past when the series was split between broadcast partners or how the Cup Series remains with four different partners that split the season, The CW came in and took the entirety of the Xfinity Series schedule to provide consistency for viewers. It also goes a long way when a company can promote its properties on a weekly basis.
In hindsight, the summer 2024 meeting helped further set the tone for how The CW would approach its NASCAR partnership. Once the teams knew they were in good hands, The CW went about showing the fans that they would be as well in the decisions it made with its production. Adam Alexander, a veteran broadcast voice, was hired for the booth. As were former drivers Jamie McMurray and Parker Kligerman, neither of which are afraid to call things as they see them and with a breath of honesty.
Experienced driver and broadcaster Jamie McMurray joined The CW's team. Krista Jasso/Getty Images
One of the biggest priorities, however, was the coverage presentation. It is something race fans have no problem opining about online, and hardly goes unnoticed by those involved.
“We spent a lot of time talking about it,” Perman says. “Our marketing and creative team spent a lot of time on the overall look of the graphics and how the races would look. They went through a ton of iterations. If you look at what NBC and Fox have, they go with the pylon that’s on the left, and in conversations (we wondered), should we stick with that? We’re new here, and should we stick with it and just do the same thing that’s been done for years? Or should we take a look at something different? We spent a lot of time on that.
“Our production team spent a lot of time talking about the talent. … We felt like if you’re going to start this and people are going to think you’re credible, then your production has to be good, the look has to be good, and the talent has to be good.”
Perman understands and acknowledges that NASCAR fans, at times, have a hard time with change. So, it would have been easy for The CW to keep the status quo in many of its processes. However, to demonstrate their commitment to NASCAR and reaffirm their plan to take care of it, they needed to try new things unique to the brand.
NASCAR was another step for The CW in shifting from general entertainment to sports. Perman revealed that 25 percent of its properties this year will be sports. WWE and NASCAR are two sports the company looked at with strong brands and fanatical followings, which made them perfect partners, and how The CW ended up with the deal.
Putting together plans is one thing. Seeing the execution and return on investment is another. The CW has been getting that, though, with fans speaking with their remote controls.
This season is pacing to be the most-watched NASCAR Xfinity Series season since 2018. Perhaps more impressively, The CW, which reaches 125 million U.S. households via over the air or streaming options, is consistently pulling in either near or over one million viewers a race. The full 2024 season had a total of 943,000 viewers, but The CW has already pulled in 1,082,000 total viewers in 26 races.
“Overall, I think we’re pleasantly surprised,” says Perman. “The first 13 races that we had this year averaged over one million viewers. When the ratings come out on Tuesday morning, we all get excited to see that. We’re averaging 1.1 (million) for the season. We’re up 17 percent over last year. I think the consistency in our schedule is helping, but I think we’re pleasantly surprised that we’re hitting over a million on a consistent basis.”
Herbst praised the NASCAR fan base and the reach of The CW in making those numbers happen. The CW reaches 125 million households in the United States through both over-the-air and streaming.
“But to see these numbers come in with positive comps from a season-long perspective, and double-digit positive comps, has been pretty rewarding,” Herbst tells RACER. “It’s always great to see a plan come together.”
There are some in the industry who would argue the Xfinity Series is the best racing of three national series. And certainly, it’s not the be-all-end-all of the Cup Series, which will always have a built-in audience, but it’s become a home to many and a place where stars make their mark before moving upward. The CW understands that, and instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, has grabbed the chance to show it off to as many people as possible.
“We look at it as an opportunity to show off these drivers that are very skilled and grow the series as a whole,” Perman says. “If you look at the ratings, and I’m making round numbers up, but the Cup Series basically does two to three times what we’re doing Xfinity Series wise. So, we see the opportunity of how we can attract some of those Cup Series (fans) who are maybe not watching the Xfinity Series? We are trying to figure that out. So, we look at it as an opportunity to grow the sport.”
ShareThis is disabled until you accept Social Networking cookies.
