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As NASCAR continues to look for ways to improve the sport, both on and off the track, one area I believe they are missing a huge opportunity is with their online content.  While there are plenty of articles, blog posts, and video clips available at NASCAR.com and the many other racing related websites, NASCAR is trailing most of the other major sports with their live streaming options.

NASCAR’s current online presence is controlled by Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting Systems, and has been since 2001.  In 2008, the two entities extended their online deal through the year 2014.  This puts Turner in direct control of NASCAR’s official online footprint.

Currently, outside of the six races that TNT’s RaceBuddy is available online, NASCAR.com’s online offerings are pretty scant.  TrackPass offers scanner audio, timing and scoring data, limited MRN/PRN broadcasts, and some weird virtual racing animation called RaceView.  There are also some short feature shows and racing highlights available each week.  There is however, no way to watch races streaming live online, view archived race footage, or even listen live to MRN and PRN broadcasts and shows.

And compared to the other major American sports, NASCAR is still in the digital ice age.  For example, while they don’t offer live streaming video of games online, the NFL does have live online streaming audio for all 32 teams.  Major League Baseball has their MLB.TV package that allows fans to watch every regular season game live online, and they’ve been doing so for years.  The NBA offers League Pass Broadband that allows viewers to watch 40 games a week live online including full DVR features, plus every game from the season is archived and available at any time to watch in full replay.  Even the NHL has Gamecenter that offers live online games, plus they just added a new archive of old and classic games that are available for download.  Everyone else seems to get it, except NASCAR.

The biggest obstacle appears to be that NASCAR has several partners in terms of broadcasting, and getting them all to agree on a fair package might be difficult at best.  But the one key factor that could change everything is NASCAR.  It’s their product in the end, and if they wanted it done, it could get done.

Just to give you and idea about what the networks think, earlier in the season when asked about streaming races online, FOX’s David Hill said that they would not do it, so as to protect their local affiliates.  After reading that, and knowing the difficult situation that network television is in, I can understand his position.  What’s interesting to note however, is that while he’s not okay showing NASCAR races online for fear of harming his local affiliates, he’s certainly okay “harming” them by allowing Major League Baseball to stream every single game online with it’s MLB.TV package while FOX continues along as part of $3 billion TV contract with MLB that runs through 2013.  Good one David.

What NASCAR needs is a comprehensive online package that would allow fans to pay a subscription fee for everything mentioned.  Allow them access to live audio and video of press conferences, practice sessions, qualifying, and races online.  Make RaceBuddy available for all 36 races.  Give them access to listen to all of the MRN and PRN broadcasts and shows.  Want scanner audio for every driver you?  You got it!  Offer several different packages at different price points, and let them choose what they want.  There is so much activity going on during the week and at the races on the weekend, and it could all be available for consumption, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, right on NASCAR.com.  Cha ching, cha ching!

NASCAR needs new ways to connect with their fans, and they are always looking to expand the sport’s reach.  They have a golden opportunity lying right in front of their faces to accomplish both, and they have chosen to ignore it.  Somebody please explain this to me.

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After six weeks, TNT’s turn at the helm of the Cup Series broadcasts is over. And if you ask me, it couldn’t have come any sooner.

From missed stories, to commercial overkill, TNT’s races were lackluster at best.

Thanks to the wonders of technology (the DVR) and Speed’s Wednesday re-broadcast, TC and I usually catch every race broadcast. Though it’s not something we often write about here (if you’re looking to talk NASCAR TV check out The Daly Planet) I felt the need to express my disappointment with what I saw of TNT’s coverage.

After dumping Bill Weber in the middle of last season, TNT had a hole to fill at play-by-play. While Ralph Sheheen was given an audition at the end of last season, the network settled on MRN and Speed Channel vet Adam Alexander.

Now I think Adam is a great guy. He’s good on pit road, and really a genuinely nice person. Play-by-play however is not his forte. As ESPN learned with Jerry Punch, adeptness on pit road does not necessarily translate to skills at play-by-play.

Not helping Adam’s transition was the lack of communication between the booth and the control room (or trailer). How many times during their stretch did we hear the guys in the booth talking about a driver, wreck, or on-track action only to continue seeing something completely unrelated? This sort of thing is incredibly frustrating to watch (I found myself yelling at the TV) – yet it happened over and over and over.

Let’s not even get started on the commercial breaks either. SB Nation’s Jeff Gluck fully went through those in a post earlier this week.

So to recap, what TNT gave the fans was basically this: Commercials, commercials, commercials, a few laps of racing, commercials, commercials, commercials. Then the broadcast would come back on, play-by-play man Adam Alexander would say, “While we were away…” and TNT would show us the important moment we missed.

The man knows what he’s talking about – as does anyone who has watched these races.

Add all this on top of the missed stories (this shouldn’t surprise me though, TNT has a history of missed moments) – AJ Allmendinger v. Richard Petty comes to mind – and what we have are broadcasts that were nothing short of a disappointment.

Now I’m not saying the FOX and ESPN broadcasts are flawless. They most certainly are not (no live sports broadcast is). They are however better than TNT. If you can get past the cartoon characters, and the occasional over-the-top personalities Fox technically has a wonderful broadcast. This is thanks in large part to their Emmy award winning director Artie Kempner, and the best play-by-play guy in the business, Mike Joy. And if there is one thing the folks at ESPN know how to do, it’s how to broadcast a sporting event (though I’m not crazy about their golf coverage). I’d prefer Allen Bestwick at play-by-play too.

Is TNT unwatchable? I think that’s probably a little harsh, but they definitely have work to do to make their broadcasts better. As Jeff Gluck and John Daly have pointed out, hopefully NASCAR and their television partners begin to realize maybe it’s not the product, but the dissemination of the product that’s driving people away.

What do you think about the broadcasts? What are your likes and dislikes? Which section of the season is your favorite?

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