NBCSN PRESENTS #NASCARTHROWBACK SPECIAL HONORING TONY STEWART
Interactive Watch Party Incorporates Social Posts in Real Time During Re-Air of Stewart’s 2011 Championship Race at Miami. NASCAR Drivers, Race Teams, NBC Sports Broadcasters and Fans Interact On-Screen using #NASCARThrowback
Story By:BILL KLINGBELL / TSR MEDIA
Photos By: GETTY IMAGES / NASCAR
STAMFORD, Conn. — November 11, 2016 — NBCSN is gearing up to rally NASCAR Nation around its next #NASCARThrowback special on Monday, November 14th at 9 p.m. ET. The network’s first on-air interactive watch party in June achieved a surge in viewership and topped U.S. Twitter trends for more than an hour. Monday’s event is set to raise the bar with increased participation throughout the sport and the integration of multiple social media platforms.
NASCAR drivers, race teams, NBC Sports broadcasters and fans will unite to share their memories surrounding Tony Stewart’s iconic career and his 2011 Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as NBCSN re-airs the classic event in an entirely new fashion. The NBC Sports social command center will pull in select Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts featuring the #NASCARThrowback hashtag on-screen during the broadcast. The #NASCARThrowback special airs six days before Stewart’s final Sprint Cup race at the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship on Sunday, November 20th at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
“Prior to launching NBC’s portion of the NASCAR season in July, we generated great excitement and engagement with our first #NASCARThrowback special,” said Jenny Storms, Chief Marketing Officer, NBC Sports Group. “We are looking forward to not only honoring Tony Stewart with this second #NASCARThrowback event, but giving the fans, drivers, teams and racing community the opportunity to interact and have a shared social experience as we head into Championship Weekend.”
Unlike traditional television replays of classic events, #NASCARThrowback is unique in that athletes and key figures involved in the original event contribute their memories and perspectives, adding fresh details and real-time interaction with fans and former competitors. During NBCSN’s first #NASCARThrowback event in June, driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. live-tweeted throughout the broadcast as the network re-aired his emotionally charged 2001 victory at Daytona International Speedway. In the final moments of the throwback broadcast, more than 400 tweets per minute poured in from viewers. The surge of Twitter activity helped fuel an impressive +86% increase in #NASCARThrowback ratings on NBCSN vs. a classic NASCAR race that aired during the same day and time period in 2015.
