Roadracing is beginning to recapture American interest and rebuild its fan base. “We are extremely pleased with the growth of our TV and social media numbers,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “Our new TV packages with FS2 and NBC Sports Network were popular with our existing fans and also attracted new fans, which added up to increased numbers across the board.
Rainey noted TV ratings, live and on-demand streaming numbers, social media presence and race attendance grew by leaps and bounds in 2019, with the broadcast TV audience alone up more than double from 2018. In total, viewership for race programming alone averaged over 400,000 viewers per race weekend for a total that topped 4.2 million.
Year-on-year numbers for MotoAmerica’s broadcast TV viewership from its shows on NBC Sports Network and Fox Sports 2 were up 134% over the 2018 season that aired on beIN Sports. In total, MotoAmerica’s 200+ hours of race programming was viewed 1.7 million times. In addition to the on-air viewership, over two million more race programming views came via YouTube, MotoAmerica’s social media, Eurosport and in dealerships, such as Cycle Gear retail outlets across the country.
The 2019 racing season also saw the debut of MotoAmerica Live+, the series’ hugely successful live and on-demand streaming service. MotoAmerica Live+ accounted for 347,000 views of race programming with fans watching 105,000 hours of action.
Social media also exploded in 2019 with followers on the three MotoAmerica social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – growing 33% over 2018 with impressions up 229%. Fan interaction also went through the roof in 2019 with MotoAmerica boasting one of the highest engagement ratios in all of motorsport with the Facebook page alone accounting for a 227% increase in engagement.
The 10-round 2020 MotoAmerica Series begins April 3-5 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.