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Mike Sinclair3 Jul 2015
NEWS

Let V8 Supercar teams stream, says Nissan

Nissan Australia boss Richard Emery calls for more value and flexibility from V8 Supercars in broadcasting and off the track

Nissan Australia boss Richard Emery has called on V8 Supercars to provide more flexibility for teams and manufacturers.

But this time it’s not on-track or in terms of tyre or technical rules. Instead, the automotive industry sales and marketing veteran says Australia’s premier motorsport category must review how it deals with issues such as broadcast rules and off-track promotion.

Emery made the call in reference to Nissan’s experience at, and activation of, the Le Mans 24 Hour. He called the current structures “restrictive” and suggested live streaming of content direct from V8 Supercar teams would add value for consumers and sponsors alike.

Speaking to a small group of Australian journalists at the French classic, Emery stated V8 Supercars need to be more flexible with what manufacturers and sponsors we able to broadcast at and from events.

He also called into question the high cost of activation and hospitality at V8 Supercar events.

While the latter is not an issue for the wider V8 fan base, what can and can’t be broadcast from V8 events is.

“Aside from the technical structure around V8 Supercars, we need to have a commercial discussion with V8 Supercars about the restrictive nature of some of the rules around what you can and can’t do,” Emery stated.

Nissan’s Le Mans activation included live feeds from its three NISMO GTR-LM racers and from its pit complex. The vision, including live interviews, was broadcast to the company’s Le Mans hospitality centre and via NISMO TV to a worldwide online audience.

Production and broadcast of such content would not be allowed under current V8 Supercars’ sponsorship and broadcast rules – even within the events precincts themselves.

“They [the live feeds] ran all through the race. Interviewing people, live streams from the cars...  We can’t do any of that [from a V8 Supercar event],” Emery stated.

“I reckon there’d be people who would still watch the television, Foxtel or Ten, and have their computer running… because they want to watch Rick [Kelly] race for a few laps. I don’t think it has any commercial detriment on the [existing V8 Supercars] TV package,” Emery told motoring.com.au.

Emery intimated changes in these areas would need to be made to deliver the opportunities Nissan and other OEMs are looking for from V8 Supercars now and in the future.

 “…We’re going to need to get some comfort [in future], because what I want to make sure is that we run our V8 program, and we run our motorsport program in Australia, at the same high level of engagement and innovation that they [NISMO] do globally,” Emery stated.

“We probably gained a lot over this [Le Mans] weekend in terms of people getting engaged with our program -- without the cars performing at the front of the field.  

“And that’s a really important factor because you can’t win every weekend… But if you’re doing all the other things in the background well every weekend, then it still works commercially for a car company,” he said.

The local boss says Nissan's global marketing chiefs expect his operation to echo the sorts of activation demonstrated at Le Mans.

“We want to activate at the same level that Darren [Cox, Nissan's global motorsport chief] does, because Roel de Vries, who’s Nissan’s marketing head, basically said that's what he’s looking for,” Emery explained.

“He understands the technical side of the sport but he wants us to start activating and engaging at the same level [as Le Mans]. And at the moment that’s a difficult hurdle and probably, when we’ve talked through some of the stuff we’ve already wanted to do or would do in the future, it all gets too much for them [V8 Supercars].

“We’re going to have to try and train them to come with us on this; maybe experiment at a couple of rounds… Whether it’s hospitality structures; whether it’s fan engagement things like the [NISMO TV] hub; whether it’s electronic stuff… We can’t even have a fixed camera in our [V8 Supercar] pit area and put that onto NISMO TV,” Emery told motoring.com.au.

“So I have a view that this can work beside the TV deals, but it needs people to expand their minds a little bit.

“I don’t think we’ll be taking people away from their TV coverage or [any] other coverage.  We’ll just be adding to it by using NISMO TV and I think that’s innovative,” Emery explained.

“That’s the company’s attitude; we’re innovating the way we go motor racing. And we’ll be looking for that in any decision that we make off-track,” he said.

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