Kentucky Derby TV partner NBC has “sought to grow” the event’s stature by taking a two-minute sprint and turning it into an event, and the network believes that it has “finally cracked the code,” according to Alex Weprin of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. NBC has coverage that “now spans some five hours” and features “an increased focus on fashion, food, and other areas that are race-adjacent (and conveniently advertiser-friendly).” The Derby has become NBCU’s “spring tentpole,” coming after the end of the NFL season and outside of the Olympic windows, but months ahead of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and July 4 fireworks show. So the company has used its “Symphony” marketing effort to “get the word out, with near-ubiquitous coverage” across the “Today” show, “Tonight Show,” CNBC, Premier League coverage and other efforts. This year, for example, the network will have Olympians like Simone Biles and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone participating, with “The Voice” winner Gina Miles performing the national anthem. Steve Kornacki will “return to give a data-driven guide to the race.” NBCU “plans to leverage its audience to drive awareness of some key projects of its own,” including the debut of a new 2026 Winter Olympics marketing campaign. The network also “plans to promote the return of the NBA on NBC, on-air and at Churchill Downs, where an activation is planned” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 5/1).
CONTINUING COVERAGE: The AP’s Joe Reedy wrote the Derby broadcast has evolved into one of the “most diverse sports events that NBC does yearly and is on par with the Olympics,” which it carries once every two years, and the Super Bowl, which it has once every four years. This year, there will be “12 1/2 hours of coverage across two days on NBC, USA Network and Peacock.” There will be five hours for Friday’s Kentucky Oaks on USA Network and Peacock, then Saturday’s coverage begins on USA Network at noon ET “before moving” to NBC at 2:30pm -- while Peacock “will stream all 7 1/2 hours.” Among the stories planned are the return of trainer Bob Baffert -- who served a three-year suspension after Medina Spirit failed a drug test -- 89-year-old trainer D. Wayne Lukas and Michael McCarthy, the trainer of pre-race favorite Journalism, whose “family was displaced from home in Southern California due to the wildfires” (AP, 5/2).
LIGHTS, CAMERAS, ACTION: SBJ’s Ethan Joyce noted NBC Sports Supervising Producer Lindsay Schanzer, Director Kaare Numme and the rest of the 300-member production crew will descend upon Churchill Downs “with a treasure trove of camera tech” for the network’s 25th consecutive Derby broadcast. The goal is to “canvas everything from action on the track to the red carpets and concourses that surround it,” while “balancing the interests of die-hard horse racing fans and casual observers alike.” The broadcast will use 68 cameras Saturday, about double the amount during its first Derby telecast in 2001, including “several lightweight handheld units and drones that broaden the network’s scope of coverage.” In addition Cosm, through its partnership with NBC, will also “place seven cameras in and around the track to produce immersive streams” of the Derby for its locations in Dallas and L.A. NBC plans to “show the scene at Cosm L.A. during its telecast as well” (SBJ TECH, 4/30).
NUMBERS UP: SBJ’s Mollie Cahillane noted the 150th Derby last year had its best audience number since 1989, and “you can see that reflected in the sales numbers for this weekend’s event.” NBCU EVP/Advertising Sales and Partnerships Peter Lazarus said that the Derby is “essentially sold out,” with “key categories up, including pharma (+43%), betting (+17%), finance (+12%) and auto (+23%), with 11 new advertisers onboard” (SBJ MEDIA, 4/28).
