NASCAR LIVE on Google TV

Guest post from NASCAR

(A series highlighting the most interesting new apps available for Google TV)

I am excited to announce the first official NASCAR application that has been optimized for the big screen experience – NASCAR.COM LIVE.  When I found out that Google was planning to extend the successful Android Market onto Google TV, I was encouraged by the evolution of the product and began brainstorming on how to make a cool product that NASCAR fans would enjoy.  

To me, NASCAR is a bold sport – its drivers are larger than life, the cars are faster than anything I can relate to, and the competitiveness is measured in milliseconds of granularity that is best viewed in HD.  When we started, we realized that this platform is, first and foremost, about video and so we wanted to put as much video content as we could into the app.  We then thought about how we would use the data we have to soothe some of the pain points of the live TV broadcast.  NASCAR.COM LIVE brings fans the best on-demand HD video clips of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series.

When it comes to race day, the TV broadcasts do a great job but there are a number of ways that interactive features can add to the broadcast experience.  The scrolling ticker graphics that are used on TV are a nice way to keep up with the standings in real time but sometimes I really want to know where my favorite driver is.  And I want to know now, not wait until the ticker scrolls through all 43 drivers.  So, we added Live Leaderboard to the “Live mode” of the app to allow fans to scroll through the leaderboard as they wish. 

Another cool feature is our Lap-by-Lap text updates that build up into an archive throughout the race. This provides fans a great summary of the race and gives them a way to analyze on their own terms.  

When you pair Live Leaderboard and Lap-by-Lap with Google TV’s built in picture-in-picture feature then you’ve got a really cool way to watch the race that’s the perfect complement to the TV broadcast.

Finally we realize that the family room is a personal place and often times a social gathering for race events.  Perhaps half of the room has avid and loyal NASCAR fans but your other friends are new to the sport and want to learn more.  That’s why we wanted to put in beautiful high resolution photos of drivers, cars, team information, and use the NASCAR 101 section to teach the basics of the sport.  It’s a fun way to get hooked on racing.

I’m excited about Google TV and the app, but—as with any product—there are always opportunities to make it better. Check out NASCAR.COM LIVE and let us know how we can make the experience even better for you.

The NASCAR app can be found here in Android Market.

Jim Doeden, Associate Product Manager, NASCAR.COM