By any measure, Nitro Circus hit 2018 full-throttle and never slowed down. The global youth sports and entertainment brand capped the year off with a culmination of its groundbreaking Facebook partnership. This follows Nitro ringleader Travis Pastrana topping U.S. cable viewership with his record-breaking “Evel Live” tribute to the legendary Evel Knievel and the debut of Nitro Rallycross, which rejuvenated four-wheel motorsports.
Global livestreams from November’s Nitro World Games Scootfest and December’s Scooter Best Trick earned 16 million views on Facebook Watch while “Nitro Circus: Throwdown,” featuring live nightly contests from the You Got This arena tour, scored an additional five million. All told, combined views of Nitro Circus and Nitro World Games Facebook content in 2018 have exceeded 50 million to date.
“We couldn’t be happier with our partnership with Facebook in 2018. We have invested heavily in the Facebook platform for years and it was the natural home for us to broadcast our major events,” said Mike Cowan, Nitro Circus’ Chief Digital Officer. “The viewership and engagement numbers speak for themselves, and we look forward to working together with Facebook to continue to build this brand.”
Nitro Circus continues to lead across the digital space as well: Nitro is one of Snapchat’s top performing brands and it is approaching one million subscribers on YouTube. Overall views of Nitro Circus content topped 200 million in November alone. Nitro Circus’ metrics also further highlight today’s generational shift as the action sports embraced by younger audiences increasingly challenge traditional games such as American football for viewership on platforms like Instagram.
Here are just a few highlights from 2018’s action-packed slate of Facebook Watch content:
Nitro World Games BMX Park and Skate Park
After two years as a single-day competition, in 2018 Nitro World Games expanded into a multi-site, global event. With that growth, Nitro World Games could now add new disciplines to its lineup such as BMX Park and Skate Park, two events set to make their Olympics debut in 2020. This expansion further pushes progression across action sports.
Nitro Circus’ partnership with Facebook Watch offered enthusiasts of both BMX and Skate unprecedented access from qualifying (thanks to the “Nitro World Games: Unlocked” series) through the no-holds-barred finals. August’s BMX Park and Skate Park comps garnered eight million live views.
“Working with the teams at Facebook Sports and Facebook Watch made this experience all the more amplified,” said Nick Crooks, Vice President, Global Head of Digital Partnerships and Distribution for Nitro Circus. “They believed in the product and have been true partners in building Nitro World Games to where it is now.”
Nitro World Games Scooter Best Trick and Scootfest King of Kings
As detailed in Rolling Stone, freestyle scooter is taking youth culture by storm, quickly becoming one of the fastest growing disciplines in action sports. Nitro Circus has championed scooter for years, with trailblazing athlete Ryan Williams now one of its biggest stars. Travis Pastrana recently commented on how freestyle scooter is impacting the industry: “These guys are absolutely amazing… [Riders are] landing things that have never been seen before. It’s a whole new world. These guys are the forefront.”
Scooter has been part of the Nitro World Games from the onset, with Facebook Watch letting fans from across the globe be part of the action. The result? The top four live broadcasts in the history of the sport are all Nitro World Games affiliated events, with each averaging over one million views. As freestyle scooter continues to rise, look for more exciting news coming soon about Nitro World Games in 2019.
About Nitro Circus:
Nitro Circus, the world’s biggest action sports entertainment brand, creates electrifying live events and unbelievable original content that at once exhilarates, captivates and inspires thrill-seeking fans worldwide. Co-founded by global superstar Travis Pastrana in 2003, Nitro Circus has since grown into a multiplatform phenomenon producing hit television shows, critically acclaimed documentaries and innovative digital offerings. That success gave rise to the Nitro Circus Live tour. Created in 2010, Nitro Circus Live has travelled the globe, playing to sold-out stadiums on five continents. The company introduced an innovative breakthrough in 2016 with the debut of Nitro World Games, completely rebooting action sports competition in the process. With over three million tickets sold to date, television programming that has aired in over 60 countries, more than 20 million engaged fans across its social media platforms and a burgeoning consumer products business, Nitro Circus is at the forefront of action sports and entertainment. For more information visit www.nitrocircus.com.
