Turner Sports hit the track that Sunday with the first of it’s six 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Summer Series races on Turner Network Television (TNT) and unveiled Race Buddy, NASCAR.COM’s live online companion to the network’s televised coverage, with both platforms delivering strong early results. TNT’s coverage of the Pocono 500 earned a 3.9 US rating, up 27 percent over last year’s coverage on the network. NASCAR.COM’s RaceBuddy shined in its debut, garnering 712,000 live streams to NASCAR’s official site during the race.
(editor’s note: maybe it’s because no one can afford to go anywhere anymore, and they’re all just sitting at home watching the races. You can surely tell that the attendance is down, except for that Nationwide race at Kentucky that sold out (7 years in a row))
“At Turner Sports we pride ourselves on successfully delivering an enjoyable and high-quality multi-platform experience to our audiences for the sporting events we cover; be it NASCAR, NBA, MLB or PGA,” said David Levy, Turner Sports President. “We are thrilled at the early feedback on both our telecast and online offerings and look forward to continuing the momentum this weekend in Michigan.”
Other TNT Ratings and Demo Highlights from the Pocono 500:
The race was also the top-ranked program for the week on cable among total viewers (6,098,000), households (4,393,000), adults 18-49 (2,780,000) and adults 25-54 (3,271,000).
TNT saw tremendous growth in Total Viewers ×22 percent (6,098,000 vs. 4,987,000), Adults 18-49 ×18 percent (2,780,000 vs. 2,348,000), Adults 25-54 ×20 percent (3,271,000 vs. 2,605,000) Men 18-49 ×17 percent (1,848,000 vs. 1,581,000), Men 25-54 ×24 percent (2,179,000 vs. 1,756,000).
RaceBuddy, which offered live feeds from the Pit Road Cam, In-Car Cameras, Battle Cam, Race Robo and Mosaic View, also guided fans to online chats, answered poll questions and submitted questions to “Ask the Booth” which were answered during the pre-race coverage and throughout the race telecast by TNT announcers Bill Weber, Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach. This report came from TNT PR.
In spite of a souring world economy, the Speed Channel announcers covering the F1 GP of Canada held in Montreal boasted that the event was a sellout and claimed 300,000 in attendance! In contrast the crowd was down by 15,000 fans for the Nextel Cup race at Pocono, according to reports from SportsBusiness.com.
Formula One Grands Prix generate more revenue per event than any other sport in the world, according to research carried out by Formula Money, the organization which monitors the financial health of F1 motor racing and the Deloitte Sport Business Group.
The research found that each of the motor sport’s 17 races produce an average revenue of $229 million per event – nearly ten times that of its closest competitor, the National Football League, which generates $24 million per game.
Figures from Deloitte Sports Business Group show the NFL and Major League Baseball’s overall revenue was $6.5 billion and $5.1 billion in 2006 respectively – substantially higher than F1’s total revenue of $3.9 billion, although both the NFL and MLB had significantly more events. The English Premier League clubs’ combined revenue was $3 billion in the 2006/07 seasons.
Caroline Reid, co-author of Formula Money, said: “with a ready supply of emerging markets looking to put themselves on the global map in front of F1′s 597 million unique television viewers, the sport is likely to grow further east in future. However, at the same time it must make sure it doesn’t lose track of its historic heartland”.
Formula One’s $3.9 billion is comprised of commercial rights revenues (race sponsorship, corporate hospitality and broadcast fees), team revenues (including sponsorship and contributions from partners and owners) and circuit revenues (from ticket sales and sponsorships).
When it rains it pours! NASCAR has its hands full with multiple problems. A $225 million sexual harassment suit, COT and driver issues, the Kentucky Speedway lawsuit, Bruton Smith of SMI pressing for additional Cup races and dropping attendance at the various tracks that host Cup events. About the only improvement is that the TV ratings seem to be better than last year and hold steady. At least with the Fox Sports effort, so far. There are a lot of fires to put out. But, then again NASCAR was at the top of the sports heap for a decade before things started to go south. No pun intended. CEO Brian France and company have a full plate.
This is from the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter. Yes, She REALLY Said That -Hillary Will, on the challenges of women winning in the NHRA. “I used to be a financial analyst. There were times when I was the only woman sitting at a table full of suits.”
Let’s see what’s happening on TV this weekend for the motorsports crowd. It starts off on Friday at 8 a.m. with F1 Practice from Magny Cours, France on Speed. Speed returns with Cup Practice from Infineon in the Bay Area at 3:30 p.m. Then Craftsman Truck Qualifying from Milwaukee, Cup Qualifying from Infineon and the NASCAR Truck race from Milwaukee at 9 p.m.
Saturday is straight out with F1 Qualifying from France at 8 a.m. on Speed. ESPN2 kicks in with Nationwide Practice from Milwaukee at 10 a.m. Speed returns with Cup Practice at Infineon at 12:30 p.m. followed by Final Practice at 1:30 p.m. The Duce returns at 4:30 p.m. with NHRA Qualifying from Englishtown, NJ with Speed offering the Grand Am event at Mid-Ohio at 5 p.m. ESPN2 and TSN (Canada) both air Nationwide Qualifying from Milwaukee at 5:30 p.m. More NHRA Qualifying airs on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.
Sunday is almost as hectic with Speed starting off the coverage of the GP2 from Magny Cours at 6 a.m. followed by the F1 race from France on TSN in Canada at 7:30 a.m. Fox will air that event in The States at 1 p.m., SDD. At the same time ABC and TSN offer the IRL Indy Car race from the Iowa Speedway. Speed returns with FIM MotoGP coverage from England at 4 p.m. TNT/TSN both air the NASCAR Cup go from Infineon at 5 p.m. with The Duce returns 8 p.m. with the NHRA Finals from Englishtown. (END)
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES, NOTES AND OTHER SOURCES.
