The Jayski.com web page and USA Today reported that NASCAR Cup races are averaging 4.6 percent for TV ratings.
Each network that aired NASCAR events has seen a decline so far including ESPN, TNT and FX. The Busch races on ESPN2 are off by 11 percent. Sports Media Watch reported that the Pocono 500 ended up with a final rating 3.8.
Even though 3.8 is huge for cable it’s down 31 percent from last year when it was aired on NBC which pulled a 4.5 as compared to cable this time. TNT’s effort to air the NASCAR races with commercial free at Daytona was a bust and ended up with a 3.8 while Chicagoland earned at 4.0.
The Nextel Cup race at The Glen which aired on ESPN had a 3.5 rating with a viewership of 5,559,000 and was the second most watched cable program of the week, behind TNT’s The Closer. Previously the race was aired on network TV via NBC.
These latest figures indicate that NASCAR was probably better off when all of the Cup races were aired on network TV rather than cable.
We caught a recent Dave Despain’s Wind Tunnel broadcast on the Speed Channel with RACER MAGAZINE’s Ben Blake as the co-host. Blake also stated that no matter who aired the NASCAR events, this year, the ratings were down. He attributed it to the fact that NASCAR’s effort to woo a new audience turned off the old loyalist fan base. This strategy could account for the falloff of attendance and TV ratings. A subsequent live phone call from an unhappy viewer in Winston-Salem, NC, a NASCAR hotbed, reinforced Ben’s analysis. There are also other factors to consider that can be attributed to the downturn of the TV ratings and attendance.
Taking an objective look at the situation. Even in a downturn NASCAR is still drawing more of an audience than the rest of the motorsports mix on TV combined. Getting a 4.0 or close to it would be a dream come true for F1, IRL, Champ Car, SportsCar and NHRA. NASCAR’s TV ratings are still a goal by those other sanctions that we mentioned. But, it could be unattainable because of internal factors in those other companies. Such as not enough American drivers with a strong core base of fans who have followed a particular driver from the short tracks up to NASCAR’s three top tier divisions.
Yes, He REALLY Said That
Sam Hornish, on why he is considering switching from Indy Cars to NASCAR. “The fact that not many have made the transition successfully might discourage other guys, but it makes me even more interested to see if I can do it.” This came from the Valvoline Track Talk Newsletter.
Let’s see what’s on the tube this weekend for the gearheads. It’s going to be very busy with the action starting early in the week like on Wednesday! At 6:30 p.m. it’s Craftsman Truck Qualifying from Bristol on Speed. Then it’s the CTS race at that track at 8 p.m. on that same channel. ABC offers NASCAR Prime Time at 9 p.m.
Thursday is loaded with all sorts of tapes on Speed, ESPN2 and HDnet. Friday’s offering start early at 7 a.m. with F1 Practice from Turkey. Speed continues with a 10 a.m. airing of Busch Practice from Bristol at 10 a.m. More from Bristol at 11:30 a.m. with Cup Practice again on Speed. Speed returns with Cup Qualifying from Bristol at 3 p.m. followed by Busch Qualifying at 4:30 p.m. At 6 p.m. that same channel offers Cup Final Practice at Bristol. ESPN2 kicks in with the Busch event from Bristol at 8 p.m.
Saturday also starts early with F1 Qualifying from Turkey at 7 a.m. on Speed. Then at 3:30 p.m. HDnet comes back with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Mansfield Speedway in Ohio. There’s a Special Edition of Raceday on Speed on Bristol at 4 p.m. More from HDnet with the Busch East from Mansfield, Ohio at 5 p.m. ESPN airs the Cup race from Bristol at 8 p.m. while Speed offers the Grand Am go from Sonoma, CA at the same time.
Sunday is another early start with the GP2 race from Turkey at 6 a.m. on Speed followed by the F1 event at the same track and channel. At noon Speed has the WoO race from Eldora Speedway in Ohio followed by the ARCA stockcar event at Milwaukee at 1 p.m. Speed also airs the American LeMans race at Mosport, Ont. at 3 p.m. And Finally the IRL event at Sonoma, CA goes at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. So plan your viewing time accordingly.
NOTE: INFORMATION FOR THIS COLUMN CAME FROM VARIOUS REFERENCED SOURCES, PRESS RELEASES AND NOTES.
I am 60 and have been watching racing on TV for as long as it has been on. I watch them all, but my passion is for road racing. However, if there is a road race and a NASCAR race on TV at the same time I will watch the NASCAR race because I find it difficult watching it on tape, or DVR. Anyhow, my opinion for why viewing of NASCAR is down, in particular, this year is because they are hard to find and some satellite carriers don’t have local programming unless you pay an extra fee. I hate it when I have to search around to find where the next race is to be run. PUT THEM ALL ON ONE CHANNEL!!! Whatever happened to SPEED going to be the NASCAR Channel? They have lots of NASCAR programming, but none of the races. And some of the commentating on the networks just suck. Add to that that many times you have to wait for some other programming to be over before they get to the race, such as golf or tennis. It makes me angry that they don’t allow a bigger window for the race to air, either before it starts or after it’s supposed to be over.
That’s my 2 cents,
Thanks.
I have to say that I cringe having to watch NASCAR on ESPN. There is nothing worse than listening to comparisons of a driver to some quarterback or pitcher. Please do not relate NASCAR to any other sport! Especially when I can’t relate. I watch NASCAR, not Monday night football!
Does anyone else think that NASCAR is just getting boring? I have been watching the races for many years now and they are getting very dull. This is happening because NASCAR is choking itself with all of these stupid rules… they are turning into control freaks. They are “legislating” all of the fun and excitement out of racing. NASCAR is now just a gigantic money making business controlled by the sponsors and a handful of the high paid NASCAR senior execs. Just my opinion…
I am a Canadian race follower and I find most people I talk to hate the new points system and do not care to watch anymore.They have ruined the sport why not trucks or bush should be same across the board. After all a champion is made over a year not 10 races. I do also agree Fox did the best job airing races for us up here TSN sucks all you see are commercials.
I watch the races and have done so for years. I also ran modifieds and nascar saturday night weekly events for decades. When nascar abandoned Rockingham I was livid. That was the race of the year. Two races at California, boring. I live in Southern California and would not go to California if you paid me.
Nascar has the tv deal so screwed up who knows where it will be broadcast. I tivo all the events and have to hunt around every time they switch networks 3 times a year. Very foolish to give up certainty for a short term gain that hurts the long term stability of your cash cow. I have missed seeing a couple of races because I didn’t realize the network was changing. Most races don’t end within the block of time scheduled. If you tivo the race is cut off before the finish.
I subscribed to the hotpass on direct tv. I was very disappointed when I found out they air the commercials off of the main network. The main reason I subscribed was to avoid the commercials. I won’t subscribe again.
To top off the frustration of trying to watch around a zillion commercials, and commercials cutting off parts of the last 20 laps the policies of nascar are killing the spirit of racing. They penalize individuality, stifle opinions, and intimidate all participants.
I feel nascar should hire an independent firm to officiate and step back from that part of the deal. Bias or just the appearance of bias hurts the credibility of the sport. They need to separate themselves from that aspect. Also the teams and drivers need to form an association to negotiate with nascar and keep them honest.
Nascar is a monopoly and acts like one. They should be divested of track ownership. There needs to be more tracks from 3/4 to 1 mile in length.
I concur with Lou, he hit the nail on the head with many of his comments.
In addition, too many of today’s CUP venues are BORING; California and Michigan primarily. Short tracks are where the action is. NASCAR needs more bullrings, not less. Use Bristol this Saturday nite as an example or Richmond next month.
ESPN is entirely too studio oriented with tooooooooo many announcers that don’t know beans about CUP racing, especially on their NASCAR Now show. And is Jerry Punch getting kickbacks for every time he mentions TOYOTA or CAMRY. I seldom hear him say Chevy, Ford or Dodge. Maybe I’m just sensitive to that and notice it all the time.
In general NASCAR’s TV contract programming decisions have driven a nail right thru the head of the Golden Goose.
JD
Here’s my opinion why ratings are down. The races start too late in the morning (PDT) or afternoon (EDT). A few years ago, I could watch a race and be by the pool by 1:30pm. I haven’t seen the pool in a couple of years. TV times are always posted eastern time and the west side of the US has to do the math. I read that this is because there are more people on the east side of the US. So why cater to the west side of the US? I have no problem getting up on the weekend at 9am to watch racing. I just wish racing would start earlier. Race coverage is probably the real reason people don’t watch.
Put all NASCAR races on national network TV (ABC, CBS, NBC) to boost the ratings. There are TONS of current and potential fans that simply do not subscribe to cable TV or it is not available to them.
My opinion why ratings are down is there is much less RACING shown, yes there are a lot more ads, but the actual racing isn’t shown. now they want tokeep zoomed in on only one car or two that pay. No more longer shots of the field racing that might show a sponser that didn’t pay-up, always trying to promote “heros” or gimmicks instead of showing the RACE. Na$car races start with 43 cars not 10 that gets reduced to 4 or 5 selected to zoom in on. Most of the best actual racing goes on behind the top 3.If you can view some old tapes you can see where they would show more of the entire field instead of close-ups of who ever pays & the reporters would report the race, not try to impress each other or me how smart,cute or funny they think they are, of course they were reporters or announcers then, not “personalitys”.
Five reasons why attendance and viewership is down:
1. The chase for the chump points scam.
2. Blatant manipulation of the outcomes.
3. Too many spokesmen and not enough drivers.
4. Toyota.
5. THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN – The Killing of Darlington and Rockingham.
I WAS a devoted fan for 45+ years and used to attend 6 to 10 races a year. I quit NA$CAR when they quit me – THE FAN. I will not watch or attend another of their scripted BS “shows” again. Why bother? Who wants to watch a bunch of bitchy millionaires running single-file parade laps at such boring facilities as California or Michigan, just to name a few. I might… MIGHT watch another race if they put THE Southern 500 AND Rockingham back to their rightful places on the schedule where they belong. Until that day comes, NA$CAR can kiss my a$$.
NA$CAR racing is dead. They sold their soul for a buck and a yen. Good riddance. I’m laughing at the decline of their silly little series.
I agree totally with Hambone’s comments OTHER THAN his comments on Toyota. I am an avid Toyota fan and am sick of the TOTAL Chevy show the last few years. There’s NO competition for Chevy and being Toyota is run LIKE A BUSINESS SHOULD BE they will give Chevy a run for their money or lack of it in the future at the rate GM is is being run.
NASCAR is so political it is dicusting. GM must cut them one heck of a check to be allowed to totally dominate like they are for the last two years.
Like Hambone I laugh at NASCAR as the attendance and TV audience continues to drop. They no longer will get my money either until it is more than a one brand series.
Good going Hambone with having the guts to tell it like it is OTHER THAN Toyota.
I totally agree that Nascar HAS to re-evaluate their position on this matter. Rating will continue to decline with the coverage on ESPN and ESPN2. Plus the fact that NASCAR is so prejudice with drivers. I am so sick of them showing Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kyle Bush,…why not some of the “old timers”????? They have the same in car drivers over and over and over again. If these are the only drivers that are good enough to gain attention then why not pair down Nascar to only these people and to **** with everyone else. Your right…Nascar is getting really boring.
What is killing NASCRAP? Greed. The TV package was over valued when it was sold off on the unsuspecting networks, and for them to make up for their loss, they are beating us to death with commercials during the telecasts. 5 laps of racing, and missing 6 to 10 on the Bristol race this spring? The telecast was SO cut up, by the network, that I could not keep up with the race when I watched it.
NASCRAP, are you paying attention? I used to watch every race tht came on. Every event. All three levels. I planned my days around them. But, as the commercials became so over bearing, I am now at the point, that if I am not doing anything else, I *might* sit and watch. You took a complete fan, and turned them into a who cares fan….with commercials. But, as long as the France family gets richer and richer, on the backs of their fans, who they apparently think will put up with anything that is done to them, who cares?
Well? The IRL allows picture in picture commercials/broadcasts? Why, except for the greed of the France family will NASCRAP now allow this?
Greed. Killing off Darlington and Rockingham. Frankly, I could care less NASCRAP thinks there should be tracks in the Northwest. My guess is Martinsville is next on their radar. I used to go to events at Darlington, Rockingham, Richmond, Charlotte and Martinsville. Now, that has been taken down to Martinsville only. Oh, sure, someone else bought the tickets. A butt is in a seat. Who cares, as long as the France family gets richer…
Greed. This moronic chase. What happens to the other teams, and sponsers, who do not make the chase? They get ZERO TV time. I am a Wahd Buhton fan, and the only time I see him on screen, is if he accidently gets into a shot, that one of the golden boys are in. Why not the fastest 43 cars the entire season? If you can’t cut it on speed, go home and try next week.
Greed. If NASCRAP didn’t have a lip to backside lock on Gordon, Junior, Johnson, Stewart et al, your race broadcasts would be about 10 minutes long. See above. There are 43 cars out there. Thousands of people worked like dogs to get those cars there. So them, and the sponsers a little respect. So their fans a little respect. But, as long as the France family gets richer…
Greed. France family greed. Eventually, either of two things will happen. They will get enough money. Or, they will successfully run off all of the old time fans, and have stands full of what? Hopefully, empty seats…
NASCAR has 4 manufactors. Most owners want Chevy, thus 19 Chevy’s per race, 9 Fords, 12 Dodges and 3 Toyotas. Champ cars are ALL Ford. Indycars are all Honda. NASCAR has given boring a new definition. Scrape the decals off and all the cars look the same. TV scheduling is terrible. ESPN has the worst color guy Rusty “I’ve said it a millioin times” Wallace and the unknown crew chief. Dr. Punch is okay. I can’t listen to the audio on ESPN so I turn on MRN. I don’t start watching a race until it’s about 3 hours old. I never watch the pre-race BS (boring stuff). Ratings are in the toilet and will really flush when college football starts. The chase starts when football starts going full speed. At least football has constant action and the commentators aren’t over talkers like Rusty “fellas” Wallace. I even miss the big guy (Benny) more than ever. NASCAR needs to stop all their experimenting and let the manufactors race different look cars like the “old” days, chrome and all. Today NASCAR is not much different than Champ or Indy cars. Go straight, turn left with million dollar cars. Steve