2016 NASCAR Season - Television Ratings Thread

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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Nothing has changed here. Ratings and attendance continue to decline.

However, they are holding strong @ the Kimmel residence.

Bristol TV Ratings: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing from Bristol had a 3.2 overnight rating on FOX Sunday afternoon, down 27% from 2013, the last time it was run as scheduled (4.4). The race was deluged by rain the past two years, with FOX airing just a few laps before handing off to Fox Sports 1. The network's abbreviated coverage had a 2.9 overnight last year and a 4.1 in 2014. Excluding rainouts, the 3.2 is the lowest for the spring Bristol race since it moved to FOX in 2001. The previous low was a 3.9 in 2011. It is also the lowest overnight for a Sunday Sprint Cup race on FOX, falling below a 3.3 for Dover in 2014. Overall, the 3.2 is tied as the fourth-lowest for any Sprint Cup race on FOX, regardless of day - matching Darlington in 2014 and ahead of only Texas the previous week (2.5), Texas last year (2.9) and Richmond in 2014 (3.0). Head-to-head, #19-Carl Edwards' win trailed competing coverage of the Pistons/Cavaliers NBA playoff game on ABC (4.1). As NASCAR ratings tend to rise from the overnights to the final, while NBA ratings decline, the race could still come out ahead when the final numbers are released.

from jayski
 
Since we are on Bristol, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and see what racing was like throughout the past at Bristol. I started watching NASCAR around 1994-96 on and off, but now I watch it as regularly as possible.
Anyway, we all saw the race this past weekend so no need to dig up that video.

Let's go back to 2007, the year they repaved Bristol.

Interesting about this clip is that Carl Edwards won this race too. hmmm?
But notice the groove is along the bottom of the track and there seems to be some side by side racing here and there.

How about 2006, the year before the repave.

Groove is on the bottom and it looks pretty bumpy,Kurt Busch with the win, Gordon and Kenseth tempers flare.

How about 1994,

Look at 30:30, the guys start hammering away on that hood! Notice there is no stadium seating either. The catch fences are pretty small, and there is no safer barrier. Big E with the win, and they actually show a manufacturer battle screen at 2:46:30.

Ok last one, 1986, 30 years ago!

The infield has grass! The cars look like they are out of control or very hard to control in the corners. Rusty Wallace in the 27 with the win. Lots of different looking cars on the track. Hard to tell which cars are which manufacturer since I'm not familiar with the era.

Anyway, very cool to see Bristol and NASCAR grow up in the past 30 years. Sad to see the racing product in the past 3 or 4. I look forward to when the racing gets better here again. It will get better eventually. It is only a matter of time.
 
aunty dive said:
Seems to be happening across the board.

IndyCar had a 0.37 for Long Beach and apparently F1 has lost 1/3 of its viewers since 2008.
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About 250,000 watched the Dallas-Minnesota playoff game last Saturday so that certainly adds perspective. Most of the other games seem to be in the 450K-550K range which hardly seems worth the effort to broadcast, IMO.

I can't find any ratings for Bruins playoff games this year......:D
 
Skoal_Bandit33 said:
I can't find any ratings for Bruins playoff games this year......:D
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They're battling The Leaves in the draft lottery.

They had a big swoon at season's end and played their way out of their spot. Their final game sealed their fate. Doesn't matter ... they were goin' nowhere.

Next year ... you're familiar with that refrain.
 
aunty dive said:
They're battling The Leaves in the draft lottery.

They had a big swoon at season's end and played their way out of their spot. Their final game sealed their fate. Doesn't matter ... they were goin' nowhere.

Next year ... you're familiar with that refrain.
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If the B's win the lottery and get Matthews I am going to pull my hair out. I think retaining Julien was wise.
 
Almost all Sports TV ratings are down since the mid 2000s, or atleast peaked during that time. I feel auto racing has been hit especially hard due to the auto industry troubles and global warming scares since 2008.

NASCAR themselves certainly haven't been helping themselves either though, a few good decision among a flood of bad ones.
 
I have to admit it was a little jarring seeing the stands at Bristol on Sunday. 10 years ago that place woulda been sold out, it looked like it was half empty on Sunday.
 
Not sure we can keep trumpeting that this sort of thing is common across the board anymore. The NBA was up in viewership across all national platforms (ABC/ESPN/TNT/NBA TV) this regular season and the NHL just had their second-best regular season on cable since the 1993-1994 season (actually the best since then if you exclude the lockout-shortened season of a few years ago). Now, it's not like the NBA is putting up Jordan era numbers anymore but it's not a constant decline like we see here.
 
aunty dive said:
Seems to be happening across the board.

IndyCar had a 0.37 for Long Beach and apparently F1 has lost 1/3 of its viewers since 2008.
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IndyCar ratings are actually trending upward the past year or so. They key being that they didn't really have anywhere else to go.
 
FLRacingFan said:
IndyCar ratings are actually trending upward the past year or so. They key being that they didn't really have anywhere else to go.
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If they're able to triple that 0.37 they'll be breathing down Xfinity's neck.
 
aunty dive said:
If they're able to triple that 0.37 they'll be breathing down Xfinity's neck.
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When they're on ABC they're not far away. The season opener at St. Pete drew a 1.0 and 1.4 million, while the Phoenix Xfinity race the day before drew a 1.2 and 1.8 million. Of course, ABC doesn't care for the series and for whatever reason won't let NBCSN move any of their races to NBC. That contract can't expire soon enough.
 
Funnily enough the stands did look a little bare considering the Bristol race was, I thought, supposed to be the packed out one (remember I'm new to all this!). Assume still 80,000? Someone must know?

Wonder whether auto-racing viewing figures have generally dropped over past 10 years or so due to health and safety making things more staid??
 
Joe Hartshorn said:
Funnily enough the stands did look a little bare considering the Bristol race was, I thought, supposed to be the packed out one (remember I'm new to all this!). Assume still 80,000? Someone must know?

Wonder whether auto-racing viewing figures have generally dropped over past 10 years or so due to health and safety making things more staid??
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Joe's back.

A little bare? It wasn't that long ago you had to get greased up to squeeze yourself in. If there were 80,000 there Sunday, I'm Mario Andretti. I'm definitely going back next spring if there's going to be that much elbow room and that little competition for parking.
 
Ha ha yeah I'm back! I've been enjoying the start of my first full season and can you believe it but I've watched all the nascar events from start to finish yet barely watched any live f1! (And remember I have followed that for 30 years! )
It's a shame that the popularity is waning - I guess there's so much out there for younger people now and we also seem to have less time - life is faster paced than in the 80s etc?
I'm doing my best to promote it here but essentially you have to be a racing fan in the first place and very few of my friend here are that. Football is still our main passion here!
 
FLRacingFan said:
When they're on ABC they're not far away. The season opener at St. Pete drew a 1.0 and 1.4 million, while the Phoenix Xfinity race the day before drew a 1.2 and 1.8 million. Of course, ABC doesn't care for the series and for whatever reason won't let NBCSN move any of their races to NBC. That contract can't expire soon enough.
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That contract is horrible. But INDYCAR will re-up with ABC most likely. I have a feeling we'll see ABC get the Indy 500 and a few other races and INDYCAR ends up on MAVTV or some other obscure sports network.

Worst TV contract goes to ARCA, leaving CBS for American Sports Network? Comedy.
 
The repave ruined Bristol. People didn't like Bristol for the side-by-side racing. They liked it for Dale Earnhardt taking people out on the last lap because there was only one groove.
 
ToyYoda said:
I have to admit it was a little jarring seeing the stands at Bristol on Sunday. 10 years ago that place woulda been sold out, it looked like it was half empty on Sunday.
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If the 70K crowd size is accurate then 90K seats went unsold but the joint looked about 35% full so I think 60K seems more accurate. JMO.
 
Joe Hartshorn said:
And I'm still hoping to head over for a race next year! :)
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I dunno why but I was jamming to Ian Dury and the Blockheads and Squeeze the other night and thought of you. The racing has been very good this year and when you come over you should be able to pick just about any track and see a good race.
 
I wonder if the ratings will go up when NBC takes over this year. After watching NBC do it right last year, I just can't watch Fox races (and I finally get the network). Planning on getting cable in my new house soon, once I have another few fights with Time Warner.
 
29-4 said:
The repave ruined Bristol. People didn't like Bristol for the side-by-side racing. They liked it for Dale Earnhardt taking people out on the last lap because there was only one groove.
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Very true, but looking at that video from the 80's, with the cars that look like they are out of control is pretty exciting. I just don't know if that is due to the track being so bumpy and greasy or if it was just the cars back then. Either way, if NASCAR could somehow get back to that type of racing, I'm pretty sure their ratings would sky-rocket.

Since going through all of these youtube clips, I think I might look for a season in the past and watch each race. I wasn't around back then so I don't know who won, i.e. it's still new to me. Anyone have any suggestions about which year to watch?
 
It's a bummer the ratings are so low when the racing has been very good. It's a result of years of subpar racing, yearly gimmick changes, and a points system that makes 26 races virtually meaningless. Too many fans have already tuned out and aren't noticing the great racing this year. However, Brian will take the ratings as proof fans don't like the new low down force package.
 
I largely agree with this article. The racing is great this year, and it's only going to get better as NASCAR and the drivers push for less downforce. That's great for us remaining fans.

However, I think that also means we need to get past blaming the racing, the cars, or the tracks for the sports decline in popularity. The on-track product is as good as it's ever been. There are much bigger problems and whining about the good 'ol days and how racing used to be won't bring the fans back.
 
I wonder how many people watch NASCAR races via online streaming sites and the such like (Kodi etc)? It would certainly have an affect on viewing figures for sure but I wonder just how much of an affect.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I wonder if the ratings will go up when NBC takes over this year. After watching NBC do it right last year, I just can't watch Fox races (and I finally get the network). Planning on getting cable in my new house soon, once I have another few fights with Time Warner.
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The average fan probably has a preference for FOX or NBC but I don't think the network broadcasting the race would be the deciding factor in whether they watch or not. For me the racing has been great this year so I would watch on just about any network.
 
Michfan said:
It's a bummer the ratings are so low when the racing has been very good. It's a result of years of subpar racing, yearly gimmick changes, and a points system that makes 26 races virtually meaningless. Too many fans have already tuned out and aren't noticing the great racing this year. However, Brian will take the ratings as proof fans don't like the new low down force package.
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I agree as I think Nascar screwed the pooch too long for many fans and they are gone for good. The opportunity and challenge will getting new fans who enjoy the racing but don't have preconceived notions about the chase and other gimmicks Nascar has implemented. I may be wrong but I don't think a diehard sports fan could accept the method Nascar uses to crown a champ.
 
da33a7 said:
I wonder how many people watch NASCAR races via online streaming sites and the such like (Kodi etc)? It would certainly have an affect on viewing figures for sure but I wonder just how much of an affect.
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I believe it was FLRacefan that posted info about this a while back which show the streaming numbers as being very low.
 
da33a7 said:
I wonder how many people watch NASCAR races via online streaming sites and the such like (Kodi etc)? It would certainly have an affect on viewing figures for sure but I wonder just how much of an affect.
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Since NASCARs fan base skews older, this is less of a problem than for other sports. And NASCARs ratings are in decline relative to other sports
 
29-4 said:
Since NASCARs fan base skews older, this is less of a problem than for other sports. And NASCARs ratings are in decline relative to other sports
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Why then, were the broadcasters so eager to secure 100% of the broadband rights?

The way information is disseminated is undergoing radical change and its effect on the way TV works 5 years from now will be dramatic. I'll start wondering about ratings when Fox and NBC can't sell all of their advertising slots. That doesn't appear to be a problem right now.
 
da33a7 said:
I wonder how many people watch NASCAR races via online streaming sites and the such like (Kodi etc)? It would certainly have an affect on viewing figures for sure but I wonder just how much of an affect.
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To give you an idea on streaming figures:

As the U.S. team heads into its semifinal match against Germany Tuesday night, Fox Sports says the event has been driving record numbers for its streaming app and website,Fox Sports Go.

The top three most-watched events on the platform, which was launched in 2012, have all come from U.S. matches in this year’s tournament. Team USA’s game against Colombia garnered 164,000 unique viewers, while contests against China and Australia generated 137,000 and 119,000, respectively.

As a comparison, about 96,000 tuned in on Fox Sports Go to see the Packers take on the Seahawks in the NFC Championship football game earlier this year, while 103,000 watched Game 7 of the 2014 World Series on the service. Like many streaming options, consumers need to prove they are pay-TV customers in order to log in.

The streaming viewership is still far less than on traditional TV. According to Nielsen, 5.7 million viewers watched the U.S. team’s match against China on Friday. Through June 23, coverage of the Women’s World Cup has averaged a little over one million viewers per match, compared to 375,000 in 2011, according to Nielsen.
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http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2015/06/30/womens-world-cup-fox-sports-streaming/

Similarly, WatchESPN's record is an average of 585,000 viewers per minute and 1.9 million unique viewers for a college football game (Alabama-Clemson NCG) that averaged 26.2 million viewers across ESPN's TV platforms.
 
you have to be nuts to perfer college football then NASCAR. CF is like watching paint fold.
 
aunty dive said:
Why then, were the broadcasters so eager to secure 100% of the broadband rights?

The way information is disseminated is undergoing radical change and its effect on the way TV works 5 years from now will be dramatic. I'll start wondering about ratings when Fox and NBC can't sell all of their advertising slots. That doesn't appear to be a problem right now.
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I agree it is important that all ad spots are sold but what they are selling for is even more important.
 
4tires17gals said:
you have to be nuts to perfer college football then NASCAR. CF is like watching paint fold.
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I have really enjoyed the Cup races this season but I also really like College Ball for the games, traditions and pageantry. Attending a game at Doak Campbell Stadium or the Big House in Ann Arbor is electrifying as are other places I have visited.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
That contract is horrible. But INDYCAR will re-up with ABC most likely. I have a feeling we'll see ABC get the Indy 500 and a few other races and INDYCAR ends up on MAVTV or some other obscure sports network.

Worst TV contract goes to ARCA, leaving CBS for American Sports Network? Comedy.
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One, this is the first time Ive heard of ASN, and lucky me, I dont get it in AZ , second, only 9 out of the 20 races are on ASN( going by what I could find on the interwebs)
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I agree as I think Nascar screwed the pooch too long for many fans and they are gone for good. The opportunity and challenge will getting new fans who enjoy the racing but don't have preconceived notions about the chase and other gimmicks Nascar has implemented. I may be wrong but I don't think a diehard sports fan could accept the method Nascar uses to crown a champ.
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I'd like to think of myself as a diehard sports fan.
There's fors and againsts re the chase.
I recall when our football leagues started putting in playoffs at the season end. Again, same pros and cons. But you get on with it.
At the end of the day, I actually just enjoy watching the races as a kind of neutral fan - I just want entertaining and NASCAR provides that. In F1, I've always supported someone so I guess have taken a stronger interest in who wins the title at the end of the year.
For me, I have enjoyed watching a 3hr race each Sunday evening and just hope NASCAR don't change too much more about the sport - it's great.
As for new fans (which I assume you need to allow continued money coming into the sport for TV rights etc) - I guess the image or preconceptions might need addressing?? It's always an interesting reaction I get from my English friends when I tell them how hooked I am on the sport - some of the opinions might not be best shared on here! :O
 
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