2017 NASCAR Season - Television Ratings Thread

Skoalbandit33 said:
The fact that 70% of the race viewers this week were over 50 does not represent a blip to most people let alone any problem at all. The 18-34 demo comprised less than 20,000 fans and the 18-49 group was nothing of any significance either. It would be interesting to hear a bunch of people detail what they think the future for Nascar will be if these numbers are not corrected.
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More erectile dysfunction ads?
 
sloggie said:
More erectile dysfunction ads?
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That would be a good product to market and retirement homes, burial insurance, hearing aids, incontinence products, panic buttons and denture adhesives would be others that would work too.
 
Don't forget the millions of people living in Mom's basement that are illegally streaming Nascar races each week.
 
Maybe the mass exodus in the 18-49 bracket is because there were a few hundred thousand fans who were 49 last fall and are 50 now.

On a serious note, there were positive ratings developments this year at times. They all occurred well before football season. Never has it been clearer that the playoffs concept is a complete failure to meet the stated objective, and that NASCAR would do better in TV and business terms to consolidate their season. They could race with even fewer off weeks and a mid-week race or two. Run the Daytona 500 one week after the Super Bowl and finish anywhere from 6-10 weeks earlier without losing nearly that many races. That would be smarter and position them to have a championship that stands out before the sports world has moved on to everything else.
 
They’re losing to golf tournaments on a consistent bases now. The xfinity series is getting buried by godawful college football matchups. About the only thing they dominate that isn’t a complete niche sport is the ufc, non playoff nationally televised mlb games, and hockey.
 
gnomesayin said:
Maybe the mass exodus in the 18-49 bracket is because there were a few hundred thousand fans who were 49 last fall and are 50 now.

On a serious note, there were positive ratings developments this year at times. They all occurred well before football season. Never has it been clearer that the playoffs concept is a complete failure to meet the stated objective, and that NASCAR would do better in TV and business terms to consolidate their season. They could race with even fewer off weeks and a mid-week race or two. Run the Daytona 500 one week after the Super Bowl and finish anywhere from 6-10 weeks earlier without losing nearly that many races. That would be smarter and position them to have a championship that stands out before the sports world has moved on to everything else.
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IMO any positive trends in demographics for Nascar can be filed in the anomaly bin as I haven't seen anything that has been sustained since I don't know when. When you have less than 20,000 viewers between the ages of 18-34 for a race it is quite possible you have insurmountable problems.

I agree 100% with getting Nascar away from football, pennant races and even the beginning of the NBA and NHL for that matter. I know there will be people squealing "don't touch my Nascar" and others who don't see any correlation between over saturation and a lack of interest but to much of a good thing is a bad thing. I won't even comment on the number of races but I will say for the health of the series it needs to wrap up no later than Labor Day.
 
joe h said:
They’re losing to golf tournaments on a consistent bases now. The xfinity series is getting buried by godawful college football matchups. About the only thing they dominate that isn’t a complete niche sport is the ufc, non playoff nationally televised mlb games, and hockey.
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It will be interesting to see what new and enhanced gimmicks are put in place for next year
 
FLRacingFan said:
It would appear that he and several hundred thousand others have.
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What you say is true and Nascar has tacitly dismissed countless numbers of fans over the years and sure doesn't need anyone else running more people off for them. I am always surprised by the number of people that see no correlation between Nascar's loss of fans and the multiple predicaments it finds itself in today. JMO.
 
In 2014 the race had a 3.1 rating and 5 million viewers on ABC so somewhere along the way about 2 million viewers went poof. Maybe if all the people playing on a Nascar app and those streaming the race illegally were counted it would work out to be about the same........:D
 
Mopardh9 said:
Who's boycotting?
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I think the only people boycotting are Nascar fans as back in 2003 the second Charlotte race had 7.5 million viewers and that was down from the previous year. By 2012 the race had dropped to 5 million viewers and this year comes in at 2.9 million viewers with 65-70% of the viewers over 50. I completely respect those that have no interest in this sort of thing but I laugh heartily at the excuse makers that try and defend the precipitous heights from which Nascar has fallen. It would be like going to the doctor and leaving with a prognosis of stage 4 bladder cancer that had metastasized and telling all your friends you got a clean bill of health.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I like the idea of finishing up on Labor Day but very few on here think that is wise.
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Creating some interest by offering a limited season may do something to help. I can't see any of the track owning contingent wanting to take that route though.

As a fan of the racing itself I'd hate to see that. I have no problem multitasking during the fall NFL/NASCAR season. I follow both with ease.
 
https://www.cbssports.com/general/n...decline-danica-patrick-and-sport-sponsorship/

On declining ratings throughout NASCAR and other sports
Q: You say NASCAR continues to grow and like you, I'm a diehard NASCAR fan. But there's a lot of people out there that don't really watch the sport and their argument, especially to your point, is that well ratings are down from say the NFL, the NBA. They say that's why the drivers don't earn as much and that's why there's not really an emphasis on the money there. We all have our opinions and I watched the race last week. I don't know if you saw the ratings but they were actually in line with last year's. It was the first time in a while where we didn't have a decline on NBC. I'm just curious, why do you think that, if you do think that, ratings are down in NASCAR and is there anything we can really do to change that?

A: "Well, I think ratings are down across every single sport and the reason is that people consume sports different than what they used to. It's not all on TV anymore. It's through Twitter. It's through live streaming and it's very hard to figure out the numbers in which you can quantify that. How many viewers really are watching? I think the way people consume is different and until they come up with a better way to analyze that, it's going to continue to be down and it has been down across all sports. When I compare NASCAR to other sports, you know there's a lot of baseball players that are making a lot of money. We crush baseball every week essentially on ratings. Each sport has it's own model. Racing costs more money to do for the race teams but I think when you look at the entire weekend and what sport event is at the highest level, NASCAR is one of the top two or three events every single weekend and even though it's down it's still one of the highest viewed and every week."
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Creating some interest by offering a limited season may do something to help. I can't see any of the track owning contingent wanting to take that route though.

As a fan of the racing itself I'd hate to see that. I have no problem multitasking during the fall NFL/NASCAR season. I follow both with ease.
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There's really nothing you can do except lower ticket prices. As someone who was a little kid in the 90s/early 2000s I was one of many in the stands.

Now I look around at MIS and see very few people in their 20s today. For some reason my generation never caught on to it and cars in general really
 
Mispeedway15 said:
There's really nothing you can do except lower ticket prices. As someone who was a little kid in the 90s/early 2000s I was one of many in the stands.

Now I look around at MIS and see very few people in their 20s today. For some reason my generation never caught on to it and cars in general really
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I can only speak for myself but ticket prices have never been a concern of mine with NASCAR. I have to pay far more to attend a Steelers/Penguins/Pirates event with a comparable seating as what we purchase when we attend a race. The costs associated with attending a race, primarily fuel and lodging are the deciding factors for us. Food/drink are a wash as I have to eat when I'm at home too.
 
I looked at ticket prices for the second MIS race and they started at 86 bucks which doesn't seem out of line as an NFL game with parking will cost you double that amount in many cases. If you want to see a popular musical group perform 86 bucks won't get you a seat a mile away and if you go to the track the day of the event you can score tickets for half of face value in many cases so it becomes really cheap. IMO Nascar and the tracks deserve a lot of criticism but not for the price of admission.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I looked at ticket prices for the second MIS race and they started at 86 bucks which doesn't seem out of line as an NFL game with parking will cost you double that amount in many cases. If you want to see a popular musical group perform 86 bucks won't get you a seat a mile away and if you go to the track the day of the event you can score tickets for half of face value in many cases so it becomes really cheap. IMO Nascar and the tracks deserve a lot of criticism but not for the price of admission.
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I agree with this completely. That's a first. I may become ill.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
A: "Well, I think ratings are down across every single sport
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This is not something that you "think". It is or isn't, and in this case it isn't. And those that are don't approach that level that NASCAR is.

Skoalbandit33 said:
When I compare NASCAR to other sports, you know there's a lot of baseball players that are making a lot of money. We crush baseball every week essentially on ratings.
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The average viewership of the sixteen MLB postseason games through Monday was 3.375m/game, well above the average for the first three playoff races and almost 500k above the playoff high at Charlotte. That ranges from a low of 1.63m to 6.73m.
 
FLRacingFan said:
This is not something that you "think". It is or isn't, and in this case it isn't. And those that are don't approach that level that NASCAR is.


The average viewership of the sixteen MLB postseason games through Monday was 3.375m/game, well above the average for the first three playoff races and almost 500k above the playoff high at Charlotte. That ranges from a low of 1.63m to 6.73m.
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Very well said. IMO people on this forum and in the real world would be better off remaining mute when comparing NASCAR ratings to those of stick and ball as there is no comparison. All Denny does by opening his mouth on this issue is to make himself look like a dumbass as like anyone he is entitled to his own opinion but not his own set of facts.

I have read all sorts of dubious claims attempting to mitigate NASCAR's plummeting interests but none of them pass the smell test. IMO people that really like NASCAR should just look forward to it and enjoy the show each week instead of trying in vain to defend the indefensible.
 
Mispeedway15 said:
There's really nothing you can do except lower ticket prices. As someone who was a little kid in the 90s/early 2000s I was one of many in the stands.

Now I look around at MIS and see very few people in their 20s today. For some reason my generation never caught on to it and cars in general really
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The issue is that people in their 20's and younger don't identify with vehicles the way the generations before them did. Also, they don't like hanging out for hour after hour doing one thing. The tracks have been very late in updating to what the newer generation expects to find at a venue. Those are just a few reasons why the people you bring up aren't in the stands with you.
 
Towmater said:
The issue is that people in their 20's and younger don't identify with vehicles the way the generations before them did. Also, they don't like hanging out for hour after hour doing one thing. The tracks have been very late in updating to what the newer generation expects to find at a venue. Those are just a few reasons why the people you bring up aren't in the stands with you.
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I do believe this is a significant part of the youth gap. Racing, particularly NASCAR, is a culture tied to racing "brands and cars driven on the streets". What teenager dreams of a Camry? They get the old family hand me down Camry, and it doesn't invoke dreams of street racing.

Secondly youth have many distractions and methods for investing their time. Cars getting stretched out on a track two laps after a restart begins to resemble watching paint dry. They have little patience for the nuances of racing. I really think this is why the networks ask their announcers to talk constantly and rapidly throughout racing telecasts, in hopes they hold the youngin's attention. Irritates adults for sure.

NASCAR is bound to do market research that provides solid evidence of these rapidly sliding trends. It is why they so coveted Momster Energy sponsorship. Select tracks are designing hangout places for fans to "be social" during events, in hopes of engaging these folks. We shall see.

I say change the race cars, let racing return to passing, drafting and less predictability. People will take notice. The safety is where it needs to be. Let engines get pushed, so sometimes they blow. Use models that are the true muscle cars of today to at least capture their imagination (bravo Camero). Then keep working on promotions, social media outlets, lower ticket prices to get fannies in the seats.
 
FLRacingFan said:
This is not something that you "think". It is or isn't, and in this case it isn't. And those that are don't approach that level that NASCAR is.


The average viewership of the sixteen MLB postseason games through Monday was 3.375m/game, well above the average for the first three playoff races and almost 500k above the playoff high at Charlotte. That ranges from a low of 1.63m to 6.73m.
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That is because playoffs work for stick n ball.
 
Towmater said:
The issue is that people in their 20's and younger don't identify with vehicles the way the generations before them did. Also, they don't like hanging out for hour after hour doing one thing. The tracks have been very late in updating to what the newer generation expects to find at a venue. Those are just a few reasons why the people you bring up aren't in the stands with you.
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That's why new stadiums/arenas are adding social areas. When I go to a magic game I usually get legends seats. I can watch the game and during halftime I can go behind my seats and get free food and socialize in an nice area. About 50% of the people never make it to their seats. They watch the game from the food area since there's tables there and watch the game from there. Daytona has areas where fans can chat but the cars are too loud.
 
Towmater said:
The issue is that people in their 20's and younger don't identify with vehicles the way the generations before them did. Also, they don't like hanging out for hour after hour doing one thing. The tracks have been very late in updating to what the newer generation expects to find at a venue. Those are just a few reasons why the people you bring up aren't in the stands with you.
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I have read it several times that most Nascar tracks don't have good WiFi or offer and "experience" the younger demo is looking for. Many organizations, including churches, have changed the way the product is presented but left the core product alone. On the other hand Nascar changes the product every week but not the presentation of it so there may be a lesson in that or nothing at all.
 
Johali said:
It made me gag also. Pass the barf bag.
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Oh now....just be thankful you can still sit up and take nourishment and have the dexterity to use a barf bag.......:D The old folks home may not be all that far away!!!!
 
StandOnIt said:
That is because playoffs work for stick n ball.
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You are missing the point completely. Denny is either flat out stupid, uninformed or a damn liar.....take your pic as it is at least one of them. This weekend ALL ON CABLE the baseball playoffs drew close to 12 million viewers and the Nascar races (CUP/X) had less than 3.5 million total viewers.
 
rowdy3 said:
That's why new stadiums/arenas are adding social areas. When I go to a magic game I usually get legends seats. I can watch the game and during halftime I can go behind my seats and get free food and socialize in an nice area. About 50% of the people never make it to their seats. They watch the game from the food area since there's tables there and watch the game from there. Daytona has areas where fans can chat but the cars are too loud.
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Nascar race tracks must have a ton of seating areas where people can socialize and watch from based on the number of empty seats each week.........:D
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I looked at ticket prices for the second MIS race and they started at 86 bucks which doesn't seem out of line as an NFL game with parking will cost you double that amount in many cases. If you want to see a popular musical group perform 86 bucks won't get you a seat a mile away and if you go to the track the day of the event you can score tickets for half of face value in many cases so it becomes really cheap. IMO Nascar and the tracks deserve a lot of criticism but not for the price of admission.
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There might be something to be said for the fact that research shows that NASCAR fans' average income is somewhat lower than in other sports. I believe the NHL is said to have the most higher-income fans of major sports.

Regardless, I think you're right that affordable tickets are usually available in reseller markets, and many tracks themselves out of necessity have created affordable packages that make it pretty easy for most people who want to go to do so.

Ticket prices aren't really what is keeping people from attending races, and it's certainly not what is causing millions to tune out on TV.
 
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