NASCAR - Television Ratings Thread
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StandOnIt
Farm Truck
for the ratings nerds, you can find the complete analysis on Cindy Yen's twitter
2 Sweet
HMS 4-life
And that's the problem, as I described in an earlier post.
Some more ratings & demo info. What stands out to me is the 18.4% percent decline in non-Chase Elliott races. Another thing that stuck out to me was the really low demo in the 18-49 group for the championship race. There have been some other instances like this in the playoffs and maybe that is the NFL siphoning off younger viewers in general.
According to Austin Konenski the 36 races in 2022 were down 3.7% & the 38 races (Clash/ASR) were down 4.3% - Non-Chase Elliott races: Down 18.4%. FOX & FS1 down 14.2% - 29 of the 38 Cup weekends were down in viewership.
The all important 18-49 age group viewers was a miserable 14%, down 27.57% from 2022
The NASCAR Xfinity finale from Phoenix on Saturday and the Truck finale on Friday had similar results.
According to Austin Konenski the 36 races in 2022 were down 3.7% & the 38 races (Clash/ASR) were down 4.3% - Non-Chase Elliott races: Down 18.4%. FOX & FS1 down 14.2% - 29 of the 38 Cup weekends were down in viewership.
TV News: USA Weekend Motorsports TV Ratings
USA TV Ratings for the NASCAR TV broadcasts from Phoenix this past weekend as well as the Sao Paulo GP Formula 1 race in Brazil.
www.autoracing1.com
TV Ratings Analysis
NASCAR
NBC drew 2.92 million viewers for the NASCAR Cup Championship race at Phoenix Sunday, down 9.12% from 2022 also on NBC.The all important 18-49 age group viewers was a miserable 14%, down 27.57% from 2022
The NASCAR Xfinity finale from Phoenix on Saturday and the Truck finale on Friday had similar results.
2 Sweet
HMS 4-life
What do you think is the problem, and what do you think is the solution?
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Some more ratings & demo info. What stands out to me is the 18.4% percent decline in non-Chase Elliott races. Another thing that stuck out to me was the really low demo in the 18-49 group for the championship race. There have been some other instances like this in the playoffs and maybe that is the NFL siphoning off younger viewers in general.
According to Austin Konenski the 36 races in 2022 were down 3.7% & the 38 races (Clash/ASR) were down 4.3% - Non-Chase Elliott races: Down 18.4%. FOX & FS1 down 14.2% - 29 of the 38 Cup weekends were down in viewership.
TV News: USA Weekend Motorsports TV Ratings
USA TV Ratings for the NASCAR TV broadcasts from Phoenix this past weekend as well as the Sao Paulo GP Formula 1 race in Brazil.www.autoracing1.com
TV Ratings Analysis
NASCAR
NBC drew 2.92 million viewers for the NASCAR Cup Championship race at Phoenix Sunday, down 9.12% from 2022 also on NBC.
The all important 18-49 age group viewers was a miserable 14%, down 27.57% from 2022
The NASCAR Xfinity finale from Phoenix on Saturday and the Truck finale on Friday had similar results.
I think the primary factor in the playoff ratings decline is no Chase Elliott.
That’s the metaphorical elephant in the room.
It sure sounds like having Chase Elliott in the all the races next year will make an instant improvement in viewership. When I was in school I learned about and played stick and ball sports. When it comes to Nascar I was introduced to it by a friend at work. He told me all about it and then took me to a race and that what hooked me all those years ago. I don't know if this would work today or if it would be even practical.
How about you? Do you have any thoughts on this?
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
NASCAR has got to find a way to do a better job promoting guys like Ross Chastain, Bubba, Hamlin, and teams like Trackhouse, RFK, and 23XI.
And Chase’s cult needs to settle down when NASCAR and the media talk about someone other than him.
It would be a huge benefit to the sport if Hailie Deegan shows significant progress/improvement in the Xfinity cars.
It’s too bad Taylor Swift isn’t dating Ryan Blaney.
And Chase’s cult needs to settle down when NASCAR and the media talk about someone other than him.
It would be a huge benefit to the sport if Hailie Deegan shows significant progress/improvement in the Xfinity cars.
It’s too bad Taylor Swift isn’t dating Ryan Blaney.
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
If I was NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports, I’m wrapping Chase Elliott in bubble wrap so he doesn’t suffer any offseason snowboarding mishaps.
Daytripper
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What would be better would be if NASCAR could find a few female drivers that have the talent to win races in cup.
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Unless Toni Breidinger surpasses expectations in Trucks, we’re well over a half-decade from that conversation.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
I think a rivalry is the solution. It was proven in the heyday of Nascar with Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. One of the problems is all these new guys in today's world are friends and the racing format has been changed so super teams don't have the advantages they did back then.
Earnhardt and Gordon played their rivalry up when in fact they were loose friends and business partners. In today's instant media world that would be almost impossible to do.
Earnhardt and Gordon played their rivalry up when in fact they were loose friends and business partners. In today's instant media world that would be almost impossible to do.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
Not going to happen. Breidinger isn't a woman super star. She will do ok. IF she can make it to trucks, but being in the Toyota fold, the path is pretty much blocked.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Hopefully Netflix spent a good amount of time with Blaney during his run. As far as personalities go, he definitely has one of the better ones in the sport to sell.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
I notice the lowest 'over the air' network broadcasts (Fox / NBC) were almost all higher than the highest 'cable only' network show (FS1 / USA).
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
There's a reason NASCAR signed the deal with The CW.
It's all about OTA (broadcast) and OTT (streaming) now.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Ask the people who aren't tuning in.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
That was the reason I posted it. As cable continues to decline that rate of decline is faster than the decline of Nascar ratings when comparing.
2 Sweet
HMS 4-life
I mean, other than the obvious stuff, like putting out a decent product........
They need to do something like F1 with the Netflix documentary. There needs to be a lot more coverage of the drivers and their personalities. There needs to be more insight, more drama, more "behind closed doors" stuff. Other than the Dale Jr Download, what do we get?
Get involved with more movies, like they did with Talladega Nights and Cars. From a media perspective, do whatever they can to get eyeballs. More ads on Youtube. More commercials on TV. There just isn't much exposure.
Go walk down the toy aisle at any store and see if there's any NASCAR diecasts. If you're lucky, there MIGHT be a few J-hooks with a half dozen options. IMO, that is absolutely unacceptable. And how come there's no NASCAR apparel in the clothing section at Walmart?
NASCAR needs to get way more involved with the TV broadcasts. Find out what people do and don't like about Fox/NBC, and tell the networks to adjust accordingly. Right now, the tail is wagging the dog.
Why isn't NASCAR doing a better job of connecting with the local short tracks? What happened to that "roots" stuff with the "my home track" or whatever they called it? Why aren't they doing more to promote this?
More PR stuff with drivers and crew members attending "fan day" type of events. I don't care if it's at the track or a race shop or your local Applebees.
Most importantly, they need to incentivize getting kids to a NASCAR race. There should be more promos for family ticket packages, kids under 16 get in for free, whatever it takes. I know they do a little of this already, but they need to step it up a notch. It should be a lot easier for hardcore race fans to get their children interested in NASCAR.
That's just a start. I have a ton of ideas, but unfortunately I'm not on NASCAR's payroll. But most of this stuff is just common sense
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Obviously the reason the Daytona 500 does so well is because it's marketed as 'The Super Bowl of Racing!'
So name all the races after other sports' championships. The West Coast sweep could be 'The March Madness of Racing!'. The 600 in May would be 'The Kentucky Derby of Racing!'. The last stages of the playoffs are 'The World Series of Racing!'.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
So name all the races after other sports' championships. The West Coast sweep could be 'The March Madness of Racing!'. The 600 in May would be 'The Kentucky Derby of Racing!'. The last stages of the playoffs are 'The World Series of Racing!'.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
Cage match!
Formerjackman
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I have, REPEATEDLY, and when I tell everyone here what they tell me, I get branded as a troll and a hater. In fact, I seldom have to ask them. Once they find I still watch NASCAR every week, they usually CAN'T WAIT to tell me why they no longer watch.
The Nature Boy
NASCAR needs a driver's union
Except Gen Z seems to have no idea how to operate an antenna. Go to Reddit or Twitter and you'll see a lot of people bitching because they "can't stream" events like the World Series and Super Bowl, despite these events being on free OTA television.
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
That, or they can't pick anything up with an antenna where they live. Which is my current problem. But when I lived in St. Charles, I could pick up 70 channels with an antenna, and picked up over 30 when I lived in Kenly.
Every sporting event (except NASCAR) that is shown on NBC is also on Peacock. Same with CBS/Paramount Plus and The CW. Most ABC events are shown on ESPN. The only network that hasn't embraced streaming yet is Fox. Which is another reason it's a bad idea to resign with them.
That said, the "golden age" of streaming is over. These services, sans Peacock, cost too much, have too many commercials, are dropping too much quality content in favor of reality TV, and are pretty much becoming everything people dropped cable for.
The Nature Boy
NASCAR needs a driver's union
Fox not embracing streaming is definitely a problem. It was telling when you could stream the NLCS on Max (because it aired on TBS) and you couldn't stream the ALCS anywhere (because it aired on FOX/FS1).
FOX having the rights to so many high level sporting events is definitely a problem.
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
The irony of it is, they literally have a standalone streaming service for Fox News Channel.
But expanding "Fox Nation" or launching a generic OTT app is not something they can do. They don't have anywhere near enough scripted content ever since the Disney acquisition. And they're so late to the game that even a good service would suffer the same fate as Windows Phone.
The next contract's gonna be brutal for fans. Even if NBC puts every race on Peacock, you're STILL going to have to have cable AND streaming. I'm sure NBC's gonna put some races exclusively on Peacock. Amazon's probably going to get the Summer Series package - and I'm not sure that's worse than TNT getting it because, man, everything WB Discovery touches turns into a very expensive dumpster fire.
Amazon is like $13/month, keeps going up every year, and now they've decided to make that their base plan. Max is, I don't know, it's included free with my phone plan but I think they're hovering at the $25/month mark next year.
The Nature Boy
NASCAR needs a driver's union
I wish the cable providers would offer a very basic streaming package that just included your OTA channels, tailored towards those who either can't operate an antenna or can't get the channels in their location. Ideally it'd be free (since those networks are distributed via public airwaves) but that would require FCC intervention of some kind and we know that would never happen because it would hurt the ability of the networks to demand rights fees from cable companies.
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
I have a feeling this streaming stuff is gonna get regulated at some point. They’re gonna push it and push it with all these rate increases until they break the camel’s back.
I’m getting ready to buy a Blu Ray player.
The Nature Boy
NASCAR needs a driver's union
I have a feeling this streaming stuff is gonna get regulated at some point. They’re gonna push it and push it with all these rate increases until they break the camel’s back.
I’m getting ready to buy a Blu Ray player.
I still buy DVDs and I encourage others to do the same. If there's something you like, you can't beat owning a physical copy. Anyone who calls DVDs and other physical media "obsolete" is both shortsighted and way too trusting of corporations.
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
I've been buying movies off digital marketplace since the pandemic, but WB Discovery's antics have me rethinking that. They're already removing movies direct from peoples' digital libraries. Or removing scenes from movies that are deemed controversial.
Not to mention what could happen with a tyrannical government. Several states are already banning books and banning performance arts that the ironically named Moms for Liberty disapprove of. And we had presidential candidates on television last night talking about banning a video distribution social media app because they can't control it.
They can't take my DVDs away though.
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Although, I am extremely grateful I bought an Apple TV device.
There are a couple movies that Disney's purged since its acquisition of Fox that I still have access to in my Apple TV library and on iTunes.
There are a couple movies that Disney's purged since its acquisition of Fox that I still have access to in my Apple TV library and on iTunes.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Not the people who tuned out. The people who have never seen a race, on TV or live. What's their perception of motorsports? Nothing thrives just hanging on to an aging audience, especially in entertainment.
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The Nature Boy
NASCAR needs a driver's union
I've actually have pretty good luck with converting friends into NASCAR fans. I usually just take them a live race and they fall in love with the sport. That is one reason why I'm in favor of the Coliseum and Chicago Street Race. NASCAR is a sport that is best seen in person.
When I met my wife, she had no cultural awareness of NASCAR (she didn't know who Dale Earnhardt was) but now she's one of the biggest fans I know. We got a free ticket from Xfinity to a Dover Xfinity race and she fell in love with the sport after the event.
NASCAR is doing the right thing by making it easier for people to go to races.
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Can't get people to the track, bring the track to the people.
Formerjackman
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The point that is often missed though, is those older fans USED to bring a lot of new fans into the fold. They are the ones that actually CREATED the buzz that made NASCAR so popular for a while. Wives, children, relatives, friends, co-workers etc. Their loss has badly short circuited the supply of the next generation of fans. It's not that you CAN'T win over people with no connection to NASCAR, but it's MUCH harder. The response I get from most people that don't watch NASCAR is, "Why would I want to watch cars go around in circles?" Had my Dad not had at least a passing interest in the Indy 500, I may well have never become a racing fan at all. That all started in 1973. Been with it ever since.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
The Nascar survey this week had a very thorough questionnaire about the TV coverage including many questions about the gerbils, rating each one individually, mostly ABC questions, best number of gerbils in the booth, who was entertaining, knowledgeable etc. Graphics, the ticker style etc. It took around 12 minutes to fill it out.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
It's impossible to say if the playoffs are responsible for the decline, since we don't have access to ratings in an alternate dimension where playoffs were never implemented.
I do think they're not the ratings savior they were supposed to be when introduced.
I do think they're not the ratings savior they were supposed to be when introduced.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
Oh hell yeah here we go lol. Rotate every year lol.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
I do think Trucks and X should be reduced to two stages. When the track length permits, the second stage should longer than a fuel run to make green flag stops a possibility.
AndyMarquisLive
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Trucks should go back to their original format. Halfway break. It reduces costs as teams don’t need to hire Cup pit crews for races, don’t need to buy five sets of tires, and so on.
Same with ARCA. I don’t know why so many ARCA races have two breaks when you can run the entire race on one stop.