Sports TV ratings, etc. Random sports talk

I post to show that almost all sporting events that I know of are losing fans. I have no idea why they are but it is what it is. The author below seems to think he has the answers,.

70 million is a 15 year low.
That’s not good for MLB either. Attendance dropped by 4 percent this season, falling below 70 million for the first time since 2003

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...ce-length-games-spell-trouble-mlb/1592862002/

 

I know one sport that would kill for a 4% loss of interest each year. The question isn’t who is losing but at what rate.

Regarding interest in most sports being down this is what I found in about 2 minutes.

Yearly NFL attendance was 17.33 million in 2008 and 17.26 in 2017

NFL TV ratings dropped from 2010 to 2017 but apparently are up this year.

NBA attendance has broken records for 4 consecutive years and viewership is up 8% this year.

Obviously the above just scrapes the surface but I think it shows that in terms of fans the NBA and NFL are not hurting.

IDK what NASCAR’s numbers are for the last 5-10 years but I suspect they have dropped a lot more than the NBA or NFL

 

World Series ratings 4th-lowest ever, down 25% - espn.com

The only World Series with fewer average viewers were Philadelphia's five-game win over Tampa Bay in 2008 (13,062,000), San Francisco's four-game sweep of Detroit in 2012 (12.7 million) and the Giants' seven-game win over Kansas City in 2014 (13,825,000). The rating was the third-lowest, ahead of only a 7.6 in 2012 and an 8.2 in 2014.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...los-angeles-dodgers-world-series-ratings-down

 

Add it to the list. FOX has already dissolved partnerships with IMSA and the WEC this year as well.

 

I'd be surprised if Fox renews with NASCAR at this rate. They're looking like ESPN did a few years ago, dropping motorsports left and right.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the next contract was either ESPN and NBC or just ESPN.

 

MLB, FOX complete multiyear agreement
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-fox-complete-multiyear-agreement/c-300757548

 

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2018/11/monday-night-football-ratings-chiefs-rams/

Check out those monster local ratings in KC as well, and the high local numbers in rival NFL markets for both teams.

 

According to Disney’s recently released annual report, sports network ESPN has lost 2 million domestic subscribers over the course of 2018.
That's what happens when you become too political instead of reporting sports.
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2018/11/22/espn-loses-2-million-subscribers-this-year/

 

What do you mean by too political? Not picking just wondering. I live in Canada so i dont get ESPN on tv but i use their website everyday.

 

I don't want to get this moved to the podium or anything, but lets just say they went too far left.

 

NBA ratings are down 26 percent year-over-year on TNT, six percent on ESPN
https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/nba-ratings-down-tnt-espn-lebron.html

 

The lower World Series ratings didn’t seem to hurt MLB and the NBA is in great shape. Even the little NHL is doing well with Seattle set to join the league in a couple of years. Vegas just joined and paid 3/4 of a billion for a franchise and Seattle will spend a billion. What do you think it would cost to by a Nascar charter?

 

I'm surprised that you are dismissive of ratings declines... being the preacher of the sermon about how the numbers don't lie. Perhaps you don't believe them, Nielsen has an agenda, etc.

It's also odd that you would compare an NHL franchise to a Nascar charter, as these two things are not similar. The mainstream stick-and-ball sports have much greater popularity than a niche thing like auto racing.

The "Big 4" mainstream sports have enormous advantages built in... their plug-and-play athlete development system funded by taxpayers from a young age; the "home team effect" that fuels their popularity; continual coverage by mainstream media; and an ownership league structure that turns all that into cash flow for the franchise. If those things make it better for you, then have at it. OTOH, fans of racing are comfortable in a niche situation. They tend not to need the mainstream crowd to validate their opinions about what they like.

 

Lewis! I wasn’t dismissive about MLB’s ratings I just said it didn’t hurt them. Read about the contract they just signed and it should be self explanatory but fingers crossed!

The NHL is a niche sport but they demonstrate that being a niche sport isn’t synonymous with plummeting popularity. Maybe we will have to rename Nascar a micro niche. Kinda catchy eh?

 

I guess lying comes easy

Despite a slight bump on NBC, NHL viewership hit a multi-year low in the regular season.
NHL regular season games averaged 417,000 viewers across NBC, NBCSN and NBC’s digital platforms, down 12% from last year (474K). As noted by Sports Business Daily, it was the lowest average since at least 2010-11.
Though viewership declined overall, the NBC broadcast network posted a slight bump for its 12-game schedule. The network averaged 1.29 million viewers (including streaming), up 4% from last year’s record-low 1.29 million (15 telecasts).
That is still the second-lowest NHL average on a broadcast network since at least 2009-10 — and a 17% drop from two seasons ago (1.5M).
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2018/04/nhl-viewership-nbc-nbcsn-regular-season/

 

I don’t dispute anything you posted but the NHL is primarily a regional sport carried on regional and home networks. The real question to ask is why are multi millionaires lined up to pay millions and millions for francises. Vegas just entered and Seattle is on the way. In Nascar lucrative sponsors are running away like scalded dogs and a third of the grid is glorified field filler. Sorry!

 

In fairness you were speaking of tax payer funded entities on the wrong thread. Speaking of which there would probably be more support for a taxpayer funded stick and ball endeavor up in Picher then something Nsscar related in Charlotte.

The NHL is a niche sport that just kills Nascar in total attendance and home viewership. The NHL is rife with optimism with new teams being added and games played overseas. The average Nascar fan is your age, sponsors are leaving like rats leaving a sinking ship and the series gets smaller each year. At best it is a micro niche that gets more micro with each passing day.

I have to see a man about a dog today but I will try and check in and see how you are doing periodically. Have a good one and get out and get some fresh air.

 

http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedball-weekend-sports-tv-ratings-11-24-25-2018.html

 

Wow.

 

They make a pretty good point in the article though about the effect Lebron going to the Lakers has had on the ratings. A lot of Lakers games don’t end until around 1am eastern time, he was a lot easier for people to watch when he was in Cleveland and Miami. Also interesting is that the team with the league’s best record is the Toronto Raptors, and Canadian TV markets aren’t included in the Nielsens.

 

wonder what was the excuse last year
NBA’s RSN ratings down 15 percent this season
https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2017/02/20/Media/NBA-RSNs.aspx
They always seem to have an excuse for stick n ball.
NCAA Championship Game Viewership Drops 28% From 2017
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/2018-ncaa-championship-game-ratings-1202742895/

a person doesn't have to look very hard to find that even tax payer subsidized sports are down

 

Without breaking out into an essay, I will summarize it in that stick-and-ball ratings are more cyclical in nature depending on what teams/markets are doing well at the time. That first article is also from midway through the 2016-2017 season, not the most recent 2017-2018 season that finished with increases both locally and nationally.

The NCAA Men's Final Four also rotates between CBS (odd years) and TBS (even years) so that'll also fluctuate up and down from year to year.

 

Tsk tsk, such an agenda, such hateful exaggeration and hyperbole. I can't imagine why someone who loves mainstream sports like NHL and NFL comes to a racing fan site to tell us racing is less popular among the masses. We don't care about that. Racing fans are comfortable deciding what we like without needing the stick-and-ball masses to validate that it is good.

 

Stick and ball ratings definitely have ebbs and flows where Nascar’s elevator has gone one way for many years.

 

All I’m saying is that it is incorrect to call Nascar a niche sport. It is correct to call the NHL a niche sport though. The reason for this is that the NHL, while small potatoes, is large compared to Nascar. None of this should upset you in the least so why does it?

 

I don't think anybody is upset, but if the NHL who BTW is smaller than Nascar had to support themselves without Government socialism, it might make a comparison. BTW you are the only one who continues to bring Nascar into this thread so if anybody is upset it sure looks like yourself. That ought to tell the other posters something. I show the numbers,

 

I guess this is for the whole week now. Anyways, big weekend for college football.

http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedball-weekly-sports-tv-ratings-11-26-12-2-2018.html

 

@StandOnIt what do you think about Seattle being awarded an NHL franchise at a cost of 650 million? Not bad for a niche sport eh?

 

Alabama-UGA Second-Most Watched SEC Title Game Ever
Top college football game, excluding bowls, since 2011
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2018/12/alabama-georgia-ratings-sec-championship-cbs/

 

Great so that many people saw Georgia do what teams from Georgia do and that’s choke away a win. Awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'm excited you? Your quite a seat counter I hear. not to worry though more taxes will make up the difference.

 

This will drive you nuts but the NYI you showed in the picture are getting a new arena as they are playing in the basketball Barclays Stadium now. A brand stinkin new arena for an up and coming team! A great deal for the citizens of NYC

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2018/12/05/the-nhls-most-valuable-teams/#2d00503f50e2

I thought that both @StandOnIt and @LewTheShoe might want to read a little about what a niche sport should look like.

 

12 million Americans watched that ****show last night on Fox? And another million on NFL Network?

 

The Jags are on my no watch list this year so I was not one of the millions that tuned in.

 

I turned it off in the second quarter. Team has finally broke me.

 

Very interesting and it would be good to know the profitability for ESPN2 versus FS1 and NBCS. IDK what ESPN2 carries or the expense involved.

Great news about MLS as people ridicule it yet it is showing growth where Nascar is like a helium balloon 5 days after the party.