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MOEJOE
Guest
I love racing. I love watching racing for hours live. It's so much damn fun. DAMN IT. Why can't I live in Atlanta. Six tracks 5 or 6 hours drive from there. No wonder they lost a race.
The Chase and television ratings
- Thread starter dpkimmel2001
- Start date
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Why is it outside the realm of possibility that the economy can have an effect on the ratings? I mean, everyone's still got a TV, right? What about the people that used to be able to afford to go to these events but can no longer do so? Sometimes you lose interest in something when you no longer participate in it. Maybe no longer being able to attend these events has an effect on some? It's really not maybe, I know it does. Our family used to go to NASCAR races along with a couple neighbor families several years back over a number of years. When we didn't go to the races we watched the races together on Sunday's during the summer months. As time went on they were able to go to fewer and fewer races as are we. Eventually they were unable to attend any more races because of the cost to do so. Slowly they lost interest in what was once something that we all looked forward to each weekend. I'm not saying that's the answer across the board but I bet that plays a large role in the declining viewership.
The numbers tell the story though. While statistically the ratings are down as a whole for NASCAR over the years the biggest drop in ratings is the moment that they switch to cable. The only races on cable that grab 'FOX type' numbers are Bristol and Talladega. Even when you look at the single race that is broadcast on network television during the Chase @ Charlotte on ABC, the numbers spike for just that one race. If the numbers can be there for Bristol & Talladega on cable, why not the rest? Could it simply be that the casual fan just happens to hit it on their network channel while browsing for something to watch? I'm not a casual fan, I go out of my way to watch a NASCAR race or any other sporting event for that matter. Outside of sports I find myself spending most of my viewing within the locals and I'm guessing that might be the norm for most. Whatever the reason for the drop on cable broadcasts it's a fact that the ratings decrease for those events.
FOX already inked their deal into the distant future. It would be a huge benefit to NASCAR if they could score another network for the remaining races, especially the Chase. I'd also think that they'd benefit greatly from a shorter season. The fan base that NASCAR is trying to attract doesn't want to devote basically every Sunday from February-November to sitting in front of the TV. Most people today have the attention span of a stone. I'm thinking stones have really short attention spans.Could it be that FOX benefits greatly from having the beginning of the season schedule, when everyone's been NASCAR deprived? Perhaps. I love a great steak cooked on the grill every once and a while and really look forward to it but if I had it every week for 10 months I may grow to not like it as much.
Because the decline in ratings is not equal to the decline in cable television viewership.
The bottom line, and it's really this simple: NASCAR's fan base is shrinking. NASCAR's not bringing in a new generation of fans -- mainly because these mile and a half tracks just are not that exciting.
NASCAR's decline started long before the economy went sour. And NASCAR will never be able to bring in a new generation of fans if they, and their fanbase, continue to blame the economy for the decline.
FenderBumper
The "good old days" ??
I've railed against all this for years. The France family gets the biggest bang for the buck by spreading the season (bye weeks) well into football and the heart of baseball so networks can use nascar to water down the numbers of the other networks. It makes no sense to go up against those 2 IF your main goal is to grow the sport. Sadly, it isn't. The France family's main interest is their income and profits, so we get these split TV contracts and double dates at ISC and SMC tracks instead of having more tracks in new markets. The France's aren't going to give up that TV money to a new track in a new market, and they sure don't want to spend money buying a new track simply to shift income from one of their other tracks.
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MOEJOE
Guest
THIS!!!!! THIS!!!!!! AND MORE OF THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I complain about how much it costs to goto races all the damn time.
BUT, I live in proximity to MIS, and CHICAGO LAND. whoopie
If there was a short track in Michigan, I would go. SOLD, every year. But the infield, they say, it makes so much money. And to that, I say: YOU CAN HAVE IT BRUTON!
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MOEJOE
Guest
Sucks that Nascar is being used as a tool isn't it? Oh wait, that was Brian's choice. GOOD CHOICE BRIAN, GOOD CHOICE.
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#17D500winner
Guest
As fans, we all make an individual choice to watch or not and to support Nascar or not. What happens when the choices are racing we deem not all that exciting or no racing at all?
I'm not suggesting that the racing wouldn't benefit from some improvements but I choose to watch and will continue to do so as I feel it's better than no racing at all.
If and when it comes to the point where I'm torturing myself by watching racing I'll stop - as I'd think any sane person would. YMMV.
I'm not suggesting that the racing wouldn't benefit from some improvements but I choose to watch and will continue to do so as I feel it's better than no racing at all.
If and when it comes to the point where I'm torturing myself by watching racing I'll stop - as I'd think any sane person would. YMMV.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
The thing here is, NASCAR is losing their customers.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Ah. I don't drink adult beverages, and I bring the ice from the hotel. But I'm with you on the noisy generators, along with people who want to sing, fight, rev their engines, and make other sleep-disturbing noises at 2:00 am.
Asheville to Bristol is 90 minutes. Greensboro to Martinsville is 75. That's Sunday morning; I drive home to the Columbia SC area after the race.
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#17D500winner
Guest
I understand that but I'm not sure if there's something so horribly broken in Nascar that extreme measures are required or if those customers have become so fickle that there's simply no pleasing them. Perhaps it's a combination of the two, I'm not sure.
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MOEJOE
Guest
Lucky man you are. I have a 14.5 hour drive to Martinsville. 16 to Richmond. I do however live right next to a small private airport. I could get into the import/export "business" and then a plane would be a necessity. THEN I could have a plane to fly to the races.
I'VE GOT A PLAN!
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Martinsville, or as I call it, "The Only Race in the Chase", is about a 90 minute (in race traffic) drive from my house.
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Allen Bedgood
Guest
It's time to have FOX host all the races.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
And give up football for an inferior product? Don't count on that happening.
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#17D500winner
Guest
I understand that people like football and that's their option but I'd rather watch cars chasing each other in a single line @200 mph than men standing around a field staring at and mouthing off to one another. I'm also the type of person who'd rather sat by a river than a lake so I guess that's what works for me
So, if people want to watch football than so be it but they'll never convince me to waste my time on it.
paradigm
Team Owner
A lot of casual NASCAR fans also believe the sport has become too scripted. Fake cautions, biased rules, chase format, have all eroded at the integrity of the sport, and in turn has lost the fans. It is too bad it is moving towards a WWF format.
Also the drivers themselves lack the charisma that the drivers of yesteryear had...they just do not have the fanbase the old drivers had. When names from NASCAR's peak era are mentioned such as Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Hamilton, Bill Elliot, etc., it immediately lights up a lot of former fans. Compare these old-boys to the watered down pretty boys like Jimme Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Bred Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr, Jamie McMurray, etc.
NASCAR was all about the good-old boys, and always had a rough image which fans found appealing. It has lost that image in trying to expand to new markets, and in turn is losing its fan base.
Also the drivers themselves lack the charisma that the drivers of yesteryear had...they just do not have the fanbase the old drivers had. When names from NASCAR's peak era are mentioned such as Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Hamilton, Bill Elliot, etc., it immediately lights up a lot of former fans. Compare these old-boys to the watered down pretty boys like Jimme Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Bred Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr, Jamie McMurray, etc.
NASCAR was all about the good-old boys, and always had a rough image which fans found appealing. It has lost that image in trying to expand to new markets, and in turn is losing its fan base.
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MOEJOE
Guest
Ha ha, it sounds like you are talking about the republican party this year.
ted@economy
in the interest of equal time
A lot of casual NASCAR fans also believe the sport has become too scripted. Fake cautions, biased rules, chase format, have all eroded at the integrity of the sport, and in turn has lost the fans. /quote]
I think that a lot of those casual fans ,who think this foolishness
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
I didn't say it.
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Allen Bedgood
Guest
Oh come one now ... we all know Jimmie Johnson is the blame for the stands being empty and TV's being turned off! (Note: HEAVY sarcasm used there)
Agreed!
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
I understand that people like football and that's their option but I'd rather watch cars chasing each other in a single line @200 mph than men standing around a field staring at and mouthing off to one another. I'm also the type of person who'd rather sat by a river than a lake so I guess that's what works for me
I don't see the two as mutually exclusive. I definitely prefer attending a race vs. a stick-and-ball sport. There's always some action somewhere and there are no time-outs, either called or for TV. Football broadcasts better because those same timeouts and quarter / halftime breaks allow commercials without missing any action, although I'll choose a race if the two are on at the same time. Those are the only two sports I regularly watch, and only pro football.
I don't have a preference between rivers and lakes; whichever one has the most waterfowl on it that day, especially ones I've never seen before.
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MOEJOE
Guest
Damn Loons are dying off in Lake Michigan like crazy, beter come see them before they leave forever,.
FenderBumper
The "good old days" ??
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#17D500winner
Guest
Don't worry too much, MoeJoe. I hear Michigan is full of loons.
VaDirt
Dirt Track Fanatic
Until Bruton Smith has his way.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
"No, but thank you for your kind and generous offer."
I was a Yooper for two years as a child in the late '60s. I learned a lot; mostly to never live where the highway department owns plows or where the weatherman has a working knowledge of the phrase 'lake effect'.
Loons pass through here during migration, although quietly and not in breeding plumage.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
I still don't know why the networks CAN'T broadcast the races without missing green flag racing. I know there's a chance a race could go green-to-checkered without a caution and there's nothing the networks can do if that happens (which is why I kind of like the mandatory cautions idea).
But at the same time, there are way too many commercials. FOX is becoming notorious for using up all their commercial time during green flag racing and not going to commercial during caution and red flag periods. TNT is just pure crap. As for ABC and ESPN, I think the only race I watched from green-to-checkered was the one I was at so I don't know what they do. I didn't turn on the races until after the Jaguars games were over and they were doing that Nonstop stuff.
NBC sports channel manages to miracle their way through an entire IndyCar season without missing green flag laps.
But at the same time, there are way too many commercials. FOX is becoming notorious for using up all their commercial time during green flag racing and not going to commercial during caution and red flag periods. TNT is just pure crap. As for ABC and ESPN, I think the only race I watched from green-to-checkered was the one I was at so I don't know what they do. I didn't turn on the races until after the Jaguars games were over and they were doing that Nonstop stuff.
NBC sports channel manages to miracle their way through an entire IndyCar season without missing green flag laps.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
In short, the sponsors won't put up with it, and they're the ones paying the bills.
Internationally, soccer is usually telecast without interruption by displaying the game in a box with advertising around the sides. This format restricts sponsors banners and sidebars, and doesn't permit them to use those fancy ads required to get US viewer attentions. But soccer is an 800 pound gorilla, better able to dictate terms to sponsors eager to have their product associated with the sport.
As to IndyCar, it's been rumored for years that they pay a substantial (majority? all?) percentage of the costs of their television coverage. When you foot the bill, you can dictate terms to the networks. (See the deal between CBS and The Masters golf tournament.) Half the Indy races are on Versus or whatever it's called this week, where the rent is cheap because it's only in about 4 homes and a bus station waiting area. It's a shame, because their great product is mismanaged at depths BZF can only dream of sinking to.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
I've been hearing this for eons yet ESPN and ABC do it. NBC does it for IndyCar. FOX did it for Daytona (and even publicly stated the sponsors supported it). TNT did it for the July Daytona race.
I've also been hearing this lie for seven years. I guess if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes true.
NBC Sports Network and ABC pay IndyCar for broadcast rights. And NBCSN is in the majority of US households, on basic cable no less. People don't watch it because, as of right now, IndyCar is the only sport they have.
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#17D500winner
Guest
The networks don't care if people enjoy the product. What matters is that we are tuning in and all the bitching/moaning lets them know we're watching. The only way to truly show your displeasure is to stop watching - if you feel that's an option.
Nascar or the networks don't browse racing-forums.com for direction on how to present their content so all the complaining on here isn't going to get results for anyone.
Nascar or the networks don't browse racing-forums.com for direction on how to present their content so all the complaining on here isn't going to get results for anyone.
ted@economy
in the interest of equal time
I don't think it likely that anyone in the boardroom is gonna be sayin " Hey , I got it , let's show fewer commercials during during Nascar races . "
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
I was careful to label it as a rumor. I don't know if it is true or not; that's why I didn't present it as fact.
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MOEJOE
Guest
I hate that damn sports ticker that ESPN slaps on the bottom of the screen during the race. I put tape over it. To damn distracting.
VaDirt
Dirt Track Fanatic
But, but but, that's where all the experts are that know how to make it all better.
Zerkfitting
Team Owner
They would be wise to keep tabs on racing forums to find out what people are talking about.
But, but but, that's where all the experts are that know how to make it all better.
Oh yeah, I forgot, there are experts.
Matthew2470
It's not that serious
I sometimes cover it to prevent seeing spoliers.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
I've hated those damn tickers since 2002.
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MOEJOE
Guest
Let's start a petition.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
I agree.
Taping up your TV or putting something there to block that section of the screen seems kinda silly. If you don't want to read it, don't look at it. It sounds like more of a problem of self control than anything else. For example, when I'm sitting at the dinner table and someone passes me the peas, I say no thank you. The peas continue to reside on the table during the entire dining process but I refuse to eat them at any point during dinner.