When the toy is no longer shiny

ChexOrWrex said:
TV audience for the 2019 NASCAR season finale down over 50 percent from 2015

Sunday’s race was the least-watched Homestead race ever, with 3.74 million people tuning in. That’s a number down 12 percent from 2018 and down over 50 percent from NBC’s first Homestead telecast in 2015.


https://sports.yahoo.com/tv-ratings..._3iB0vrMAvlMliqLxDQiVMEsWbeYoGIld2vOWVWn0coGA
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Oh man thank God they're going to Phoenix such an exciting race that's going to be definitely will bring the viewers back
 
I could be wrong but isn't Daytona and Talladega where they always draw the most viewers? The RF chat board would explode if they put Dega as the championship deciding track.:D
 
Regarding the 2015 race:

Last year’s broadcast --- which was aided by the fact the race was delayed 90 minutes and took up nearly the entire first hour of Football Night in America --- earned a 4.41 rating.
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...scar-tv-ratings-huge-drop-from-2015/94218462/

It's down about 28% from 2014. While the overall trend for NBC was up from 2018, the last two races were down significantly. The playoffs don't bring in the masses, casual fans care about certain individual races and not others. They would have been smarter to play up their 'majors' than throw all the weight behind the playoffs.
 
I think it illustrates what I said last week. For whatever reason you want to choose, the drivers that were in the final four just do not move the needle when it comes to attracting fans. This sport is DESPERATELY short of star power right now. It sort of reminds me of the NBA in the late 70's right before Bird and Magic came on the scene.
 
I can honestly say that a scheduling conflict between Nascar and Nhra is the only thing that caused this pair of eyes not to watch it on tv. With all of the days in a year you would think 2 major racing series could finish their championship season finale on a different day.
 
Formerjackman said:
I think it illustrates what I said last week. For whatever reason you want to choose, the drivers that were in the final four just do not move the needle when it comes to attracting fans. This sport is DESPERATELY short of star power right now. It sort of reminds me of the NBA in the late 70's right before Bird and Magic came on the scene.
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The star missed the show.

You'll have that in big-time auto racing.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I can honestly say that a scheduling conflict between Nascar and Nhra is the only thing that caused this pair of eyes not to watch it on tv. With all of the days in a year you would think 2 major racing series could finish their championship season finale on a different day.
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Yeah, you'd think.

NASCAR needs a young star to grab the sport by winning and stirring things up a bit. One could say Kyle Busch is that guy, but more fans don't like him than do. Most of the young guys now don't have much of a personality when it comes to charisma and they're not winning a lot of races right now.
 
Formerjackman said:
I think it illustrates what I said last week. For whatever reason you want to choose, the drivers that were in the final four just do not move the needle when it comes to attracting fans. This sport is DESPERATELY short of star power right now. It sort of reminds me of the NBA in the late 70's right before Bird and Magic came on the scene.
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Kyle Busch and Harvick are two big names with a lot of fans and star power. The ratings suck because people recognize a gimmick when they see one, and this racing package sucks. I've never seen as bad a crowd as I did at Texas in November, and to top it off the race was bad. The last 4 races this season were all bad, and what's scary is that it was at 3 different kinds of racetracks. Get rid of aero sensitive momentum racing and make a respectable championship format
 
Fox was up 2% I believe and NBC broke even. Writers get paid to try to create drama, and some fall for it every time, they need those people they feed off of each other. I agree the sport needs a big talking brash youngster who can run with the best of them, one of the reasons I like Chastain. He doesn't care who he pisses off he is going to try to get to the front.
 
MRM said:
Yeah, you'd think.

NASCAR needs a young star to grab the sport by winning and stirring things up a bit. One could say Kyle Busch is that guy, but more fans don't like him than do. Most of the young guys now don't have much of a personality when it comes to charisma and they're not winning a lot of races right now.
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I agree. Two of the best young drivers right now for HMS imo are Elliot and Bowman and both of them are very laid back. They will thrill you on the track but not so much with their interviews.
 
Formerjackman said:
I think it illustrates what I said last week. For whatever reason you want to choose, the drivers that were in the final four just do not move the needle when it comes to attracting fans. This sport is DESPERATELY short of star power right now. It sort of reminds me of the NBA in the late 70's right before Bird and Magic came on the scene.
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What I find interesting is that NASCAR is trying hard to manufacture a star/face.. it's seems they are pushing Kyle Busch hard here. Not sure why it isn't selling, as he is very entertaining...it seems that there aren't really any personalities to foil him, or join him here.

I don't know, the fact of the matter is that they need new stars.. let it happen, don't try to make them.

Fwiw, here in Boston, from 2006-2010 when I was in highschool, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr were common house hold names. No one cares about today's drivers for whatever reason. I think the Networks need to change the way they market the sport and the drivers. As popular as Blaney and Elliot are in the NASCAR community, they are NOT household names.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
gnomesayin said:
Regarding the 2015 race:



https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...scar-tv-ratings-huge-drop-from-2015/94218462/

It's down about 28% from 2014. While the overall trend for NBC was up from 2018, the last two races were down significantly. The playoffs don't bring in the masses, casual fans care about certain individual races and not others. They would have been smarter to play up their 'majors' than throw all the weight behind the playoffs.
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Agreed, do it kinda like IndyCar does with double points.

I also don't understand why there's not a Winston Million/Dash4Cash/Triple Truck Challenge type deal with the Daytona 500/World 600/Brickyard 400/Southern 500.
 
MRM said:
... Most of the young guys now don't have much of a personality when it comes to charisma and they're not winning a lot of races right now.
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I suspect they have plenty of personality but that it's not on display where most RF participants will see it.
 
AuzGrams said:
I also don't understand why there's not a Winston Million/Dash4Cash/Triple Truck Challenge type deal with the Daytona 500/World 600/Brickyard 400/Southern 500.
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That's simple; because no sponsor has offered to pay for it. As you noted, the X and Truck series have bonus programs. That's because someone's willing to write the checks.
 
It doesn't help that when the booth ignores the other 36 cars in favor of the Champ 4. I recall them spending time on only two other drivers, Elliott and Larson. I don't know if that's NBC's exclusive decision or if NASCAR asks them to push it, but those other guys have fans too. Ignore them and their fans will tune out. I don't care where four selected drivers are when they're separated by several seconds each. Quit hyping how a Hamlin or Harvick could get back to the front if some highly unlikely event happens; find some racing in the pack and cover it.
 
AuzGrams said:
That surprises me that Xfinity can pony up $400,000 but the Cup Series can't find another Winston Million sponsor.
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I would be over the moon if something like the Winston Million came back. Really hype up those races like golf does for its majors. Daytona 500, Coca Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and the Southern 500 have so much tradition behind it. I look forward to those 4 moreso then any playoff race. As for driver recognition and star power it’s a shame more people arnt tuning in because the youngsters are so damn talented. I hope in 2020 one of the young guys like Elliott, Byron, Larson, Blaney or Jones really breaks through and maybe puts themselves on the map
 
Snappy D said:
I would be over the moon if something like the Winston Million came back. Really hype up those races like golf does for its majors. Daytona 500, Coca Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and the Southern 500 have so much tradition behind it. I look forward to those 4 moreso then any playoff race. As for driver recognition and star power it’s a shame more people arnt tuning in because the youngsters are so damn talented. I hope in 2020 one of the young guys like Elliott, Byron, Larson, Blaney or Jones really breaks through and maybe puts themselves on the map
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If anything the Brickyard could badly use something like the 'Million to get some more people back & interested to the track more than anything else
 
AuzGrams said:
If anything the Brickyard could badly use something like the 'Million to get some more people back & interested to the track more than anything else
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Do we think these guys are going to drive any differently for more money? If they're not, why would it draw extra attention? Odds are likely the first three races will be won by different drivers, so there wouldn't be any bump for the last one anyway.

But say somebody wins two of the first three. If you think Homestead coverage is bad because it focuses on only four cars, imagine a Southern 500 where they cover only ONE car.

I personally am not any more or less motivated to watch a race in this type of promotion. After all, none of the money goes in my pocket.
 
Formerjackman said:
I think it illustrates what I said last week. For whatever reason you want to choose, the drivers that were in the final four just do not move the needle when it comes to attracting fans. This sport is DESPERATELY short of star power right now. It sort of reminds me of the NBA in the late 70's right before Bird and Magic came on the scene.
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I know, can you imagine the ratings if Paul Menard was in the final four! Just think, next year he will not even be in the field. We are doomed.;):sarcasm:
 
Snappy D said:
I would be over the moon if something like the Winston Million came back. Really hype up those races like golf does for its majors. Daytona 500, Coca Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and the Southern 500 have so much tradition behind it. I look forward to those 4 moreso then any playoff race. As for driver recognition and star power it’s a shame more people arnt tuning in because the youngsters are so damn talented. I hope in 2020 one of the young guys like Elliott, Byron, Larson, Blaney or Jones really breaks through and maybe puts themselves on the map
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I think a big part of the problem is that none of the young guys that could generate attention are winning enough or going deep in the playoffs. If Elliott or Blaney could go out and have a ten win season and win a title, I think it would help, but even at that, they don't exactly exude excitement, as much as I like them both. One of the big problems is that if they keep the current championship format, I think you are going to have a bunch of one and two time champions, but nobody is going to be able to truly separate themselves any more. The lack of organic natural rivalries doesn't help much either, and even your villain needs to be somewhat likable. NOBODY played the likable villain any better than Earnhardt did, even his competitors admit they couldn't stay mad at him for long. The only real villain we have now is less likable than Darrell Waltrip was on his worst day. Harvick could have been the guy, but you have to be winning, AND being a ball breaker at the same time, and the two never quite seemed to sync up for him. When he is winning, he seems less crotchety.
 
Formerjackman said:
I think a big part of the problem is that none of the young guys that could generate attention are winning enough or going deep in the playoffs. If Elliott or Blaney could go out and have a ten win season and win a title, I think it would help, but even at that, they don't exactly exude excitement, as much as I like them both. One of the big problems is that if they keep the current championship format, I think you are going to have a bunch of one and two time champions, but nobody is going to be able to truly separate themselves any more. The lack of organic natural rivalries doesn't help much either, and even your villain needs to be somewhat likable. NOBODY played the likable villain any better than Earnhardt did, even his competitors admit they couldn't stay mad at him for long. The only real villain we have now is less likable than Darrell Waltrip was on his worst day. Harvick could have been the guy, but you have to be winning, AND being a ball breaker at the same time, and the two never quite seemed to sync up for him. When he is winning, he seems less crotchety.
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I totally agree. If Elliott or Blaney went out in 20 and won 10 races and won the Championship...that’s your new household name. I won’t knock the points system because I’ve done that already so many times, but it’s undeniable that it will screw up driver legacies when you have a one racer winner take all format.
 
gnomesayin said:
The playoffs don't bring in the masses, casual fans care about certain individual races and not others. They would have been smarter to play up their 'majors' than throw all the weight behind the playoffs.
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That is a GREAT idea IMO. If NASCAR wants to emulate other sports, be like golf and highlight a handful of marquee majors every year. Forget the stupid playoffs, it’s completely unnecessary in motorsports.

NASCAR has said they are looking into multiple sponsors for the Cup Series, right? Well how about this idea. Season long championship, no playoffs whatsoever. Have three different legs to the schedule, broken up into 12-race segments. Looking at the current schedule, it just so happens that Daytona (500) kicks off the first 12, Charlotte (600) kicks off the second 12, and Darlington (Southern 500) kicks off the final 12. Have a different title sponsor for each 12-race leg.

Each leg kicks off with a marquee event. For each group of 12 races, they can add another big time event in the middle of the segment around race 6 or 7 or whatever. Just for example, let’s say Fontana in the first leg, Bristol night in the second leg, and the Brickyard in the third leg. These would be the “secondary” majors. It can be whatever races they want, maybe they can even rotate yearly, as long as each leg has one major race and another headline race every 12. That gives you 6 big time races over the course of a 36-race schedule where they can pay out more money and more points for the 6 majors. Have a season long points standings similar to the old Latford system, but slightly modified to reward winning a little more.

Admittedly, I’ve only spent about three minutes of thought on this, so I haven’t considered how bonus points for the big races would work, or factored in the possibility of stages or any of those details. But I really like the idea of NASCAR's "big thing" to be a half dozen marquee races every year instead of the constantly changing gimmicky playoff nonsense. I thought the first 26 races were much better than the last 10, and I'm sure I'm not alone.
 
Could you imagine if starting in week 1 of the NFL the announcers talked non-stop about a team’s playoff hopes?

It’s mentioned ad-nauseam in this sport and when the time finally comes, it’s anticlimactic af.

Just like “game 7 moments”, they are special because they are unexpected. When the playoffs are a factor every week and a game 7 moment is basically manufactured each season the shiny becomes dull.
 
90s and 2000s had enormous personalities. I don't know why it just happened then or if it was coincidence, butI think companies wanting to get in the sport rather than vice versa helped this due to more security gave drivers more freedom to be larger than life.
 
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