Atlanta TV Ratings Down

[muggle not]

Atlanta TV Ratings down 14%: NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on Fox earned a 5.5/12 (8.9 million viewers) on Sunday for the Kobalt 500 from Atlanta. NASCAR ranked as the highest-rated and most-watched sports event of the weekend for the fourth consecutive week.

Men 18-34 continue to be a trouble spot for NASCAR. Ratings in that demo were down -27% (2.4 vs. 3.3) for the Atlanta race, nearly doubling the overall Household decline. One month into the season, NASCAR racing is being impacted by two disappointing trends on the track: lead changes per race are at an all-time low, while caution flags per race are near an all-time high. The season's first four points races have averaged just 14 lead changes per race. The same races a year ago averaged 30 lead changes.

Through four races, NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on FOX is averaging a 6.7/13 (11.3 million viewers), down -11% from last year's 7.5/14 (12.9 mill.). NASCAR's year-to-year comparison continues to be skewed by rainouts in this year's highly-rated Daytona race and last year's lower-rated Fontana race.

[RaceFanStan]

The TV ratings may drop a bit but NASCAR still draws a huge TV audience.
It's all good, no doubt the dollars are still rolling in because NASCAR has a huge fanbase. :D

[SportscarBruce]

lead changes per race are at an all-time low

Wasn't the COT supposed to fix that

[Mark in Oshawa]

Atlanta TV Ratings down 14%: NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on Fox earned a 5.5/12 (8.9 million viewers) on Sunday for the Kobalt 500 from Atlanta. NASCAR ranked as the highest-rated and most-watched sports event of the weekend for the fourth consecutive week.

Men 18-34 continue to be a trouble spot for NASCAR. Ratings in that demo were down -27% (2.4 vs. 3.3) for the Atlanta race, nearly doubling the overall Household decline. One month into the season, NASCAR racing is being impacted by two disappointing trends on the track: lead changes per race are at an all-time low, while caution flags per race are near an all-time high. The season's first four points races have averaged just 14 lead changes per race. The same races a year ago averaged 30 lead changes.

Through four races, NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on FOX is averaging a 6.7/13 (11.3 million viewers), down -11% from last year's 7.5/14 (12.9 mill.). NASCAR's year-to-year comparison continues to be skewed by rainouts in this year's highly-rated Daytona race and last year's lower-rated Fontana race.

The lead changes I think are going to go up as more teams get a handle on the car and the tire changes that Goodyear has made. I haven't seen any horrible races this spring. The cautions? Heck, I have ALWAYS thought NASCAR was a little too free with their Debris cautions and their mandatory yellow's when they were unsure of tire wear.

[slorydn1]

The lead changes I think are going to go up as more teams get a handle on the car and the tire changes that Goodyear has made. I haven't seen any horrible races this spring. The cautions? Heck, I have ALWAYS thought NASCAR was a little too free with their Debris cautions and their mandatory yellow's when they were unsure of tire wear.

I most definitely agree here :up: The caution in the truck race at Atlanta with around 55 or so laps to go was highly suspect.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Slory, how many times have fans always complained about debris cautions and yet Fox or ESPN so rarely gets around to showing you the debris? Sometimes it is legit, and I have no quarrel with a caution if the debris is in the racing line...but I have seen tire debris on the apron bring out cautions. Lets face it, anyone running on the apron deserves what happens. I also notice debris don't mean much in the last 5 laps if the race is exciting. NASCAR's standards on this score have ticked off a lot of people. Right or wrong, show us the debris or reason for the caution.

A track marshal friend of mine who works at the Glen told me that NASCAR's rules on this score are very strict in that debris on the race track is their call. The track marshals are told that if NASCAR says there is debris in the corner, even if the people AT the corner don't see it, they are not to hop on the radio and say they didn't see it. Now if that isn't manipulating things, I don't know what is. Debris cautions are just one of the annoying things that have turned off fans.

WE all love NASCAR racing for the most part and don't see a lot wrong with it but when you have outright manipulation and the broadcast partners are complicit with it, THAT is a HUGE turnoff.

[SportscarBruce]

The networks signed off on a colossal rights package with NASCAR, and now with the ad cash drying up the race-killing cautions you speak of are merely cued commercial breaks for the networks.

Because of this more and more people are tuning out.

Which means advertisers are even less inclined to pay out.

It's really a pretty vicious spiral.

Cue the spin machine.

;)

[muggle not]

The people aren't tuning out due to the commercials. Mostly it is due to some of the changes that Chubby Cheeks has instituted. That and the economy in general is not favorable to most sports and entertainment. However, it would be foolish to say that Nascar isn't one of the most popular sports in the U.S. and Canada.

[RaceFanStan]

The doom & gloom NASCAR naysayers think they can tout all the bull they want.
The bottom-line is that NASCAR is prospering & laughing all the way to bank.
Many fans of other series WISH their series had NASCAR's clout. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif

[Mark in Oshawa]

The doom & gloom NASCAR naysayers think they can tout all the bull they want.
The bottom-line is that NASCAR is prospering & laughing all the way to bank.
Many fans of other series WISH their series had NASCAR's clout. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif


Very true Stan but that doesn't mean we should rubber stamp everything Mike Helton is asked to do by Brian France. I do think NASCAR has to tread a very careful line if they are going to be credible.

[Fred Basset]

The doom & gloom NASCAR naysayers think they can tout all the bull they want.
The bottom-line is that NASCAR is prospering & laughing all the way to bank.
Many fans of other series WISH their series had NASCAR's clout. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif

what about all the empty seats at the tracks Stan??

[RaceFanStan]

Ticket sales are only a small part of NASCAR's income.
A large part of the gate money goes to the track.
Empty seats concern the track owners much more that it does NASCAR.
When the economy stabilizes there will be fewer empty seats. :D

[Sparky1329]

Here's an interesting perspective from a former NASCAR engine builder.

http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/Kenny_Bruce_Former_engine_builder_at_Richard_Child ress_Racing_says_sport_no_longer_exists.html

“I don’t like the people in racing any more,” LaRosa says. “You can print that, I don’t care. I don’t think much of the racing. I wouldn’t call it racing. All the cars are the same. When you can get a template that can fit a Toyota, a Dodge, a Chevrolet and a Ford ... [and] I know the engines are all about the same.”

LaRosa’s not alone in his beliefs. Although NASCAR has gained unimagined attention during the past two decades, there are those who denounce the direction the sport has taken. Popularity has come with a price, and some – LaRosa included – believe that price was too steep.

“You need an attorney to figure out how to drive a car today,” he says. “You can’t pass under the [yellow] line, you can’t speed down pit road, you can’t pass if the sun is out on the East Coast. It’s all just stupid rules.

“We used to have three people in the engine room and maybe eight total. Now you’ve got teams with 400-500 people. That’s not a team, that’s a factory. And it’s all about money.

“You’ve got people, and I’m not going to mention names, but they couldn’t build a model car. The people that were in [the sport] were wonderful. Bud Moore, Junior Johnson, the Pettys in their heyday, the Wood brothers. They were innovative people, and I’m not talking about cheating. I’m talking about innovative people that knew how to build a motor and get the most out of it. Build a car and get the most out of it. Now you’ve got engineers, and it’s become like Formula One. It’s an engineering exercise.”

[muggle not]

Here's an interesting perspective from a former NASCAR engine builder.

http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/Kenny_Bruce_Former_engine_builder_at_Richard_Child ress_Racing_says_sport_no_longer_exists.html

“I don’t like the people in racing any more,” LaRosa says. “You can print that, I don’t care. I don’t think much of the racing. I wouldn’t call it racing. All the cars are the same. When you can get a template that can fit a Toyota, a Dodge, a Chevrolet and a Ford ... [and] I know the engines are all about the same.”

LaRosa’s not alone in his beliefs. Although NASCAR has gained unimagined attention during the past two decades, there are those who denounce the direction the sport has taken. Popularity has come with a price, and some – LaRosa included – believe that price was too steep.

“You need an attorney to figure out how to drive a car today,” he says. “You can’t pass under the [yellow] line, you can’t speed down pit road, you can’t pass if the sun is out on the East Coast. It’s all just stupid rules.

“We used to have three people in the engine room and maybe eight total. Now you’ve got teams with 400-500 people. That’s not a team, that’s a factory. And it’s all about money.

“You’ve got people, and I’m not going to mention names, but they couldn’t build a model car. The people that were in [the sport] were wonderful. Bud Moore, Junior Johnson, the Pettys in their heyday, the Wood brothers. They were innovative people, and I’m not talking about cheating. I’m talking about innovative people that knew how to build a motor and get the most out of it. Build a car and get the most out of it. Now you’ve got engineers, and it’s become like Formula One. It’s an engineering exercise.”
Yep, he pretty much got that right.

btw, Gary Bechtel is back in Cup as part owner of Tommy Baldwin Racing. I was friends with the guy that ran Gary's operation when he was in Cup back in the early 90's. Gary is a maverick from the rest of the Bechtel Clan.

[Sparky1329]

Yep, he pretty much got that right.

btw, Gary Bechtel is back in Cup as part owner of Tommy Baldwin Racing. I was friends with the guy that ran Gary's operation when he was in Cup back in the early 90's. Gary is a maverick from the rest of the Bechtel Clan.

Unfortunately I didn't find anything that Lou said that I could argue about. He just said it more succinctly than I could've.

[Lee Roy]

Ticket sales are only a small part of NASCAR's income.
A large part of the gate money goes to the track.
Empty seats concern the track owners much more that it does NASCAR.
When the economy stabilizes there will be fewer empty seats. :D

The sky is falling Stan, the sky is falling. :)

[SportscarBruce]

The sky is falling Stan, the sky is falling. :)

No it ain't, but the gravy train has slowed down a notch. Luckily the cost of collectibles has fallen over the past few years, so that's a plus. From mall outlets to Target, to Walmart, now they're readily available at Dollar General.

[SportscarBruce]

Here's an interesting perspective from a former NASCAR engine builder.

http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/Kenny_Bruce_Former_engine_builder_at_Richard_Child ress_Racing_says_sport_no_longer_exists.html

“I don’t like the people in racing any more,” LaRosa says. “You can print that, I don’t care. I don’t think much of the racing. I wouldn’t call it racing. All the cars are the same. When you can get a template that can fit a Toyota, a Dodge, a Chevrolet and a Ford ... [and] I know the engines are all about the same.”

LaRosa’s not alone in his beliefs. Although NASCAR has gained unimagined attention during the past two decades, there are those who denounce the direction the sport has taken. Popularity has come with a price, and some – LaRosa included – believe that price was too steep.

“You need an attorney to figure out how to drive a car today,” he says. “You can’t pass under the [yellow] line, you can’t speed down pit road, you can’t pass if the sun is out on the East Coast. It’s all just stupid rules.

“We used to have three people in the engine room and maybe eight total. Now you’ve got teams with 400-500 people. That’s not a team, that’s a factory. And it’s all about money.

“You’ve got people, and I’m not going to mention names, but they couldn’t build a model car. The people that were in [the sport] were wonderful. Bud Moore, Junior Johnson, the Pettys in their heyday, the Wood brothers. They were innovative people, and I’m not talking about cheating. I’m talking about innovative people that knew how to build a motor and get the most out of it. Build a car and get the most out of it. Now you’ve got engineers, and it’s become like Formula One. It’s an engineering exercise.”

Preach it brother.

Look, I'm not some wine sipping sports car elitist snob (tequila is my drink of choice) or anti-France family fanatic. It's not the people that tick me off, it's what they've done with this sport I intensely followed from the 70's through the mid-90's. First and foremost I'm a car guy. Always have been since the time I could climb into the little foot propelled race car. Yep, the sameness in equipment, hotheated driving, and commercial onslaught has brought NASCAR tremendous commercial success, and I guess for some that's all that matters. In this day and age that format has run its course, I'm willing to bet the fans and OEMs are ready to ditch the cloned cars, hype, material excess, and the whole 'rich hotheads wrecking each other in a 190 mph traffic jam' spectacle. That was appropriate for the 1990's, but not now.

But I know, they're laughing all the way to the bank, etc, etc. I just can't understand how the regular Joe is supposed to get off on that, much less continue funding this thing.

[Lee Roy]

or anti-France family fanatic.

Yes you are.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Lee Roy...tell us how you really feel....

Bruce...I have seen enough of your posts lately to find you entertaining, but kinda thin on proof with your accusations at times.