I dont need to tell anyone who was a fan in the 2000s this, but NASCARs broadcasts at the time may have been the worst in the history of sports. It would have saved a lot of time. Last Sundays Cup Series finale from Phoenix averaged a 1.95 rating and 3.21 million viewers on NBC, up 4% in ratings and 5% in viewership from last year (1.9, 3.06M) and the highest rated and most-watched fall Phoenix race since 2018 (2.0, 3.31M). | But the ratings decline is hitting all of the leagues hard (including MLB, which has not embraced the movement on the field nearly as much as the WNBA, NBA, and NFL). Im also someone who became a disenchanted former fan myself. But plate racing still sucksnot only do plates produce multi-car crashes every event, they pervert the standings because of it. Dynasties like Johnsons arent bad for a sportunless the sport doesnt know how to market them. Related: NASCARs NextGen car shows promise and one huge issue. NASCAR looks beyond declining attendance, TV ratings They were even more upset when NASCAR changed its playoff system in January 2014 to create a winner-take-all race among four drivers in. The XFL also had a better Week 2 performance than the 2019 Alliance of American . Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Best Running / CC BY-SA, Posted in NASCAR, Sports The Yankees were always good for baseball. In the early 2000s, NASCAR was soaring. Yes, you had to be able to prove that you knew what you were doing out there but if your car passed technical inspection and you could either qualify to race through time trials or qualifying races, you were in. When combined, it shows that NASCAR is in a pretty good place. . In case you werent there or dont remember, in 2004 NASCAR welcomed their new series sponsor, Nextel (now Sprint), with a new playoff system called the Chase. Basicallythe first 2 races of 2015 have already soundly beaten the first 4 races of 2012 by 4.7 million viewers. When you think of the venues that have showcased the most memorable events in the sports history, Daytona, Darlington, and Bristol often come to mind. Interestingly, it has been said that NASCAR has been getting younger (the drivers) and older (the fans) at the same time. Having followed the sport in the time frame when it began, I can offer what I believe are the real reasons for the decline of NASCAR. NASCAR TV Ratings Below are the ratings for the NASCAR Cup Series: Date | Track | Network | Viewers | Ratings June 20, 2021 Nashville Superspeedway NBCSN Viewers: 2,600,000 Ratings: 1.46 June 13, 2021 Texas Motor Speedway FS1 Viewers: 2,735,000 Ratings: 1.64 June 6, 2021 Sonoma Raceway FS1 Viewers: 2,494,000 Ratings: 1.49 May 30, 2021 NASCAR Fans Rebel Against Confederate Flag Ban. Follow along, because there will be a test later . In NASCARs pre-1990s heyday, when it was still very much a regional sport, manufacturer identity was a big thing. Earlier this month, NASCAR said the Confederate flag no longer will be allowed at its events. All that said, the unveiling of the Car of Tomorrow in 2007 certainly didnt help. So here are three actual reasons for the decline of NASCAR. Related: NASCAR power rankings during the 2023 season. Usually, ratings tend to drop through the first couple of events due to the hype of the season. The event was down 5.6% compared to last year at 4.570 million average viewers on FOX. Why poll the fans if youre just going to ignore them? The move of the Labor Day race to California was part of an ongoing trend. Feb. 25, 2023, at 5:39 p.m. Farewell, Fontana: NASCAR's Last Weekend at a Racing Gem. Its not often noticed, but it was definitely noticed by Jeff Gordon fans: had NASCAR not implemented the Chase, the driver of the iconic #24 could have been the one standing aside Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty today with seven titles, instead of his protg Jimmie Johnson. Ousting Brian France, who created the Chase and presided over the sports decline, was no small part of that. It makes a world of difference watching on TV. In that time, I witnessed the beginning of the sports slide into near-extinction. This is convenient if the city where a follower lives in has a track, but for those that live a long distance from NASCAR venues, the cost to go to watch them is gradually becoming more expensive due to the continually rising prices of fuel. Not just limited to NASCAR but to many other sports as well is the gradual retirement of its well-known athletes that were the main draw for people to watch the events. Certain segments of fans, and media, began to cry that sky was falling. Digital and social consumption is as important now, as it's ever been; probably more important now than it's ever been, he said. Internal surveys show that 75 percent of Nascar fans overall approve of next year's schedule -- one that includes a dirt race at Bristol -- and 90 percent of the 18 to 34 demographic approves. Related: NASCARs Daytona 500 ratings indicate a worrisome trend. By then, hardly anyone will have a standard TV, anyway, because every event will be streamed, and ratings wont matter. After two DNFs in the first two Chase events resulting from simple bad luck, just like that his title hopes were gone. The one thing, though, that all those racing drivers had in common Petty, Pearson, Parsons, Bodine, Waltrip, Earnhardt, Wallace and the rest is that they all started racing on local tracks and created reputations for themselves as hard chargers who were winners. NASCAR Home. Photo credit: sidehike on Visual hunt / CC BY-SA The broadcasts really were over-saturated with ads enough to drive fans away. It rewards winning, which rewards fighting for wins, which creates rivalries. So 16% drop in terms of total TV consumption of those TVs that are actually tuned in over the last two years, NASCAR shares up 18%. Advertising and sponsorship deals are the lifeblood of spectator sports, that is why the TV spots for the Superbowl are some of the most expensive in television. At the start of the 21st Century NASCAR TV ratings, meant everything. Drivers. The Fox's coverage of the race won by Michael McDowell on the last lap averaged a 2.8 rating and 4.83 million viewers per Sports Media Watch. The fan base that is paying attention to our sport now than probably two or three years agopart of that is the economic model of our sport is a little bit more sounder, on solid footing; the introduction to the Next Gen car, it brings on new owners like Justin Marks and Michael Jordan, Pitbull et cetera. That doesnt mean they dont have talent, or arent brave. And he had a very large fan base. The television ratings for sports in 2020 reflect the poll results and the frustration many feel toward the constant sloganeering and political pandering. On Monday, the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track hosted the NASCAR Cup Series. It was the first NCS race on the dirt in 50 years. Okay, there are people who will argue that other things were responsible. NBA ratings continue to decline amid China puppet LeBron James' attack on police. The share has become an increasingly relevant metric to sports leagues in recent months, as it is a metric immune from the broader trend of viewers watching less linear television. which is a 50 percent decline . That's the first time in a decade that that has happened, Hebrst said. https://t.co/Zf4L7g5im4 Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) July 10, 2018 Last year's 500 was still the. Weekly races at smaller locales have come off even worse. . Now, NASCAR might say, Well, 3.759 million for a race in November, even if it is half as much as four years ago, is more than 0.000 viewers for no race. And ratings are slightly better overall when you include the Fox half, which is better than another plunge, as in 2018. I hope so. This is the most viewed season-opener since 2015. The playoff system eliminates 25 or more drivers from contention with nearly a third of the season still to go. A fan of cars and bikes, and most anything with an engine, he divides his time between work and family. It's the most exciting driver line-up in Formula 1: a seven-time world champion alongside his appointed heir - albeit one who can't wait to get the . NASCAR Home. The sport has grown from. Viewership and attendance of NASCAR have been on the decline ever since 2006, and some think the 2021 boost was only due to people seeking more outdoor activity . People rooted for car brands as well as drivers, and car companies believed in the whole win on Sunday, sell on Monday mantra. So to the extent that you can be flat or even up a couple of points it says a lot just about fan interest in the sport.. NBC was slightly ahead of last years pace before the Nov. 10 race at Phoenix, but it drew 2.567 million, the least-watched Cup race on broadcast television since 2001 (not counting rainouts). Yes, all of those factors might have contributed to the decline of interest in NASCAR, But, in the end, I think the franchise system and the ride-buying are what did NASCAR in. Viewership for the 2019 Phoenix race was 22% lower than in 2018. Brian Herbst is the senior vice president for media and productions for NASCAR. Bookmark this page for NASCAR ratings as another year of racing is officially underway! Kyle Larsons win, which averaged 3.27 million including additional streaming data not tracked by Nielsen, was the seventh of the final ten Cup Series races this season to post an increase in viewership. It didnt help that a hugely popular driver underperformed, but that shouldnt have caused this much of a free fall. Photo credit: PDA.PHOTO on Best Running / CC BY-ND By virtue of his fathers untimely passing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. instantly found himself with a larger fan base than any three drivers in NASCAR. While NASCARs ratings were a record low for a second event of the season, the NTT IndyCar Series found themselves with a massive jump in ratings. I'm just . Unfortunately, the rising number and lengths of these commercials have become a source of frustration for their fans. NASCARs popularity is down and the ratings reflect it. All eight CBS-owned CW affiliates have "declined to air" LIV Golf's tournaments, according to Rice & Hayes of DEADLINE. 2) When NASCAR established the franchise system in 2016, the league essentially became a closed shop. And as recently as 2013, the race drew 16.5. Kyle Busch, NASCARs black hat, won his second title. Dr. Jon Lewis (aka Paulsen) has been covering the sports media industry on a daily basis since 2006 as the founder and main writer of Sports Media Watch. Most TV consumption, really all TV consumption of TV of tier one sports properties is down simply because TV consumption just broadly is down. There were often timesand Im not exaggerating thiswhen a viewer would see maybe five laps of racing, a two-minute break, and then just two more laps of racing before another break. In some ways the Recession came at a most inopportune time for sports TV. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season averaged 2.93 million viewers across FOX, FS1, NBC and NBCSN, down 4% from last year (3.06M), down 6% from 2019 (3.11M) and the least-watched season on record. Keep in mind that excludes the Monday rainout at Talladega. And it will be pretty hard to turn back the clock on either of those. Making matters worse, within four years, the driver with the second largest fan base finished with the most points in a season twice, only to lose the title to a points reset. Those numbers of course, dont tell the entire story. I cant imagine any fan of Dale Earnhardt Sr.and there were a lot of themnot wanting to see the sport take every measure it could to keep drivers safe after Daytona 2001. While viewership was down overall, it should be noted that the share the percentage of homes tuned to the race in the average minute out of the total number of homes using televisions increased 8% from last year and 11% from 2019. Comments Off on What Caused The Decline of NASCAR? Herbst adds that small swings in the numbers show the steadiness of viewership week to week, and thats a very good thing. All Rights Reserved. Far from it. A Former Reporters Thoughts, fly into a catch fence and injure spectators, I really got the point across with this one, that profoundly irritating cartoon gopher, baseball exploded in popularity after the opening of Camden Yards, that didnt suffer a significant ratings drop, Professional Cornhole Beyond The Parking Lot, Staying Green ex-Patriots Champion Jarvis Green, Terry Kath 1946-1978: The Heart of Chicago. . NASCAR blew off fan demand for picture-in-picture commercial breakssomething theyve since embracedwhile Fox Sportss indifference to fans went completely unchecked. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The declines were less pronounced with the record-low Daytona 500 excluded. Translation: the drivers are paying for the pleasure of racing. And while 2020 has been anything but usual especially in the sports world, NASCAR was the one sport that didnt suffer a significant ratings drop. Photo credit: Darryl W. Moran Photography on Visual Hunt / CC BY-ND However, by the time NASCAR was peaking in the early 2000s, there already wasnt much manufacturer identity left. Just ten years later, there were 13 such eventsnearly half the schedule. Fans might be tired of the novelty of the playoffs. They hate all of the commercials. Tiger Woods was great for golf. I can also dispute other reasons for it that I see being offered today. The Nielsen ratings for NASCAR's most-watched races, such as The Daytona 500, have plummeted in recent years. They are now just one part of a bigger picture: one pixel of a screenshot. However, these deals may be stopping the brand from adapting to consumers' changing viewing habits. Standings. And abuse and manipulation of that system. The 2019 season was run as regularly scheduled as well. The same story goes for NASCAR as the adverts that major companies place during their televised races are a major source of income for the organization and the teams. The full Xfinity Series season averaged 1.04 million viewers, up 9% from last year (952K) and 2019 (954K). As Ive said, the sport is finally addressing its venue problem. According to reports, the league saw a sharp 50% decline in viewership from week one to the next week.The 3.0 reboot is not going well. From F1, Rally, Le Mans, Drifting, or Touring Car championships that are broadcast on TV or via the internet, viewers now have even more access to alternative motorsports events that can offer the same level of adrenaline fueled excitement that NASCAR can provide. He pointed out that despite the ratings decline, NASCAR achieved a "double-digit share increase" last year. Photo credit: eliduke on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-SA Not all, of course, but most. This means that fewer televisions are being turned on around the country; however, the percentage of those people watching NASCAR is increasing. The IndyCar race at St. Petersberg averaged 1.405 million viewers on Sunday. They are included along with social media engagement, streaming, and the like. They got famous because of word-of-mouth (Hey, didja hear about that new kid blowin em away over at Hickory?), weekly newspapers like National Speed Sport News (called simply Speed Sport and whos Editors Notebook by the late Chris Economaki was a Must Read) and magazines like Stock Car Racing. With his brilliant head wrench Chad Knaus on the pit box, the #48 team for years remorselessly laid the field to waste when playoff time started. This was a problem that actually needed to be addressed and wasnt. NBA players take a knee during National Anthem, screen image Get woke, go broke. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images). Related:15 Abandoned And Forgotten NASCAR Race Tracks. It is now an elitist sport because only those who can afford to pay to play need apply. Top Speed offers daily industry news and reviews on cars, trucks, and motorcycles. In that race, caution flags were flown almost every ten laps for tire wear, as Jimmie Johnson limped to a victory. Herbst, and NASCAR, are well aware that fans, and some media, still look to the ratings. NASCAR's viewership for the first half of the 2022 season is the highest since 2017. NASCAR scraped bottom. There's a lot of people that are looking around and understand that the economics of our sport probably are in a better place now than they've been in a long time.. . While the 2023 NASCAR season kicked off Sunday with Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. racing his way into the May 21 NASCAR All-Star Race, North Wilkesboro Speedway construction crews are .
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