In response to its rapidly growing popularity nationwide, NASCAR moved away from the Southeast fans who brought the sport to the dance, and began holding races in places like Vegas, Chicago and Los Angeles. On Monday, the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track hosted the NASCAR Cup Series. After years of seeing its once enormous audience dwindle to almost nothing, NASCAR is finally righting the ship. Meaning that in todays world even the smallest increase in a TV rating is a really big deal when considering how overall viewership is measured. Im not sure why people would think this, although Id actually had some heated debates with Tom Bowles at the Frontstretch about it. Thats exactly what NASCAR did when they took the Labor Day race out of Darlington and sent it to Auto Club Speedway in California. Dynasties like Johnsons arent bad for a sportunless the sport doesnt know how to market them. However, in recent years that growth has slowed. NASCARs NextGen car shows promise and one huge issue, NASCARs Daytona 500 ratings indicate a worrisome trend. But the sports most dedicated fans were (and are) still in the Southeast, and Southerners are loyal to the core to their heritage. Formula 1 does not have a single commercial during their races on ESPN. When not at work, Karlo spends his time at home, with family, either being the cook or fixit guy in his house. These are bold changes, but this variety of tracks will test drivers and teams at every level. 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 coverage goes through the entire event. 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. Professional sports adapted as well, understanding, and learning, how to measure viewership and show that value to their stakeholders. 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. NFLX The drops: 10% in one year, 19% in two years, 38% in three years, and, good golly Miss Molly, 51% since 2015, when NBC picked up the second half of the season in a giant 10-year contract, with Fox doing the first half. NASCAR finale sees modest gain as season posts modest drop, Ratings: NASCAR, college hoops, soccer, NHL, XFL sees big drop in Week 2, but on par with last years USFL, LeBron injury ill-timed as Lakers continue to draw, Small sampling for LIV; PGA Tour wins head-to-head in rout. OTHER VIEWS? [Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 11.9, network PR]. If they hadnt, youd probably be reading articles today about the decline of Coca-Cola too. Our share of those TVs that are tuned in is up 18%. The disappointing ratings continue a downward trend in Daytona 500 viewership, which has been steadily declining since Fox scored 18.7 million viewers in 2005 with a household rating of 10.9 . As streaming services provide instant entertainment whileNASCARhas scheduled andlengthy race events,thecomparison is similar toordering drive-thru (cheap and convenient) versusdining at a fine restaurant (pricier and takes longer before you can eat). They do not want to watch commercials over and over again. So that's a positive viewership increase of 2%. In the late '90s and the early 2000s, NASCAR saw an unprecedented growth in popularity and TV ratings. 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. NASCAR Las Vegas ratings hit a new low. They shut down the polls and went ahead with it anyway. The XFL's ratings were disappointing in Week One. In a piece published in the Athletic last week, Ethan Strauss reported that the ratings for network NBA broadcasts have declined by 45 percent since 2011-12. By the measurements used today, NASCAR then is in a very good place. Flat is better than down, but 2018 was also the year the once-mighty U.S.S. It would have saved a lot of time. Admittedly, several of these rule changes have been beneficial to the sport, but some have unfortunately come across as marketing stunts that have turned away fans. A fairly new challenge that spectator sports now have to contend with is the rise of the various streaming services that offer varied content that is available across a variety of platforms. The NASCAR ratings for the 2022 season are the best they have been in four years. Comments Off on What Caused The Decline of NASCAR? This is all just ultimately my opinion, but its a carefully considered one. Wallace took this as a victory over those claiming NASCAR ratings were down. The NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway topped all forms of motorsports last weekend, with a 2.05 rating, 3.373 million viewers. On the other hand, NASCAR will go to full-screen commercials on a regular basis which affects the way a fan can follow the race. Last years Xfinity race at the track aired on FS2 and had a 0.21 and 341,000. Im not buying the its too safe bit as a cause for the decline of NASCAR. The Xfinity Series at Indianapolis had a rating of 0.67, with 1.249 million viewers, totaling more than F1 Pocono TV Ratings July 26, 2022 . Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader, Geoff Bodine, Rusty Wallace and Trevor Boys were among several dozen drivers whose names soon became familiar, if not famous. That's the first time in a decade that that has happened, Hebrst said. The league's first game of the 2023 slate, the Vipers vs. Renegades, drew 1.54 . Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Visualhunt / CC BY-SA Nascar, long a symbol of Southern heritage, has become an unlikely battleground in the debate over whether the Confederate battle flag still has a place in America. The previous days Xfinity Series finale drew a 0.6 (flat) and 1.01 million (+3%) on NBCSN and last Fridays Truck Series finale drew a 0.30 (+3%) and 473,000 (-4%) on FS1. Kyle Busch, NASCARs black hat, won his second title. In terms of tier one sports properties, he said. As a result, teams with more resourcessuch as Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racingwon big for years. It is possible that another playoff system to sustain interest in TV programming for nine months could be introduced with a radically revamped schedule in 2021 and it is possible that NASCAR could go back to the old way and determine a champ on points over an entire season. I have been around and covered NASCAR for over two decades. Which meant that other drivers didnt win a lot. Photo credit: Darryl W. Moran Photography on Visual Hunt / CC BY-ND But for whatever reason, Junior not only didnt measure up to his fathers formidable reputation, he rarely even established himself as a contender. Photo credit: brandonzeman on Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA Photo credit: wjarrettc on Visual hunt / CC BY And the same is true for NASCAR. Overall, NASCAR brought in 114.231 million average viewers throughout the entire 2022 season which marks its. When combined, it shows that NASCAR is in a pretty good place. Just because no one has been killed at the Cup level since Earnhardts death doesnt make it less so. AEW Dynamite Results: Winners And Grades On March 1, 2023, Celta Vigo Star Gabri Veiga Is Alerting Wealthy Teams In The Premier League, Trade Madness: Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders And Devils Spent February Making Notable Moves, Los Angeles Chargers Have Shown Keenan Allen The Money But They Wont Show Him The Door, Corner Threes Are Secret Sauce For Milwaukee Bucks Offensive Success, OKC Thunder: Upcoming Six-Game Slate Will Dictate Direction Of Season, Is Vince McMahon Secretly Booking WrestleMania 39? However, like Johnsons dominance, I doubt that this would have been as much of a problem were it not for other factors that were far more damaging. Or NASCAR could pretty much keep things the way they are and hope to hold on to whoever watches through 2024, when the massive TV contract expires. Though Nielsen had been king of all things TV for generations, the truth was they were having trouble keeping up as people began to shift their viewing habits. Related: NASCARs NextGen car shows promise and one huge issue. But there is a big difference between changing your own spark plugs and battling your way to the front at your local speedway in hopes of catching the attention of a NASCAR car owner and calling up that same NASCAR car owner on the phone and saying two words to him: How much?. Even before the recent political turmoil in the sport, NASCAR was hemorrhaging fans and supporters, with viewership numbers dropping every event. NASCARs viewership continues to fall after the ratings for last weekends race at Auto Club Speedway were released on Tuesday morning. They are included along with social media engagement, streaming, and the like. The future of IndyCar seems to be brighter when it comes to younger people. But plate racing still sucksnot only do plates produce multi-car crashes every event, they pervert the standings because of it. (Photo by AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images). or Disney plus; there's more competition for those eyeballs then there's ever been. Games on TNT are also down by more. Overall, it is another positive and negative week. (Busch would have still won.). Stats. He said its important to look at the bigger picture, a bigger picture that shows how media is consumed. 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. NASCAR vehicles evolved over the decades to become safer for the drivers and spectators, the result of which is that cars today are uniform, standardized vehicles with their bodies basically just shells on top of a chassis. So NASCAR racing has become just like European formula-car racing and IndyCar racing in North America. Ill never forget seeing Elliott Sadlers terrifying end-over-end crash at Talladega in 2003 and seeing it again in every single ad for Talladega races for the next 3-4 years. And based on what we see today, NASCAR seems to be on an upward trajectory and shows no signs of slowing down. You will find all of your NASCAR ratings coverage at Sportsnaut. Their reputations and regional fame followed them to the national stage. Still with me? And he had a very large fan base. Formula 1 and IndyCar are on the rise while NASCAR is slowly declining on a weekly and yearly basis. Standings. So that's household using televisions. When you use this link to shop on Amazon, youll help subsidize this great websiteat no extra charge to you. Its safe to say this is not ideal for the sport and there should be some concern on why ratings continue to fall. Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-SA 500 MOMENTUM:Daytona 500 TV ratings: NASCAR opener ends two-year viewership decline. And as recently as 2013, the race drew 16.5. The event was down 5.6% compared to last year at 4.570 million average viewers on FOX. NASCAR star Bubba Wallace reacted to a chart on Twitter that showed last weekend's NASCAR race at Foxwoods Resort Casino as the top-watched sporting event of the weekend. 1) Just like all the other major racing series in the world, NASCAR has become a money deal. When NASCAR first started, you had a bunch of good ol boys who worked blue-collar jobs, usually in garages, and gottheir hands dirty and went racing at local speedways on the weekend and, if they were any good, developed a following. The NFL only went down 9%, but please, tell me about anthem kneelers. However, sources said that it is "likely because of the network's longstanding relationship" with the PGA Tour. Traveling out of town to attend a NASCAR event would sometimes require staying at a hotel in order to maximize the time and effort spent during getting there. 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). Last years season-opener at Barber only averaged 914 thousand viewers which is almost an extra 500 thousand. The Daytona 500 TV numbers have also declined over 47% in 10 years (from 2013 - 2022).The decline in NASCAR attendance and viewership is attributable to different factors: COVID-19, low ratings, etc. 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 . I wasnt the only one who noticedas this blog posts comments demonstrated. Its certainly healthy in terms of eyeballs, Hebrst said. By virtue of his fathers untimely passing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. instantly found himself with a larger fan base than any three drivers in NASCAR. The truth was of course far from that. The addition of retired driver and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. beefed up NBCs product in 2018, but four people in the broadcast booth are too many voices. 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. Please email the author at nmcdonald@thestar.ca, Copyright 2023 | Powered by CityMediaInc.com, Happy Birthday, GM Canada, and thanks for the (many) ride(s), Racing Roundup: Great Grand Prix in Austin, despite actions by stewards; Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame induction video; Alonso wont drive in IndyCar in 2019 or ever. These fans would attend a race, then go sightseeing around the town so as to make the trip more worthwhile and as a result, even more money is required to be put in the budget in order to cover the costs for a dew days hotel stay. NASCAR blew off fan demand for picture-in-picture commercial breakssomething theyve since embracedwhile Fox Sportss indifference to fans went completely unchecked. 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. The last race at. NASCAR scraped bottom. FOX has been touting the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season to date as the "best ever." Sorry, I'd give that honor to 1992 and wouldn't even provide 2021 to date a spot on my top-10 list of modern-era. However, the second race of the 2022 season saw a more significant drop in viewership compared to previous seasons. The NASCAR ratings for the 2022 season are the best they have been in four years. From their colorful beginnings to what is now a billion-dollar sporting event, NASCAR has continued to provide high octane entertainment for its millions of fans and supporters. It has been a challenge for the sport to consistently grab the attention of its audience; however, there are reasons for optimism as the 2022 season represented a step in the right direction. Which is any sports property, essentially professional sports league, that is about a million viewers or higher on a per event basis or the most stable property in terms of viewership over the course of the last two years, it's possible that we'll be able to be the most stable tier one sports property in terms of sports viewership over the course of those three years, (though) the NFL is off to a very good start. winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Homestead Speedway on November 17, 2019 in Homestead, Florida. Racing, like basketball and other sports, has seen year-to-year ratings decline. It may seem good on the surface, but there's more beneath that makes this concerning. And forget Danica the non-stop promotion and ass-kissing of all things NASCAR by the announcers seriously, compare them against broadcasters of any other big-league sport has people who were once fans changing the channel permanently. I wonder why Truck Series and Xfinity viewership(even from 2019) is up but Cup Series viewership is down. Up until the middle of the 21st century the measured pairs of eyeballs watching NASCAR on TV were counted, analyzed and, for the most part, cheered. For the first time this season, NASCAR was not the top sporting event of the weekend, trailing the NBA All-Star Game on TNT and TBS (3.1, 5.94M). Those numbers of course, dont tell the entire story. Photo credit: Fast Eddie Maloney on Best Running / CC BY-SA The trajectory is good. Yes, sports ratings as a whole are down, but NASCAR's fall is alarming: Daytona 500 viewership from 2001 to 2009 ranged from 16 to 19 million. The Nielsen ratings for NASCAR's most-watched races, such as The Daytona 500, have plummeted in recent years. Not only in the business world, but in all sports as well. HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 17: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota along with his wife [+] Samantha and son Brexton pose with the trophy after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Homestead Speedway on November 17, 2019 in Homestead, Florida. NASCAR teams get creative with sponsors following dip in ratings, attendance Rick Hendrick is seeking a new sponsor for Jimmie Johnson amid the departure of Lowe's. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images UPDATE: The Daytona 500 posted only a modest decline in ratings and viewership, but that was still enough to make it one of the least-watched ever. Compared to the 2019 finale from Homestead-Miami, ratings fell 13% (from 2.2) and viewership 14% (from 3.74M). 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