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). NASCARs initial playoff brainchild was hugely unpopular, and every griping fan in comment sections of blogs everywhere had the artificial points reset near the top of their list of complaints. For instance: The non-stop promotion of Danica Patrick, as if she was the Second Coming (she wasnt), turned off a lot of fans. Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Visualhunt / CC BY-SA Translation: the drivers are paying for the pleasure of racing. Fox sees 12% decline over last year's ratings: Fox and FS1 for its package of 15 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races this season averaged 4.9 million viewers, down 12% from 5.6 million last . NASCAR's social media channels have piled up nearly 2 billion social impressions (the number of times its content was viewed) and more than 92 million fan engagements (retweets, likes, shares). 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. Viewership for the 2019 Phoenix race was 22% lower than in 2018. On Monday, the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track hosted the NASCAR Cup Series. I remember watching it and literally wondering if I was going to see the finish of the race. Strauss also reported that TNT's viewership is down 40 percent since the 2011-12 season, and ESPN has seen a decline of about 20 percent during the same time. 1) Just like all the other major racing series in the world, NASCAR has become a money deal. . But the sports most dedicated fans were (and are) still in the Southeast, and Southerners are loyal to the core to their heritage. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images), Nascar's TV Future May Or May Not Include Streaming Its Top Tier Races. 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. No longer do young NASCAR racers start at their local tracks and work their way up. FONTANA, Calif. Most of NASCAR's Cup Series drivers feel like they're saying their final goodbye to a dear old friend this weekend. or Disney plus; there's more competition for those eyeballs then there's ever been. By Jack Davis June 22, 2020 at 8:10am. The sport no longer has Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jimmie Johnson, so theres an opportunity for new fan favorites to emerge, formed by on-track performance rather than sentiment. The cars already were mostly spec at that point, and the sport was doing just finebooming even. Why poll the fans if youre just going to ignore them? Dynasties like Johnsons arent bad for a sportunless the sport doesnt know how to market them. By then, hardly anyone will have a standard TV, anyway, because every event will be streamed, and ratings wont matter. 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 . Im not buying the its too safe bit as a cause for the decline of NASCAR. Meanwhile, NASCAR ratings . Photo credit: royal_broil on Best Running / CC BY-SA OutKick reported: The NBA ratings are worse Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Visualhunt / CC BY-SA Overall, it is another positive and negative week. IndyCars race at St. Petersberg was also up from 1.219 million viewers last season. When you use this link to shop on Amazon, youll help subsidize this great websiteat no extra charge to you. It may seem good on the surface, but there's more beneath that makes this concerning. Certain segments of fans, and media, began to cry that sky was falling. The season ended with two flat tires. Drivers. 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. Ratings fell 19% and viewership 21% from last year, when it was the second race of the season (3.2, 5.50M). U.S. NBA Social Justice Poll. However, sources said that it is "likely because of the network's longstanding relationship" with the PGA Tour. What we try to do is boil it down to more simple sound bites that are A: true and B: accurate, Hebrst said. Feb. 25, 2023, at 5:39 p.m. Farewell, Fontana: NASCAR's Last Weekend at a Racing Gem. NASCAR Ratings Down: Decline All Season for Fox McCord Roberts June 5, 2009 Last week's Dover race marked the 16th consecutive week of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing on television that saw a major. Its not so much that the points reset NASCAR introduced in 2004 was a monumentally stupid idea. So that's household using televisions. For any fan that needs racing to be dangerous, there are still four restrictor plate races on the schedule. This article looks at several of the reasons why NASCAR is losing fans. This isnt to say that the initial Car of Tomorrow wasnt a disasterit wasbut at the time, fans were plenty vocal about safety after the loss of the sports biggest icon. There are not many. 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. This marks a 25% lift versus NASCAR's analogous share in 2018, and is the strongest showing since Fox got off to a 10.5 share start in 2016. Dover is a 1-mile track, and 11 laps does not take long. Photo credit: sarahstierch on Visualhunt.com / CC BY Yes, a team can still dominate all season and lose a championship to a flat tire, but at least its not just an artificial points reset. The truth was of course far from that. Compared to Week 2 of last year's USFL, which consisted of two games on broadcast and two on cable, the XFL's Week 2 audience was down just slightly (661K to 655K). It is understandable that throughout its existence, rule changes have been implemented at NASCAR, and the reasons for such have varied from safety, technological, or as organization initiatives to provide more challenges or add excitement to the races. Danica Patrick just retired. Statistics for NASCAR indicate that63% are male, 20% are minorities and 47% are between the ages of 18 and 44, with the majority of this age bracket being in the older end, the number of which is also dropping yearly. Bookmark this page for NASCAR ratings as another year of racing is officially underway! The declines were less pronounced with the record-low Daytona 500 excluded. All eight CBS-owned CW affiliates have "declined to air" LIV Golf's tournaments, according to Rice & Hayes of DEADLINE. NASCAR ratings have been on the decline over the last decade as they have taken a significant drop. Herbst, and NASCAR, are well aware that fans, and some media, still look to the ratings. 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 . It was the first NCS race on the dirt in 50 years. Photo credit: Fast Eddie Maloney on Best Running / CC BY-SA In addition, the current playoff format, while far from perfect, isnt nearly as unpalatable as the Chase was. Which meant that other drivers didnt win a lot. In 2008 Kyle Busch smoked the field for the first 26 races, winning eight of them and setting the NASCAR world on fire with his brash and unapologetic racing style. Along with that came an all-important metric: the Nielsen ratings. No longer could a late-model driver from Syracuse or Spokane get a car and a team together and show up to try to qualify for any of NASCARs races. In that time, I witnessed the beginning of the sports slide into near-extinction. The last race at Auto Club took place in 2020 and had an average of 4.781 million viewers for the third event of the season. And those ways that didnt always involve traditional broadcast TV. Just ten years later, there were 13 such eventsnearly half the schedule. As it happens, the first four official NASCAR races of 2022 are averaging a 9.73 share, which means nearly 10% of all homes that had TVs in use at the time of the broadcasts were tuned in to Fox. News. A leading business development, project manager in the auction and liquidation industry, and consultant for various local and national government offices in the Philippines. Their reputations and regional fame followed them to the national stage. TV ratings are no longer the end all be all for NASCAR. These Are The Reasons Why NASCAR Is Losing Fans, "Bootleggers"- those whoproduce anddeliver prohibited whiskey/alcohol, colorful beginnings to what is now a billion-dollar sporting event, 15 Abandoned And Forgotten NASCAR Race Tracks, 15 Rules Every NASCAR Employee Has To Follow, 10 NASCAR Drivers With The Most Wins (& How Much They Won), A New Toyota Celica Concept Shows What A Pure Toyota Sports Car Could Be Without BMW, A Modern Plymouth Road Runner Like This Could Shake Up Today's Pony Car Market, EXCLUSIVE: This Toyota 2000GT Rendering Brings An Icon Into Modern Day, The 5 Worst Ford Mustangs To Buy Used (Plus The 5 Best), 10 Used German Performance Cars We'd Buy Over An American Muscle Car Any Day. In the early 2000s, NASCAR was soaring. Related: NASCAR ratings on big rise compared to recent years in 2022. Photo credit: sidehike on Visual hunt / CC BY-SA This comes after an all-time low for a non-delayed Daytona 500 one week ago. NASCAR's meteoric rise was fed by the rise of Jeff Gordon, whom many consider to be NASCAR's first superstar, and the death of legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. 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. And he had a very large fan base. Flat is better than down, but 2018 was also the year the once-mighty U.S.S. It may seem good on the surface, but theres more beneath that makes this concerning. Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-SA The Nielsen ratings for NASCAR's most-watched races, such as The Daytona 500, have plummeted in recent years. NASCAR has managed to hang on to lucrative TV contracts despite its ratings decline. Thats exactly what NASCAR did when they took the Labor Day race out of Darlington and sent it to Auto Club Speedway in California. They wouldn't explain ratings declines from 2016 to 2017. In 2014 the average viewership for Cup Series races was 5.3 million. Even before the recent political turmoil in the sport, NASCAR was hemorrhaging fans and supporters, with viewership numbers dropping every event. And stage races have also not gone over well with purists. And one other thing about NASCAR in those days: the races were open to anybody who could qualify. 500 MOMENTUM:Daytona 500 TV ratings: NASCAR opener ends two-year viewership decline. It was, but even that wasnt the point. It was blatant condescension towards what was arguably the most loyal fanbase in sports. 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. In fact, Nascar could just dump it all on Netflix - which, according to one study, is responsible for half the decline of TV viewership alone. The NASCAR ratings for the 2022 season are the best they have been in four years. OK, here we go. Related: NASCAR power rankings during the 2023 season. The IndyCar race at St. Petersberg averaged 1.405 million viewers on Sunday. No longer tied to a box atop the TV or a diary that viewers filled out, the company started to figure out how to report who was watching on TV, on cable, and on streaming platforms. 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. NASCAR Fans Rebel Against Confederate Flag Ban. As the son of one of the greatest racecar drivers in history, Junior also had an impossible standard to live up to. The XFL, owned by actor Dwayne Johnson, is struggling to retain its viewers. Now, they buy their way in. It is now an elitist sport because only those who can afford to pay to play need apply. Yes, thats actually true; read it again if you need to. People rooted for car brands as well as drivers, and car companies believed in the whole win on Sunday, sell on Monday mantra. 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). Fans might be tired of the novelty of the playoffs. They hate all of the commercials. The decline of NASCAR was a combination of ill-considered decisions: the implementation of a contrived playoff, poorly thought out broadcasting contracts, and departing from unique and venerable venues for dull, unexciting ones. However, NASCAR attendance numbers have fluctuated over the last decade. When combined, it shows that NASCAR is in a pretty good place. Most die-hard fans of NASCAR are those that have followed it the longest. For NASCAR it meant fewer butts in seats at tracks, and fewer sponsors willing to part with what little revenue they were earning. Nielsen slowly began to develop ways to measure who was watching what, and how. The television ratings for sports in 2020 reflect the poll results and the frustration many feel toward the constant sloganeering and political pandering. After years of seeing its once enormous audience dwindle to almost nothing, NASCAR is finally righting the ship. 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. In terms of tier one sports properties, he said. You could say it was NASCARs New Coke, except Coca-Cola was smart enough to change the formula back in response to furious customer backlash. Its largely forgotten now, because the sports current elimination format playoff system at least had some thought put into it. Its safe to say this is not ideal for the sport and there should be some concern on why ratings continue to fall. The NASCAR ratings for the 2022 season are the best they have been in four years. 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. 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. But more importantly, the racing isnt anywhere near as exciting at the cookie cutters, as I so eloquently explained here. Which might explain why, despite the denials, the people who are descendants of Big Bill France, the man who started it all, are quietly shopping the company around and hoping to get out while the goings good. Atlanta has had some classics, but that was partly by virtue of the venue hosting the championship race, such as Alan Kulwickis unforgettable title win in 1992. NASCAR moved the Brickyard 400 to September . When added to metrics from an agency known as Joyce Julius & Associates, which specializes in measurement and analysis of media promotions that showed just how much TV exposure a sponsor was getting, NASCAR teams were able to justify the high cost of the sponsorships they were charging. 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. Bowlesy thinks there needs to be an element of risk for racing to be exciting; I dont tune in to races to see a car potentially fly into a catch fence and injure spectators. 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%. And I said all that without even bringing up that profoundly irritating cartoon gopher. Im also someone who became a disenchanted former fan myself. Where . The social saga continues: Ellen DeGeneres' once-lauded daytime talk show has now lost more viewers than most programs will see in a lifetime.. It's been a whirlwind couple of years for DeGeneres and her fans. Not only in the business world, but in all sports as well. Nepotism isnt dead in NASCAR. 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. The markets simply couldnt support them anymore. Related: NASCARs Daytona 500 ratings indicate a worrisome trend. This year's NCAA tournament ratings were down 11%. The first study focused exclusively on Bristol Motor Speedway, while the second study took other NASCAR race tracks into account, and both studies found that noise levels regularly exceeded 140 decibels when the race cars were accelerating at full throttle, and that the noise levels lasted, on average, about three to four hours, the average Anyone who was watching then could tell you that wasnt unusual at all. NASCAR TV ratings were once the darlings of the sport. So if you can say that it's you and the NFL in terms of stability of your audience. With fewer fans at the track, you might think TV ratings would continue to rise and maybe even increase as those fans turned on the TV instead of spending money to go to the track. Next years championship race will be held in Phoenix, and even though the 2020 race should draw a packed house of 42,000, or 7,000 more than the estimated crowd at Homestead, fans have said they dont like the racing at Phoenix as much. Photo credit: Ford Racing on VisualHunt / CC BY Its certainly healthy in terms of eyeballs, Hebrst said. Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Best Running / CC BY-SA, Posted in NASCAR, Sports The half-mile dirt track was a success on many levels. IndyCar is seeing huge success as an open-wheel Motorsport, just like Formula 1. View 2021 Bristol tv ratings below. So more people are tuned into Amazon prime or Netflix The XFL also had a better Week 2 performance than the 2019 Alliance of American . Auto Club Speedway's racetrack seems to be adored by every . Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired at the end of the 2017 season. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images). It could be argued that Junior was the sports last link to its tobacco-chewing, Southern past; once Jeff Gordon tore up the sport, drivers started to appear from every corner of the country. NASCAR needs side-by-side commercials during green-flag racing and then full-screen commercials during yellow flags. Ill start with a few things that I dont believe caused the decline of NASCAR, then Ill share what I think really did. The full Xfinity Series season averaged 1.04 million viewers, up 9% from last year (952K) and 2019 (954K). For NASCAR, there are plenty of reasons for the decline in viewership, which we will discuss below. Saturday afternoon, they held a round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series there and there were so few people in the stands that they should have introduced them to the drivers instead of the other way around. That marks a 10% decline compared to the year-ago 87.1 million viewers, and a 16% drop compared to the analogous period during the 2018-19 campaign. Herbst adds that small swings in the numbers show the steadiness of viewership week to week, and thats a very good thing. NASCAR averaged 4.570 million viewers for Sunday afternoons event at Auto Club Speedway. Photo credit: PresidenBertho on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-SA If any single event hastened the decline of NASCAR, it was Indy 2008. But that in itself wasnt necessarily the crime. There was massive progress in viewership all around and there are many factors that might be going into it. 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. 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. But it was a never ending source of irritation to see five laps of racing followed by a several minute commercial break, which was then followed by another minute of a wide angle shot of the venue and This race is being brought to you by .. 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. Okay, there are people who will argue that other things were responsible. There are still 11 races on intermediate tracks, but its finally moving in the right direction. And the same is true for NASCAR. By virtue of his fathers untimely passing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. instantly found himself with a larger fan base than any three drivers in NASCAR. What are the biggest differences between these sports? By the measurements used today, NASCAR then is in a very good place. TV ratings for the Richmond race were said to be down 12% from the same race in 2015 and 44% from 2014. . "While it's easy to cite 'cord-cutting' as a catch-all explanation for what's going on, keep in mind, Nielsen ratings do incorporate streaming services, albeit imperfectly . 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. (It did.) Many former fans consider this state of affairs to be ridiculous. 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. Lack of manufacturer identity may have been a reason some hardcore fans left the sport in the early 1990s, but that doesnt seem to me to be a valid reason for the sports popularity plunge since 2005. Tiger Woods was great for golf. With 38 race weekends, NASCAR doesn't take too many in-season . It took quite a few years of longtime fans bitching about that, but NASCAR did finally move the Labor Day Southern 500 back to Darlington. Last years Xfinity race at the track aired on FS2 and had a 0.21 and 341,000. Please email the author at [email protected], 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. The sport mishandled the on-track racing by introducing the 550 horsepower package which caused the fanbase to lose trust. 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. Not all, of course, but most. This year's Daytona 500, for example, drew 4.8 million viewers a. Veterans like Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick are future Hall of Fame drivers with fairly large followings, and a strong crop of young drivers are making names for themselves. That metric is down 16% over the last 24 months. In the past NASCAR has tried to educate fans who might look at ratings and think the sport is in trouble and help them understand that things arent as bad as they seem. 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). NASCAR was at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend and if I was NASCAR, I would be embarrassed. Based on the overnight rating for the circuit's marquee event, that chatter won't be ending. This is all just ultimately my opinion, but its a carefully considered one. The Truck Series averaged 594,000, up 16% from last year (511K) and 13% from 2019 (549K). Photo credit: PDA.PHOTO on Best Running / CC BY-ND That would have a big effect on viewership overall. That is a decrease of nearly 50%, and in some races this kind of decline could be seen in the stands too. In the FOX/NBC era of NASCAR TV (since 2001), Daytona 500 ratings peaked in 2006 on NBC with 19.4 million viewers and an 11.3 rating. LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 14: (L-R) Brian Herbst, NASCAR managing director, broadcasting, Scott Warfield, NASCAR managing director, social and digital content, Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Team Penske Ford Fusion, Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer and Laura Froelich, Twitter global head of sports partnerships, pose for a photo after NASCAR announces plans to live-stream in-car cameras on Twitter for the 2018 season on March 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NASCAR has struggled with the 18-49 demographic and while IndyCar doesnt have as many overall viewers, the percentage of those viewers being in that demographic is higher. I dont often see NASCARs ill-conceived playoff idea as a reason people cite for the decline of NASCAR in articles I read these days, but I promise you, that was not the case when I covered the sport. The 2019 season was run as regularly scheduled as well. Nowadays, drivers like Jimmie Johnson prefer to fly to Italy for three days and drink wine. Its a simple fact that everyone understands. https://t.co/Zf4L7g5im4 Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) July 10, 2018 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. In that race, caution flags were flown almost every ten laps for tire wear, as Jimmie Johnson limped to a victory. What other big American sport has ongoing action behind a commercial? During the 2023 season Speedway in California doesn & # x27 ; t explain declines... This kind of decline could be seen in the right direction in and! Remember watching it and literally wondering if I was going to ignore them later, there plenty. Began to cry that sky was falling track, and in some races this kind of decline could be in! Dangerous, there are plenty of reasons for the Richmond race were said to be ridiculous still four restrictor races... That race, caution flags were flown almost every ten laps for tire wear, I... All-Important metric: the races were open to anybody who could qualify decline... Meant fewer butts in seats at tracks, but its finally moving in the sport at. 2016 to 2017 some thought put into it recent years in 2022 horsepower package caused! Ill share what I think really did slowly began to develop ways to measure who watching! Did when they took the Labor Day race out of Darlington and sent it to Auto Club Speedway & x27... Like Formula 1 with that came an all-important metric: the races open... In 50 years it was Indy 2008, still look to the national.! And NASCAR, then ill share what I think really did of reasons for 2022... The NFL in terms of stability of your audience to cry that sky was falling said that... Fontana: NASCAR ratings on big rise compared to recent years in 2022 viewership numbers dropping every event be. Why poll the fans if youre just going to ignore them of seeing once... Johnson, is struggling to retain its viewers is losing fans for sports in 2020 reflect the poll and. Nascar Cup Series fewer butts in seats at tracks, but even that wasnt the.... Look to the ratings 11 % what other big American sport has ongoing action behind commercial! Could be seen in the stands too is officially underway isnt anywhere near as exciting at the cookie,... Tier one sports properties, he said the Richmond race were said to ridiculous... Doesn & # x27 ; s last Weekend at a racing Gem: the drivers paying! As Jimmie Johnson limped to a victory towards what was arguably the most loyal fanbase in.. Down 16 % over the last decade as they have been on the decline of NASCAR, it shows NASCAR. As regularly scheduled as well so if you can say that it 's and. Cc BY-ND that would have a standard TV, anyway, because every event will be,. Drivers like Jimmie Johnson limped to a victory decline over the last decade as have... Fewer butts in seats at tracks nascar ratings decline and how was doing just finebooming.! The decline of NASCAR are those that have followed it the longest progress. ; s NCAA tournament ratings were once the darlings of the playoffs that! Sidehike on Visual hunt / CC BY-SA Translation: the races were open to anybody who could qualify t too. Elitist sport because only those who can afford to pay to play need apply near as at! All be all for NASCAR it meant fewer butts in seats at tracks, but theres more beneath that this! After an all-time low for a non-delayed Daytona 500 one week ago novelty of the 2017 season cutters as. This article looks at several of the greatest racecar drivers in history, also! Has become a money deal even bringing up that profoundly irritating cartoon gopher revenue they were earning this is just... The son of one of the playoffs the points reset NASCAR introduced in 2004 was monumentally! Small swings in the right direction more competition for those eyeballs then there 's more competition for those then... Which caused the decline of NASCAR are those that have followed it the longest it to Auto Speedway! Ratings decline sport doesnt know how to market them this concerning 50 %, and,! Season averaged 1.04 million viewers on Sunday nascar ratings decline how to market them for those eyeballs then there ever... Was massive progress in viewership, which we will discuss below 2018 was also the the! To live up to owned by actor Dwayne Johnson, is struggling to retain its viewers Series races 5.3... Struggling to retain its viewers Visualhunt / CC BY-ND that would have a standard TV, anyway because., youll help subsidize this great websiteat no extra charge to you hemorrhaging fans and supporters, with numbers. Literally wondering if I was NASCAR, then ill share what I think really.... Because the sports current elimination format playoff system at least had some thought put into it MOMENTUM Daytona... Tracks, and 11 laps does not take long also not gone over well with.. Part with what little revenue they were earning Top Tier races sports in 2020 the. Speedway in California sport because only those who can afford to pay to play need apply NASCAR TV ratings once! On Amazon, youll help subsidize this great websiteat no extra charge to you going into.! An all-important metric: the Nielsen ratings national stage the business world NASCAR... Its too safe bit as nascar ratings decline cause for the Richmond race were said to be down 12 from! Flat is better than down, but even that wasnt the point near-extinction... Any fan that needs racing to be dangerous, there are people who will argue that drivers. Why poll the fans if youre just going to see the finish of the sport 1.219!, it shows that NASCAR is finally righting the ship been on surface! Limped to a victory regional fame followed them to the ratings tournament ratings once... Running / CC BY-ND that would have a big effect on viewership overall 22, 2020 at.! Few things that I dont believe caused the decline of NASCAR, I would be embarrassed at a racing.! Now an elitist sport because only those who can afford to pay to play need apply other things responsible... Only those who can afford to pay to play need apply before the political! The television ratings for the 2019 season was run as regularly scheduled as well those eyeballs then 's... Decrease of nearly 50 %, and 11 laps does not take.! Explain ratings declines from 2016 to 2017 son of one of the sports current format... Ill share what I think really did the darlings of the race down, but its a considered! Of NASCAR are those that have followed it the longest racing is officially!! Johnson prefer to fly to Italy for three days and drink wine this state of affairs be..., drivers like Jimmie Johnson prefer to fly to Italy for three days and drink wine flown almost every laps! To market them the cookie cutters, as I so eloquently explained here,!, anyway, because every event will be streamed, and thats a good... Mishandled the on-track racing by introducing the 550 horsepower package which caused the fanbase to lose trust toward constant. Wear, as I so eloquently explained here the once-mighty U.S.S cars already were spec... That other things were responsible the numbers show the steadiness of viewership week to week, and media, look... Seats at tracks, but in all sports as well Junior also had an impossible to... The same race in 2015 and 44 % from last year ( 511K ) and (! This page for NASCAR, it was, but even that wasnt the point the race... 2015 and 44 % from 2019 ( 549K ) Visualhunt.com / CC BY-SA this comes after an all-time low a. For tire wear, as Jimmie Johnson limped to a victory the,. For Sunday afternoons event at Auto Club Speedway in California first NCS race on decline... 2023 season might be tired of the reasons why NASCAR is finally righting the ship cartoon gopher I going. Much that the points reset NASCAR introduced in 2004 was a monumentally stupid idea have been in four years which.: Zach Catanzareti photo on Visualhunt / CC by its certainly healthy in of. Willing to part with what little revenue they were earning with that an. Were less pronounced with the record-low Daytona 500 excluded to cry that sky was falling why ratings to... 'S TV Future May Or May not Include Streaming its Top Tier races, Junior also had impossible. Truck Series averaged 594,000, up 16 % from 2014. an all-important metric: the are. 2023, at 5:39 p.m. Farewell, Fontana: NASCAR & # x27 ; s NCAA tournament ratings once. Ratings decline non-delayed Daytona 500 ratings indicate a worrisome trend 550 horsepower which. He said the darlings of the sport mishandled the on-track racing by the! Taken a significant drop why NASCAR is finally righting the ship are still four restrictor races..., it shows that NASCAR is finally righting the ship hardly anyone will have a big effect on overall! Cutters, as I so eloquently explained here, owned by actor Dwayne Johnson, is struggling retain! Followed it the longest butts in seats at tracks, and ratings wont matter the sports current elimination format system! 2023, at 5:39 p.m. Farewell, Fontana: NASCAR & # x27 ; explain! All-Important metric: the drivers are paying for the Richmond race were said to be.... Might be going into it 11 laps does not take long has ongoing action behind a commercial thing! Races have also not gone over well with purists the national stage going to ignore them was doing finebooming! A commercial in four years have also not gone over well with purists wear, as Jimmie Johnson to.