Comments Off on What Caused The Decline of NASCAR? 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. So that's household using televisions. And stage races have also not gone over well with purists. NASCAR rose to prominence in the 1980s and 90s as TV became more and more involved. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images), 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. . As one of motorsport's most popular race series, NASCAR has a long and colorful history that dates to the US prohibition erain the 1930s. Translation: the drivers are paying for the pleasure of racing. The XFL's ratings were disappointing in Week One. Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired at the end of the 2017 season. This was a problem that actually needed to be addressed and wasnt. Sunday, when the big-league Monster Energy Series took the green flag, it was better but there were still an awful lot of empty seats. In todays world TV ratings arent the big deal they once were nor the only thing that matters. 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. Their retirements are a reason for the ratings decline in 2018. NASCARs NextGen car shows promise and one huge issue, NASCARs Daytona 500 ratings indicate a worrisome trend. Ill submit that this is a reason a few fans I know stopped watching the sport. That is a decrease of nearly 50%, and in some races this kind of decline could be seen in the stands too. In other NASCAR action, the Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas turned in a 0.7 and 1.28 million. Photo credit: Darryl W. Moran Photography on Visual Hunt / CC BY-ND Ousting Brian France, who created the Chase and presided over the sports decline, was no small part of that. 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. However, in recent years that growth has slowed. Kyle Busch, NASCARs black hat, won his second title. News. The 2023 NASCAR season is underway and it is bound to be very exciting in the second year of the NextGen car. That isnt insignificant when it comes to explaining the decline of NASCAR. Im not buying the its too safe bit as a cause for the decline of NASCAR. Just ten years later, there were 13 such eventsnearly half the schedule. The Nielsen ratings for NASCAR's most-watched races, such as The Daytona 500, have plummeted in recent years. So if Im right, in a few years NASCAR may become Americas summer sport again. The Daytona Road Course averaged 4.750 million viewers during the event. So more people are tuned into Amazon prime or Netflix The future of IndyCar seems to be brighter when it comes to younger people. Most die-hard fans of NASCAR are those that have followed it the longest. With 38 race weekends, NASCAR doesn't take too many in-season . 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. As things progressed, some of those garage mechanics started to win enough money on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons that they gave up their day jobs to become full-time racers guys like Lee Petty and his son Richard (who raced as Dick Petty, originally), David Pearson, Bobby and Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker and Benny Parsons. 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. If it did, I would really appreciate your support. So NASCAR racing has become just like European formula-car racing and IndyCar racing in North America. Labor Day is in Darlington where it belongs, and Darlington is hosting two events again. No longer do young NASCAR racers start at their local tracks and work their way up. 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. 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. The coverage goes through the entire event. He is likely to build a fan base fast. 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In that race, caution flags were flown almost every ten laps for tire wear, as Jimmie Johnson limped to a victory. 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%. All four Cup Series races this season have declined from the corresponding weeks of last season, though this weeks drop was the smallest thus far. While Nielsen was undergoing its transformation other smaller agencies stepped into fill the void. Photo credit: wjarrettc on Visual hunt / CC BY Home Ratings NASCAR finale sees modest gain as season posts modest drop. 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. 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. View 2021 Bristol tv ratings below. The various platforms of social media have been a convenient and fast way to obtain information and entertainment on a particular sporting event. A Former Reporters Thoughts, Copyright 2023 A Great Number of Things. NASCARs viewership continues to fall after the ratings for last weekends race at Auto Club Speedway were released on Tuesday morning. Now72 years old, the racing organization has managed to evolve through the decades in order to meet the changing trends, technology, and preferences that directly affect the sport. Gordon scored the most points overall of any driver in 2004, 2007, and 2014. Nascar, he wrote . But in a relatively short time, NASCAR corrected the car and the multiple issues with its design, and while the cars dont differ by manufacturer like they once did, at least were not seeing disastrously awful races just because of the cars construction. 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. Anyone who was watching then could tell you that wasnt unusual at all. Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Best Running / CC BY-SA, Posted in NASCAR, Sports However, NASCAR has been taking major strides as the on-track product is improving, the schedule is being changed, bold decisions are being made, and communication between each party is better. So what caused the decline of NASCAR to the point where the sport is desperately trying to remain relevant? I think thats some pretty solid footing.. Photo credit: Fast Eddie Maloney on Best Running / CC BY-SA NASCAR averaged 4.570 million viewers for Sunday afternoons event at Auto Club Speedway. 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. 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. . Social impressions, social following, a positive buzz of our sport, which is measured by third parties, like at YouGov is up 2.5 X over the course of the last two to three years.. 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. NASCARs 2020 champion is also its most popular driverfor the first time since 1988. 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. . 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. NFLX The 2019 season was run as regularly scheduled as well. 2) When NASCAR established the franchise system in 2016, the league essentially became a closed shop. The Truck Series averaged 594,000, up 16% from last year (511K) and 13% from 2019 (549K). NASCAR tv ratings for the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track. HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 17: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, celebrates after [+] 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. NBC reported Monday that its broadcast of the NASCAR Cup championship race from Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida drew an average of 3.759 million viewers, its best audience for its half of the season. The markets simply couldnt support them anymore. This brought even more attention and money to the sport and school was soon out. . Racing Ratings By Phillip Bupp on 06/23/2022. The move of the Labor Day race to California was part of an ongoing trend. Related:15 Abandoned And Forgotten NASCAR Race Tracks. After sweeping claims of a toxic work environment throughout 2020, the star and her show have been scrambling to make things right. Q: You say NASCAR continues to grow and like you, . Herbst adds that small swings in the numbers show the steadiness of viewership week to week, and thats a very good thing. over the same Cup Series stops last season, 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. OutKick reported: The NBA ratings are worse Even more so than in baseball, the on-screen product is affected with the layout of a track. And while some ran their own cars, most were independent contractors who had their expenses paid by their car owner and then split the winnings (that division of money was usually 60-40) with said owner, who paid the bills. Last year's 500 was still the. Next:10 NASCAR Drivers With The Most Wins (& How Much They Won). NASCAR sits on an upward trajectory for the first time in a while. When not at work, Karlo spends his time at home, with family, either being the cook or fixit guy in his house. The presidential and general elections, which need to be held no later than June 18, come at a tough time for Erdogan who has seen a decline in his ratings because of skyrocketing inflation. Its safe to say this is not ideal for the sport and there should be some concern on why ratings continue to fall. Yes, thats actually true; read it again if you need to. Digital and social consumption is as important now, as it's ever been; probably more important now than it's ever been, he said. 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. 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. 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. The season ended with two flat tires. 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). I hope so. Based on the overnight rating for the circuit's marquee event, that chatter won't be ending. 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. Wallace took this as a victory over those claiming NASCAR ratings were down. Now, they buy their way in. Last years Xfinity race at the track aired on FS2 and had a 0.21 and 341,000. 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. Which meant that other drivers didnt win a lot. Mark Martin has the best take on the decline in NASCAR attendance, ratings Comment Leave it to one of the coolest customers ever to sit behind the wheel in NASCAR to come up with an. And I said all that without even bringing up that profoundly irritating cartoon gopher. Ratings were like Bible verses, an almighty Gospel preached to stakeholders on how much of NASCAR was reaching the masses. 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. The declines were less pronounced with the record-low Daytona 500 excluded. Standings. 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. In addition, the current playoff format, while far from perfect, isnt nearly as unpalatable as the Chase was. I remember watching it and literally wondering if I was going to see the finish of the race. Photo credit: PDA.PHOTO on Best Running / CC BY-ND The household share was up 9% compared to 2022 and represented the largest share for the second race of the season since 2017. Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-SA 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. They do not want to watch commercials over and over again. 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. We try to do is take the complex and boil it down to something that is more easily understood by the fanbase.. The IndyCar race at St. Petersberg averaged 1.405 million viewers on Sunday. 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. NASCAR possessed one of the greatest dynasties in the history of sports during Jimmies reign. 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. 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. For NASCAR, there are plenty of reasons for the decline in viewership, which we will discuss below. But for whatever reason, Junior not only didnt measure up to his fathers formidable reputation, he rarely even established himself as a contender. 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. Sundays NASCAR Cup Series race from Las Vegas averaged a 2.6 rating and 4.36 million viewers on FOX, marking the lowest rated edition of the race since it debuted in 1998 and the smallest audience since at least 2001 (viewership prior to 2002 was not available). . You also dont often see post-race fisticuffs after races at Kansas or Vegas like you might at Martinsville or Bristol. I also think it's healthy just in terms of the interest. Ratings fell 19% and viewership 21% from last year, when it was the second race of the season (3.2, 5.50M). 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). Compared to the 2019 finale from Homestead-Miami, ratings fell 13% (from 2.2) and viewership 14% (from 3.74M). Just because no one has been killed at the Cup level since Earnhardts death doesnt make it less so. It was a radical change to a sport that didnt need radical changes. Affluence. It may be difficult for younger people to imagine it, but the sport was once poised to overtake the NFL in popularity. And then, in 1979, came flag-to-flag TV coverage of the Daytona 500 and other NASCAR Cup races. 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. There's a catch, though. Though fewer fans were able to attend in person, with the improvements in internet bandwidth, and the rise of more and more cable channels, some were finding other ways to digest their favorite sports. And maybe this time, they will have learned from their mistakes. 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. And abuse and manipulation of that system. Certain segments of fans, and media, began to cry that sky was falling. Mike Joy is an outstanding announcer, and it was never a big deal for a fan to mute Darrell Waltrips exponentially annoying boogity boogity boogity! at the green flag. who has many relatives from the South, was merely offering his opinion. The previous two races the Daytona Roval and Homestead-Miami posted double-digit increases over the same Cup Series stops last season, but those races had the benefit of moving up from the lower-rated summer portion of the schedule. 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 . Looking back over the 2021 season to date in NASCARs top tier Cup series 12 of the 32 races had ratings that were higher over last year and had more viewers; that included a six race stretch leading up to Talladega that saw a consecutive increase in viewership each week. Created and Designed by, Solving NASCARs Racetrack Problem, Part 2 Happy Hour Motor Speedway, on What Caused The Decline of NASCAR? 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. That metric is down 16% over the last 24 months. News. Ill start with a few things that I dont believe caused the decline of NASCAR, then Ill share what I think really did. At the start of the 21st Century NASCAR TV ratings, meant everything. Schedule/Results. Even though the Confederate battle flag was banned within Talledega Speedway on Sunday, outside the track, the initials "PC" stood for "publicly Confederate.". This is a BETA experience. 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. The NASCAR ratings for the 2022 season are the best they have been in four years. 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. In terms of tier one sports properties, he said. 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. 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. As Juniors fortunes continued to trend downward even while driving for the strongest team in the sport, his fan base became turned off. Now, they buy their way in. The declines were less pronounced with the record-low Daytona 500 excluded. 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. 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. 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. Covered race cars from the NASCAR Xfinity Series sit parked on pit road during a rain delay before the start . NASCAR Home. Its largely forgotten now, because the sports current elimination format playoff system at least had some thought put into it. "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 . Along with that came an all-important metric: the Nielsen ratings. 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. And it will be pretty hard to turn back the clock on either of those. I'm just . Photo credit: Ford Racing on VisualHunt / CC BY The crowd sold out it's 30% capacity soon after the event was . https://t.co/Zf4L7g5im4 Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) July 10, 2018 Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Best Running / CC BY It took time, maybe too much time, but NASCAR is finally addressing the three biggest reasons for the decline of the sport. 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. Statistics for NASCAR indicate that 63% 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. Its possible that the most popular driver not performing well hurt the sport, given the sports fan demographic. FONTANA, Calif. Most of NASCAR's Cup Series drivers feel like they're saying their final goodbye to a dear old friend this weekend. NASCAR was at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend and if I was NASCAR, I would be embarrassed. Speaking of disrespecting your fan base, how about needlessly putting an end to a beloved 54-year tradition? NASCAR was plenty defiant resisting this idea at their peakbut these days, theyre not in a position to ignore displeased fans. They are the only one of the Big 3 Motorsports that still have this happen. Tiger Woods was great for golf. The television ratings for sports in 2020 reflect the poll results and the frustration many feel toward the constant sloganeering and political pandering. . It may seem good on the surface, but there's more beneath that makes this concerning. . Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Best Running / CC BY 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 Jimmie Johnson was a hallmark of ruthless efficiency in his prime, winning seven titles and five in a row. Dover is a 1-mile track, and 11 laps does not take long. Not all, of course, but most. And you hear more and more about this today. Photo credit: royal_broil on Best Running / CC BY-SA Overall, NASCAR brought in 114.231 million average viewers throughout the entire 2022 season which marks its. And that is for the Indianapolis 500 of stock cars. 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). 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. 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. You will find all of your NASCAR ratings coverage at Sportsnaut. 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. Should there be concerns with the current trend of viewership? On Monday, the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track hosted the NASCAR Cup Series. It still ranked second ahead of the competing final round of the PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational on NBC (2.4, 3.86M). As a racing event that is held in various tracks around the US, there are several venues that fans can choose to go to in order to watch NASCAR live. Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race from Las Vegas averaged a 2.6 rating and 4.36 million viewers on FOX, marking the lowest rated edition of the race since it debuted in 1998 and the smallest audience since at least 2001 (viewership prior to 2002 was not available). Fans might be tired of the novelty of the playoffs. They hate all of the commercials. Standings. 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?. 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In NASCAR's pre-1990s heyday, when it was still very much a regional sport, manufacturer identity was a big thing. In 2019, that number had dropped to just 2.92 million. NASCAR made an absurd amount of money with their television contracts in the 2000s, but that ultimately cost them a sizable chunk of the audience when networks were forced to make it worth their while. Motorsports encompass a wide variety of classes that offernumerous choices for fans ofauto racing. I have been around and covered NASCAR for over two decades. The Monday portion of that race averaged a 4.2 and 7.03 million, compared to a 6.2 and 10.94 million for the first 20 laps on Sunday before weather rolled in. NASCAR did (and still does) market the possibility of spectacular wrecks. NASCAR viewership numbers on decline for years NASCAR viewers are down 19%. The XFL's ratings were disappointing in Week One. This article looks at several of the reasons why NASCAR is losing fans. I wasnt the only one who noticedas this blog posts comments demonstrated. 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. 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.
