NASCAR’s ratings have been the subject of great debate over the past several seasons. Since peaking in the mid-2000’s, the sport has seen a significant drop in television viewership.
After what seemed like a period of stabilizing audiences over the last 2 seasons, NASCAR is once again seeing a downward trend in 2014. According to Sports Media Watch, America’s most popular racing series has seen the 2 lowest rated races in the 13 year history of NASCAR on Fox.
Two weeks ago the series saw a 3.2 overnight rating for the Saturday night race at Darlington, which was then a record low number. NASCAR on Fox followed that up by setting another record of the wrong kind this past weekend in Richmond, drawing a 3.0 overnight rating. Both were Saturday night races and the Richmond race was down 12% from last year.
But that’s not all, NASCAR on Fox has drawn its lowest overnight ratings for several races this year including Daytona. Much of the havoc in NASCAR this season has been due to untimely weather delays, including Daytona, where the premier race of the NASCAR calendar saw its longest delay ever pushing it into primetime against the Winter Olympics closing ceremony.
Obviously this is concerning news for NASCAR and its television partners. This is the last season for the sport in its current television contract with Fox, TNT, and ESPN before moving to a deal with Fox and NBC. With the number of races that will be on NBCSN and Fox Sports 1 in the next television contract, it could be an ominous sign for the future that the slide is not done.
Having said that, the mainstream sporting culture still does not have an appreciation for just how popular NASCAR still is in spite of declining ratings. NASCAR averaged 5.8 million viewers per race last season. That comfortably beats the NBA and more than doubles the regular season audience of an average MLB game on national television. And don’t even think about comparing it to hockey or soccer.
Furthermore, NASCAR has proven to be one of the saving graces of Fox Sports 1 in its first year. The nascent cable network’s two highest rated events were NASCAR races from Daytona. Qualifying and practice sessions are routinely in the channel’s highest rated events of the week. And with the cancelation of Crowd Goes Wild, NASCAR Race Hub is now the only weekday show that has survived since the mid-August launch.
NASCAR is still something of a reliable ratings draw, even if the sport can’t find a way to stop its skid.
Comments are closed.