TV Ratings

Well, it seems the television ratings for the Bristol (3/22/09) Cup race were down over 18% from last year. The pattern is there, almost every race has been down this year. Last year ratings were consistently down, too. When will NASCAR and the television networks admit there is a problem? I guess a better question is: why don't they?

All we hear mention of is track attendance issues. Well, of course, we're in a recession and people may not be able to attend the races that they have in the past. But, they certainly will still turn on their television sets! It stands to reason, that television ratings will go up in a recession.

The reason that NASCAR and the television networks won't admit there is a problem is twofold:

1 - Money. Money, money, money. If they admit that there is a ratings problem more fans may say "oh, I guess it isn't very good anymore, I'll stop watching". And, to be sure, NASCAR is still making globs of money off the television contract. I wonder if the networks are. Apparently, greed is not just the bailiwick of the big financial companies.

2 - Embarrassment. I guess I'd be embarrassed too if I took a product as good as this and slowly ran it into the ground. I bet there are some interesting meetings and discussions going on in NASCAR offices that we aren't hearing about.

So, what are the problems? There are many:

1 - There are too many races. Now wait, think about it. It is fan overload. It's nearly impossible to watch all 36 races. Life gets in the way. And, the thing is, once you miss a race or two, interest naturally drops off. I hate to compare it to the NFL, but 16 games seems just about right for them. I think 30 races seems about right. I'll gladly point out 6 that can be dropped.

2 - The network presentation. Overkill is not a strong enough word to describe what FOX is doing to the Cup race telecasts. All the pre-race chatter is rarely of value. Their attempt to create 'mainstream' interest is not going to work. The telecast should start no more than 10 minutes before the start of the race. Why? Because fans easily can get away to do something else during the pre-race chatter - and not come back!

3 - The cars. The Cup cars look and drive far more like taxi cabs than race cars. The only improvement over the old cars is safety. They bear no resemblance to the manufacturers' road versions of the model. I don't know what can be done to mitigate this problem, but someone must have some ideas.

4 - Many, not all, of the races are too long. Viewers have trouble staying with it for anything that lasts more than 3 hours. Some races need to be shortened from 500 miles or laps to 400 miles or laps. They would be more exciting. Maybe the tracks feel they would have to lower admission prices if they shorten the race. That, in itself, might help attendance.

I'd like to hear other fans' opinions on what the problems are that keep fans away from their television sets. I rarely miss a minute of a Cup race. I know many fans who used to be like me, but aren't anymore.