Wow- this is awful.

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2017/07 ... iewership/

_________________
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

It doesn't seem all that long ago that the Nascar fad was on top of the TV and attendance mountain. Probably plenty of reasons for a downfall but constantly changing the rules, cars and fucking around with things generally is not doing a lot of good.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

The demise of dons contest has taken quite a toll

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I don't watch much but I don't get the decline. It's all still driving fast and turning left, isn't it?

How's Tim Tebow at driving/turning left.

Post 2008, the corporate sponsorship reduction really hurt. Then, phony debris cautions were changing the outcomes of races. When the integrity of the sport comes into question, serious changes need to happen.

Amongst the thousand cuts that has decimated Nascar, the Indy race a couple years ago, where the tires could only make it 15 laps without shredding. Goodyear would not take responsibility and it was crushing.

As for current decline in viewership, the schedule has gotten stale and no new tracks has hurt growth of the sport. I really don't understand charging $50+ for the cheap seats, see half empty grandstands, and instead of lowering prices, they just remove seats. Dumb.

_________________
CSFMB: Home of the small minded

I know this still sounds like whining, but my theory may still hold true- cable TV channels are to blame. NASCAR was always on free TV, and the viewers flocked to it. Maybe I have it all backwards, but I just can't see why my CBS stations have infomercials for shitty fry pans and blenders on from 1pm to 3pm Sunday afternoon, while all the sports have ventured over to cable channels. I think the Thursday Night NFL game is similar, in addition to suffering from a few poor match-ups. All the split-tails are watching ABC and their dopey Bachelor show, why not grab the other half of the demographic and put the NFL on NBC or CBS Thursday night?

Has the NCAA tourney increased viewers by going mostly cable?

Here's yet another stream-of-conciousness idea to pop into my mind- could NASCAR have made the cars too safe, and taken the edge out of driving 200 mph?

This already happened. NBC and CBS split the Thursday games while all the dang hatchet wounds watch people get sequentially eliminated from contests.

_________________

And here I thought most of them were still on ESPN or NFL Network only. We usually go out to a bar to watch, if not working the next morning, so that may have clouded my channel awareness some...thanks for the correction.

I agree when they stopped races for phony debris and gave Danica Patrick 30 more hp than anyone else it became hard to watch.

Once they took the sport out of it, it was over for me. Cheating by teams is one thing, but cheating by the league just sucks.

It's why the NBA is also getting hard to watch.

_________________
the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

It was Jeff Gordon retiring that really finished it. The new crop of racers they are forcing down everyones throat are bland, boring and average. People want to watch good ol boys go at it with a few pretty boys mixed in. They do not want a Dicaro approved field. If they redneck it up again it will surge.

_________________
That's my purse! I don't know you!

Dale Jr leaving is going to destroy them.

_________________
You know me like that.

It will be the end of them. I France enjoys his young guns that no one gives a shit about.

_________________
That's my purse! I don't know you!

I can't believe it took the biggest shit kickers in America 12 years to wake up and realize that driving 159 mph making left turns for 4 hours takes little skill. You gotta be a real turd to watch that.

_________________

Little skill? Juan Pablo fucking Montoya couldn't drive a Nascar for shit

It takes a ton of skill. But its hard to see that skill on display especially on TV. That's why they emphasize driver characters so much. They have to. But that's why numbers are declining, because all of these new drivers don't appeal to anyone. They're talented... Yea... But Joey legano is a little penis nobody wants to see win.

_________________
the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Juan Pablo couldn't do a lot of things...

_________________
team Mully & Hanley
team Meatpants

As an F1 fan, I enjoy the drama that comes at the top of the standings, even though there are only 2-4 racers that have a realistic chance of winning week to week, there seems to be a lot more drama than Indycar or Nascar; even with the racers down the standings, NBCSN has a gift of making those storylines interesting. I think that if Nascar and Indycar got rid of the tight spending budgets/limits of the engines/drivetrains for the teams, their product would be more interesting.

_________________
team Mully & Hanley
team Meatpants

My point was he was a legend in F1, and that is the most skilled racing league in the world.

_________________
the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

_________________
the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

JPM crashing into a fucking jet engine on the back of a pick-up truck at Daytona was the greatest moment in NASCAR history. That's probably why ratings are down, shit like that doesn't happen enough.

I wonder how many people got fired for not having a good camera shot of that wreck.

_________________
the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

I think the main problem with Nascar's popularity is that the best driver of the last 15 years, actually the GOAT, is someone who was not a fan favorite. He actually wasn't even a hated driver. Unfortunately for Jimmy Johnson, all of his potential fans were already Jeff Gordon fans by the time the 48 car launched. And there's no good reason for Johnson not being more popular. He's a good guy, never has gotten into any kind of controversy, and he's wins races and titles. So many of Nascar's popularity problems would have been solved if Jr. won a couple championships in his career. Kesolowski and Busch (both of 'em) titles didn't do anything for the sport either.

Another major reason for Nascar's decline is that they pissed off a large portion of their southern fanbase. Because of Nascar's boom of popularity, ticket prices increased dramatically and surrounding hotels even started doubling their rates to take advantage of fans. Those longtime fans felt alienated by a sport they had supported for years. Plus, Earnhardt was gone and all the upcoming stars were drivers they couldn't really relate to. And in the track-building era all the new tracks were cookie-cutter 1.5 mile track such as Chicagoland. These tracks often produce boring racing. You add all this up and you have a uninterested, pissed off fan base that becomes very critical of the sport.

And I really don't understand the criticism with the Chase. IIRC every major sports league except the Premier League ends their season with playoffs. Did people forget some of the boring seasons when Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, and Bobby Labonte had their title wrapped up with multiple races to go in the season? The Chase format has infused so much excitement into the last 10 races of the season. Sure, it is manufactured but aren't all playoffs? I really think complaining about the Chase is from the same people that are pissed off in general about Nascar. If you didn't like last season's championship race at Homestead, then you don't like stock car racing. That was easily one of the best 10 races in Nascar's history. No way does that happen without a Chase.

Personally, Nascar is one of my favorite sports so I put up with their faults. Phantom cautions are annoying unless they help your favorite driver. As a Gordon fan, I can make the argument that the Chase hurt him more than anyone. He easily would have 2 more titles if they kept the old format. But still, the Chase has made Nascar more exciting especially for a fan who doesn't have a favorite driver anymore.

I just hope they stay on TV even with these dreadful ratings.

_________________
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

This is pretty much the same story of the NHL: they took their northern fanbase for granted in trying to exploit the South, they stripped away the personalities and smoothed off all the rough edges, replaced all the old barns, and jacked up the ticket prices. Oh, and they locked out the players and cancelled an entire season.

_________________

I'm a casual fan. I watched it when I was in the fantasy leagues, but two things drew me away: one, races too long and tracks that were too cookie cutter. Why not run a road race more often, I always caught Watkins Glen. Two: not enough crashes. Lots of people tune in for crashes.

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Anybody notice the number of empty seats at Indy? Wow! In the past the telecast didn't show the empty stands as much but NBC gave quite a few shots.

_________________
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

I'm not disagreeing. Interest is down.

But I seem to recall in recent years them closing down the stands in turn 2, for example, to make the rest look better.

_________________
You know me like that.

I don't remember what racetracks they did that to.

_________________
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.

At some point the drunk drivers and wife beaters end up in prison in sufficient numbers so as to start affecting viewership.

_________________
Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Are you talking about Nascar or the NFL?

_________________
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.