Jim Utter of the Charlotte Observer/ThatsRacin.com reported today that the ratings for ABC's broadcast of the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway last Sunday were low.Obscenely low.
According to Utter's story, the race did not rank among the top-5 sporting events on TV last weekend and received the lowest television rating for a Chase race — anywhere — since the format's inception in 2004. All this despite the fact that, by switching to network television from cable in the past, the race was available in more homes than it was previously.
2 comments:
Well, you've got competition from the NFL which has proven to be the most popular televised sport. So NASCAR on a Sunday afternoon is a hard sell in the fall, anyhow.
Then there's the COT, which many die-hard fans call ugly. Let's fact it: except for the grill and decals, you can hardly tell a Toyota from a Fusion. So there goes a key ingredient in NASCAR's past success: manufacturer indentity.
Finally, there are a lot of drivers who simply haven't lived up to their potential or who haven't caught on with fans. Sponsors like M&Ms, Burger King, Coors, etc. are also bailing out on these teams.
It is symptomatic of the unpopularity of both the COT and the Chase format, to go with declining popularity of a competitive product from NASCAR that isn't that good anymore.
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