Ratings

[garyshell]

Good post, Jag. But they probably ARE asking why and may be finding that it's hard to shove hot butter up a goat's tail with an eyedropper.

that doesn't sound so hard... what other way would you do it?

Trust me, you don't want to know.

turkey baster?

Too wimpy. Pressure washer!

Gary

[SarahFan]

and folks think I(we) dont have any suggestions to improve the ratings....


butterbastinsheepinsemination would change things real quick

[Jag_Warrior]

Jag, we all know why the ratings are much lower than last year's, the network that it's on is much less popular than ESPN, and in less households. If we're talking about "why are the ratings on a gradual slide" then we've got a discussion. Because they've been trending slowly down for the series races, as well as the 500.

Yes, more why the trend is still down for the overall season average (including Indy). The VS races would be marked as a special cause, or would be put in a "*" category, to be looked at next year and the year after. Now, that's ratings. On sponsor exposure value, I doubt that benefit is given... unless the teams are asking for less money, to make up for the loss (if there is any) in the Joyce Julius numbers.

The 500 still gets a LOT of viewers, as I said in another thread, around 20x the number of regular series viewers. And it wasnt down all that much from last year's race. The real question is when will this trend stop, and if VS is perhaps has sped up the loss of viewers, or is instead growing a more solid base with better programming (don't laugh, that's what they've done with NHL). I don't think we have an answer yet. But as we've said before, 2010 will be a critical season for sponsorship and tv ratings.

Well, yes, but " a lot" is pretty relative. If you look at Indy's 1995 ratings vs. those of the 1995 Daytona 500, Indy got an 8.4 and Daytona got a 7.8. In 2001, Indy got a 5.2 and Daytona got a 10.0. This year, Indy got a a 3.9/4.0 (depending on the source) and Daytona got a 9.2.

Just looking at the average rating (without Indy) vs Indy (only) on the first page, it looks like it's about a 10 to 1 ratio of Indy-> average race. Just glancing at some old numbers from the 90's, that's a pretty stable ratio.

Someone wrote a piece a few years ago comparing the Indy 500 to the Kentucky Derby. The Derby's numbers were also looking weak a few years ago, and that "brand" was successfully rebuilt. How they did that, I don't know. But it can be done.

Also, does anyone actually have the final metered/household number for Homestead? I have not seen it ANYWHERE outside of a potentially wrong number that quoted an IRL sunday race (homestead obv was saturday).

Hmm, no, I haven't seen them. To be honest, I pretty much only pay attention to ratings and Joyce Julius numbers when I see them posted here. Seriously. I kinda depend on Ken to post them these days. mokin:

[SarahFan]

FWIW.... i havent see homestead ratings anywhere....


and.... just when I thought we werent going to see the previos three they came out...

I suspect IBJ will do some sort of season ending recap.... when?... who knows

[Jag_Warrior]

Hey Ken, do you ever see the Joyce Julius sponsor exposure value numbers anymore? They used to be posted around different boards. But in the past 3 or 4 years, I can't recall seeing them.

Forbes does reports for NASCAR and includes that data. And of course, there are various financial reports for F1 every year. I even saw it for the NHRA when they had a buyout on the table. But nothing for AOWR lately. Anything on your end?

[SarahFan]

Hey Ken, do you ever see the Joyce Julius sponsor exposure value numbers anymore? They used to be posted around different boards. But in the past 3 or 4 years, I can't recall seeing them.

Forbes does reports for NASCAR and includes that data. And of course, there are various financial reports for F1 every year. I even saw it for the NHRA when they had a buyout on the table. But nothing for AOWR lately. Anything on your end?

havent seen anything....

but of coarse the guys like IC and wilke that used to post them with CC to IRL comparisons no longer do...

I suspect we all know why

I'll peek around though

[NickFalzone]

Sports Business Journal recapped the IRL '09 ratings. ABC viewership down 3%, overall viewership down 28%

http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com...p-down-28.html

IRL viewership down 28%

The IRL saw big declines in viewership during its first season on Versus.

ABC and Versus averaged 1.2 million viewers for coverage of the IRL during the 2009 season, down 28% from 1.6 million for last year's races on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.

In particular, Versus averaged a mere 315,000 viewers for its 12 races, down 60% from 778,000 for 11 races on ESPN/ESPN2 last year. To put that in perspective, the least viewed IRL telecast last season drew 377,000 viewers.

Compared to other sports, the IRL on Versus finished behind the 2008-09 NHL regular season on Versus (330,000) and the Tour de France on Versus (530,000), but topped regular season WNBA games on ESPN2 (269,000) and regular season MLS telecasts on ESPN2 (292,000, through 20 telecasts).

On ABC, five IRL telecasts averaged 2.6 million viewers, off 3% from 2.7 million for seven races last year. That average includes the Indianapolis 500, which drew 6.3 million viewers.

Source: Sports Business Journal

[Jag_Warrior]

Thanks, Nick.

[NickFalzone]

Here's another article on the IRL '09 ratings. Call it BS, spin, or not:

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/63813