The histogram below contains comparative Nielsen ratings for the Indianapolis 500 from 1996 through 2009. Information that is relevant to the data is listed below the graph.
I invite you to go to the Comments section and post your suggestions about how to resuscitate ratings for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
- 1997 - 2 days of rain; all but 13 laps completed on Tuesday
- 2004 - flagged due to rain at 180 laps
- 2005 - Danica leads late in the race
- 2007 - includes a rain delay and flagged due to rain
Roggespierre
For TV viewership, Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend is death. Move it up a week, run on third Sunday, late afternoon. No need for the entire month of May "spectacle" anyways. Save Memorial Saturday as the rain date.
ReplyDeleteCan there be any doubt that the massacre of IRL regulars in 2001 wasn't completely fatal to the brand? Whatever chance they had plucky underdogs got run over in the harshest way when the big boys came in. The most amazing part is that the damage was so complete that the IRL couldn't even capitalize on the entries of those dominant teams to create interest.
ReplyDeleteVirtualBalboa,
ReplyDeleteI was on the pit lane that day. I still remember Greg Ray saying that he had "mixed emotions" about the results of the race. I could have laughed.... or cried.
OTOH, if any IndyCar race really does attract "casual" viewers, then Indy would have to be it. Maybe they just weren't all that interested in a second straight Castroneves win in 2002. Who knows?
Given the rain years in 04 and 07, meaningful trends are not immediately apparent, at least not to me.
Best Regards,
Roggespierre
Well, no one watches a race knowing the results in advance apart from crazy folks like me who watch GP2 and DTM. The 2002 ratings per race are higher on ABC than 2001, but its apparent from very early on that the fanbase for the IRL on network TV is very minimal (Charlotte in 1997 gets the same rating as Toronto in 2009). What is clear is that apart from the Cult of Danica Circa 2005, they've never been able to repeat 2001 numbers.
ReplyDeleteVirtualBalboa,
ReplyDeleteCharlotte in 1997 was a night race that aired on CBS. It might be the only prime time IndyCar event that was aired on a broadcast network. If there were others, then I don't know about them.
I really believe that the league needs to reconsider night racing. The TV numbers have typically decreased anywhere from 30% to 50% when an event is moved from day to night.
Perhaps Texas should be kept as the lone night race. Otherwise, it's a ratings disaster that the league and its teams can't afford.
Unfortunately, I don't think that anyone at the league understands that sponsorship revenue is driven primarily by television ratings.
Best Regards,
Roggespierre