Attendance and TV Ratings so Far

[Snrub]

Does anyone know of any of the TV ratings (US and international) and attenance figures for the two races this year?

LB race and weekend attendance figures were readily available. Monterrey race attendance was over 100k (series site HVM or Mi Jack post race press release, can't remember), which I think it up from last year. I haven't seen any weekend numbers. On the series website about HVM for Milwaukee they mention that Monterrey ratings in Sweden were a 2.0 on Eurosport. I'm guessing since 2.0 in the US means 2M and in Canada with 1/10th the population means 200k, in Sweden (with pop 9M) would be ~65k?

[rustyfan]

Err, I don't think you should focus too much on the ratings for Sweden... I know I wouldn't

Speaking of tv-coverage in Sweden, a new deal was recently finalized so we will get Champ Car live on both Eurosport/Eurosport2 as well as our terrestial channel SportExpressen.

[Mike.ca]

Originally Posted by Snrub

....I'm guessing since 2.0 in the US means 2M and in Canada with 1/10th the population means 200k, in Sweden (with pop 9M) would be ~65k?

Unfortunately, you can't extrapolate the numbers from one country from the numbers in another. In the US, open wheel races generally pull ratings in the 1.0 to 1.7 range, but there been some that were below 1.0.

As for Canada, TSN would be over the moon if it got 200,000 viewers for a Champ Car race (note: TSN only shows the non-Canadian races). Last year TSN took the unprecedented step of criticizing its own Champ Car ratings. It said that its broadcasts were averaging around 80,000 viewers and that if they didn't improve it would have to look at dropping them altogether.

Lucky for us, it looks like they are improving. The Globe and Mail's sports media columnist, William Houston, recently started publishing the weekend TV ratings in his columns (usually in the Tuesday of Wednesday editions). This was after Long Beach, but he did give the Canadian viewership for Monterrey. It was 113,000, over a 40% improvement from 80,000. According to Houston, that "Represents core auto racing viewership in Canada". By comparison, the Monaco GP, which was run the same day, drew 130,000 viewers, "Slightly above average audience for Formula One". The NASCAR Nextel all-star challenge had 254,000 viewers, "An excellent NASCAR audience for Canada". The best F1 audience since Houston started publishing the numbers was 209,000 for the Spanish GP. The top NASCAR audience was 412,000 for Richmond (a night race). The Indy 500 drew 311,000 viewers, "up 199-per-cent from (the) 2004 telecast". Obviously the Danica factor at work - and clear evidence of the importance of having promotable drivers.

So the good news is that Canadian ratings for the non-Canadian Champ Car races are improving. They have a long way to go but on the bright side there appears to be a very large audience for auto racing in Canada, so there's real potential for growth.

[sgw2]

CCWS last race on SPEED drew 0.16 rating

They have the next few on CBS. I know San Jose says it is hoping to get a boost from the Danica factor (they have sold very few seats so far), and no doubt the same will be true with Champcar on CBS. Will OW in general benefit?

Given the lack of promotion I think a 1.0 rating would be very good. But to keep it in perspective 2.0 is the threshold for any success.

[Kicking-back]

Originally Posted by sgw2

They have the next few on CBS. I know San Jose says it is hoping to get a boost from the Danica factor (they have sold very few seats so far), and no doubt the same will be true with Champcar on CBS. Will OW in general benefit?

This is one of the frustrating things about the current split.

Danica is a great marketing opportunity for racing in general - but people watch her at Indy - then turn up to watch a race featuring relatively similar cars at San Jose - and she's not in it.

[Snrub]

Interesting stuff. Mike, I thought that was actually how the ratings worked in Canada, but I wasn't sure about Sweden. I didn't realiez that I was wrong on both accounts. Even so, if we compare to the US numbers, it seems to be a little less than 1/10, so am I that off? I know TSN was unhappy with their ratings, but I don't know how they could think it could be any better when they showed the races in the middle of the night. I can't figure out who the nuts are that get up at 6AM on Sunday to watch an F1 race.

I think at this stage, even a 1.0 on network would be a huge step in the right direction. A .16 for Speed is pathetic. I'm nearly certain that other lower level races pull higher ratings.

I don't know what the ratings in Sweden translate to, but they're not completely insignificant. If Bjorn is in the series as a result of Eurosport sponsorship and he's the sole reason for Eurosport ratings in Sweden, then there is a viable economic model. Imagine if 100k Sweds tuned in for a race. If there are 16 races and Eurosport makes $3 in clear advertising profit per viewer, per race (after costs covered). That's $4.8M over a season, about what it costs to fully fund a Champ Car. Feel free to play with the numbers, but you can see that even if 20k Sweds tune in it's enough to justify some Eurosport sponsorship. Then the question becomes, could TV revenue in certain countries be enough to fully fund or partially fund seats in the series? It wouldn't really matter whether it was through increased TV revenue for CC, who in turn subsidized the seat.

After seeing how significant Danica was to Indy, I'm surprised there's not more buzz around Legge and Atlantics. After all she's actually won something.

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by Snrub

I don't know what the ratings in Sweden translate to, but they're not completely insignificant. If Bjorn is in the series as a result of Eurosport sponsorship and he's the sole reason for Eurosport ratings in Sweden, then there is a viable economic model.

He's not. Eurosport has had a crush on Champ Car for a long time, showing it live for many years, compared to IndyCar which they have never, ever shown live as far as I can remember. As such, I think the general interest - and awareness - is a bit higher when it comes to Champ Car as opposed to IndyCar here in Sweden.

[Hazard]

Originally Posted by rustyfan

He's not. Eurosport has had a crush on Champ Car for a long time, showing it live for many years, compared to IndyCar which they have never, ever shown live as far as I can remember. As such, I think the general interest - and awareness - is a bit higher when it comes to Champ Car as opposed to IndyCar here in Sweden.

In the UK, IRL probably superceded CART in terms of recognition in 2003 when Green, Ganassi, Honda, Toyota etc. defected - taking Dario with them.

However, it's always been a misconception that all 'Indy' racing has been oval based from Joe Public here.

[Amar7605]

Originally Posted by Snrub

After seeing how significant Danica was to Indy, I'm surprised there's not more buzz around Legge and Atlantics. After all she's actually won something.

Kathering Legge did accomplish something great, but she won't get noticed because 1) she won a support race only and not a top-tier race, and 2) she is not an American.

Sad. Very sad.

[Tim Northcutt]

What rating did the LBGP draw on TV????

[Mike.ca]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

What rating did the LBGP draw on TV????

According to a thread on another forum, the final US TV rating for Long Beach was 0.6, or 631,000 people. The source was a TV ratings website. Although the ratings for that week are no longer available on the Zap2it website, it looks like they're legit. Those numbers were about the same as the first three IRL races of the year - Homestead (0.8), Phoenix (0.6), and St. Pete (0.4). They're all bad, and pretty much typical of the state of North American formula car racing. The highest rated open wheel race of the year was the Indy 500. Acording to the AP, it got a 6.6. Multiply that by 1.01 million people per ratings point and its about 6,670,000 viewers. It actually got an 8.8 in the last 15 minutes. But who needs Indy, eh? After a decade of decline, this years Indy ratings were a 40% improvement over last years. Danicamania obviously had a lot to do with it. The question now is whether her presence will boost the ratings for the rest of the IRL season. My guess is that it will, but not as much as some IRL fans hope. Some people think that it will lead to an overall boost for all open wheel racing, which will ultimately benefit Champ Car. Maybe in the long, long term. In the short term, I think that's pretty wishful thinking. If the newly minted Danica fans want to see their girl, they will seek out her races. Champ Car cannot rely on the hope that some confused and ignorant Danica fans will accidentally tune into races she isn't in then stay once they realize she isn't there.

[Tim Northcutt]

Final Nielsen Indy rating was 7.1

Thanks for the LBGP numbers...I appreciate it...

[Mike.ca]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

Final Nielsen Indy rating was 7.1

Thanks for the LBGP numbers...I appreciate it...

You're right. The info I had was based on the "overnights".

[Tim Northcutt]

Katherine Legge is teh real deal...a ton of talent with even more potential....

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

Katherine Legge is teh real deal...a ton of talent with even more potential....

I'd agree, just how far she will go is unclear, but I'm sure if she continues to kick butt in atlantic, KK will move her up.

[D.R.T.]

How long do we give it before she is given a test in a champcar.

[The Snout]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

How long do we give it before she is given a test in a champcar.

It should be all about quality. Let her develop her skills in Atlantics then test her, later this year perhaps. The marketing genius probably want her in cause of the false ceiling in ratings Danica Patrick has created. However, let Legge develop properly, and become a driver with all the skills, rather than a show dog.

[rush1]

Getting a women in champ car won't help. Danica mania is the result of her competing in the Indianapolis 500. That is how she made the cover of Sports Illustrated here in the States, and made the talk show rounds in New York. No one cared when she finished 4th in Motegi and no one will care if a women finishes 4th in a champ car race in Toronto or Milwaukee. People on boards like these would certainly notice but thats about it.

Danica Patric needed the Indy 500 as much as the Indy 500 needed her.

[paul-collins]

Originally Posted by rush1

Danica Patric needed the Indy 500 as much as the Indy 500 needed her.

The FHM spread was over a year ago when she was in Atlantics. FWIW.

[Mike.ca]

The overnight ratings for Milwaukee were 0.8 with a 2 share, which means that 2% of the people who were actually watching TV at that time were watching the race.

[Snrub]

Originally Posted by Mike.ca

The overnight ratings for Milwaukee were 0.8 with a 2 share, which means that 2% of the people who were actually watching TV at that time were watching the race.

Not that it's anything to boast about, but at least it's an improvement. No one could really expect a lot more, CC needs to build an audience.

I have a tough time believing that Saturday is such a bad day to show stuff on TV. Normally Sunday has higher profile/quality programming and Saturday is program dead. I'm not sure why, if you have two days off, why would one be more likely to watch TV on one day opposed to the other. I realize that say 1/3 of American's are going to church on Sunday, but I'm not sure that most people take the full day of rest thing that seriously.

[Electrocuted]

30,000 ABC .8 832,000 Homestead
8,300 ESPN .6 540,000 Phoenix
40,000 ESPN .4 360,000 St Pete
45,000 ESPN .5 450,000 Motegi
275,000 ABC 6.5 6,500,000 INDY (8.8 million last 15 minutes)
100,000 ESPN 1.0 1,300,000 Texas
50,000 ESPN .44 360,800 Richmond
80,000 ESPN .?? ???,??? Kansas

75,000 NBC .6 624,000 Long Beach
100,000 Speed .16 102,000 Monterrey
12,000 CBS 0.7 728,000 Milwaukee
25,000 CBS 0.4 416,000 Portland
25,000 CBS 0.9 920,000 Cleveland (will change with final ratings)

NOTES:
I wasnt going to track attendance and ratings this year, to many people beetch about them, but saw the basics at another forum and copied and pasted. Have added to it after every race. Any REAL numbers ya dont agree with,,, not the fake fluffy numbers from the series,,, NICELY post what you would change, and please include a justifiable reason for it,, please.

BTW, I count individual rearends in seats, not season ticket holders that didnt show up,, or count a pitpass and grandstand seat as 2 people like is being done with "Tickets Issued." It's only the different people,, one time,, that attended a race!! If you want false numbers and lies go read the series and promoters and tv announcers attendance quotes.

Kansas has seats for 81,and handful thousand. They were not 100% full,,, but the infield and backstretch motorhomes and hospitality and suites make up for the empties and puts the attendance at 80,000 people.

I know Cleveland will get comments.... A decent poster at another forum had exact seating and stands of 18,000 something seats, I was emailed seat's and stands with 17,000 some odd seats. Pictures were looked at and counted. Add GA and Hospitality and suites and that brings it close to 25,000 people. And a few other well known CC fans that were there concured the 89,000 weekend and the 40,000 race day crowds were announced larger then they know the attendance to be. I am CONFIDENT that Cleveland had very close to 25,000 people on race day. Your mileage may vary.

Viewers from around the globe:
Canada CC has bumped from 80,000 average viewers to 140,000 (close).
Canada IRL has bumped from 50,000 average viewers to 125,000 (close)
Take hockey away from Canada, motor sports goes up.

Mexico CC used to have a million viewers, couple years ago and last year.
This year from what I have read from a few posters (FWIW) is way way down.
Mexico IRL,, I dont know. Havnt read much.

Europe - Both seem to be down from already low numbers,, from what I read and hear.

Brazil - No broadcast?

[cybersdorf]

Originally Posted by Electrocuted

Europe - Both seem to be down from already low numbers,, from what I read and hear.

No surprise there. The "casual fan" over here is too far away to bother understanding why there are two championships now, and why the IndyCars aren't the IndyCars anymore, etc. We have Max & Bernie, we can't worry about Kevin & Tony.

[Ac.]

Legge was at The Mile this weekend as a guest of the PKV team. I would suspect that she will get a test with PKV either later in the year, or in the offseason.

Can anyone remember what the rules are for CC testing? There are a limited number of days for series drivers, but I believe that there are additional days available for testing talent from feeder series.

[mountainstar]

You can almost guarantee after Danicamania that as long as Legge continues to do well a champcar seat next year is a dead cert and that wouldn't be a bad thing.