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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Tim Northcutt]

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

[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.

[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".

[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]

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Liz]

It will be especially fine if she can compete on equal footing and if she can be promoted as a driver who happens to be female and not as a girl who goes racing.

[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.

[JohnSSC]

Either way, Danica is "the real deal" insofar as her driving ability goes.

I have seen numerous articles and TV spots regarding her racing and most of them have not included the "soft porn" drapings and lacey-teddy displays - to be honest, I haven't actually sought them out...but there you are, deficient as they can be the main-stream media seem to have somehow focused on her as a driver as well as a woman.

Just to bring some balance here no one seems to gripe when the male drivers are posed in such a way as to show off their charm and good looks - this card is played as much by the publicists on teams with all-male driver lineups as anyone else.

I agree that Katherine Legge is legit as well in the driving department. Hopefully some day it just won't matter whether the driver is male or female.

Other sports seem to do this "looks" thing all the time - tennis particularly seems to focus on how good-looking male/female player X is. A sign of our times, unfortunately.

[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.

[Snrub]

I think it will matter if there is a women who is consistantly finishing well or better yet a championship contender. Danica fits into the first catagory mostly by virtue of being on team Rahal. A woman genuinely challanging for a championship would create serious buzz.

Unfortunately I think Liz hit the nail on the head. It's one thing to have a women do reasonably well @ Indy, it's another thing for an attractive women to do the same thing. Danica isn't the SpikeTV host for "the power block" for her wooden ability to read the teleprompter.

[macdaddy]

First we critique because she's female...
And then we critique because she's also pretty...

The pictures in FHM were hardly "soft-porn". Granted they were sexy, but that's all they were.

A good point from JohnSSC:
Just to bring some balance here no one seems to gripe when the male drivers are posed in such a way as to show off their charm and good looks - this card is played as much by the publicists on teams with all-male driver lineups as anyone else.

Wasn't Helio featured in GQ?

I agree... Give it up already! What more does she have to prove? It's her rookie year, afterall.

Besides, we're straying from the topic of TV ratings/attendance as they pertain to ChampCar. There is another thread in another forum to discuss the merits of male/female.