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- Thread starter PiPPi
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It's no surprise. The NHRA as a whole is completely bland and boring these days. I can't remember the last time I even had a desire to watch a race, and that's coming from someone who years ago drove 40 miles back home, because I forgot to set my VCR for the Gatornationals. I don't think there's really anything they can do to bring life to it that wouldn't be seen as contrived, over the top and stupid. I really like Mike Dunn, Reif and Gary Gerold. There's just nothing exciting about the racing really. There's just no personality with the racers, and there are no real rivalries anymore. It's pretty much the same old robotic speeches after every run, and it's been like that for years. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss Whit Bazemore. 
We need bad asses like Al Hofmann again. We need people accusing others of cheating, and not afraid of showing their disdain for someone else. I don't see that as lowbrow entertainment as some might, it's just what gives the sport color, flavor and personality. Right now it's about as exciting as a rice cake.
We need bad asses like Al Hofmann again. We need people accusing others of cheating, and not afraid of showing their disdain for someone else. I don't see that as lowbrow entertainment as some might, it's just what gives the sport color, flavor and personality. Right now it's about as exciting as a rice cake.
X2, that guy very rarely has anything positive to say about the NHRA. You can't take anything on his website serious because half of it is BS.
mick
Nitro Member
don't think the nhra is the only motorsports series with low ratings; if you
look at 2010 neilsen ratings per race for indy car you'll find an average in
the same .5 to .8 reported for nhra by burk.
IMO the formula for these two series works to generate an appropriate amount
of money to keep a handful of people financially happy annually, and i'm ok
with that, it's a repeatable business model, as long the your racers and fans
are repeating annually as well.
look at 2010 neilsen ratings per race for indy car you'll find an average in
the same .5 to .8 reported for nhra by burk.
IMO the formula for these two series works to generate an appropriate amount
of money to keep a handful of people financially happy annually, and i'm ok
with that, it's a repeatable business model, as long the your racers and fans
are repeating annually as well.
.
Nitro Member
It's no surprise. The NHRA as a whole is completely bland and boring these days. I can't remember the last time I even had a desire to watch a race, and that's coming from someone who years ago drove 40 miles back home, because I forgot to set my VCR for the Gatornationals. I don't think there's really anything they can do to bring life to it that wouldn't be seen as contrived, over the top and stupid. I really like Mike Dunn, Reif and Gary Gerold. There's just nothing exciting about the racing really. There's just no personality with the racers, and there are no real rivalries anymore. It's pretty much the same old robotic speeches after every run, and it's been like that for years. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss Whit Bazemore.
I felt the same way for the last 2 or 3 years. The only reason why I originally subscribed to cable television was so I could watch NHRA drag racing. Back then the only thing I watched on TV was the local news...... and drag racing. There was a time when I recorded EVERY race. Each race got it's own VHS tape and once it was recorded, the tab was broken off so it couldn't accidentally be recorded over. Now days.... with the invention of the DVR, it's easier to record the races but I usually find myself deleting the "qualifying" show and fast forwarding though the commercials and pro stock car/bike during the "eliminations" show. I went from a guy who couldn't miss one second of a any race broadcast, to a guy who fast forwards through 75% of each show or completely deletes everything without even watching it.
I've worked on a nostalgia nitro funny car team for the last few years and that has been a lot of fun! As far as I'm concerned, the NHRA "big show" is now filler for something to watch between nostalgia funny car events!
Ever since they have posted ratings for the NHRA like 10-12 years ago or longer, I'm not sure! They have NEVER pulled more than a 0.7-0.8 share. This is Old news!
how is it bs if it's the truth? half you guys on here beat up people like myself who post there issues with nhra's business operations and decisions yet we take all the slack for it. Well it serves you guys right, I, and others on here that have the same views are not idiots. It's coming from more and more sources and instead of attacking us like almost every opinion post on nhra leads to, why don't we try and do something instead of being told to shut up or being told if were so smart we should run it.
this has been forever my point. I don't attack the nhra because I am bored and hate them, I attack them because they are not doing there jobs! It can't stay this way because after a while even ESPN is gonna wake up and it's not gonna be about the money, it's gonna be about them busting there asses for a show that's not being watched. I DO NOT DOUBT ESPN WOULD PULL THE PLUG NO MATTER THE MONEY NHRA PAYS! ESPN may not do the best job with time slots but 90% of the time it's 7-10 on the east coast. No one's watching. IT NEEDS TO BE 2 HOURS, YOU CANT ASK PEOPLE TO STAY FOR 3
mick
Nitro Member
this is interesting reading
sorry for posting entire article, but wasn't sure if link would work.
Sports Business Journal - dated sept. 27, 2010
MX Sports, Alli partnership transforms motocross series
When Davey Coombs took over the AMA Motocross series in 2008, the sport faced an array of challenges. Networks wouldn’t broadcast Sunday races live, elite riders like Chad Reed skipped the series and non-endemic sponsors were scarce.
Two seasons later, it looks like a different series.
Coombs’ MX Sports cut a partnership in 2009 with Alli Sports, the NBC- and MTV-owned company behind the Dew Tour. The two worked together to address the sport’s shortcomings, moving races to Saturdays, adding live TV coverage, bringing back elite riders like Reed and signing non-endemic sponsors such as Rockstar Energy and Muscle Milk.
“Over the last couple of years they’ve really picked up engaging the consumer, from on-site to online to television,” said Mike Kelso, marketing director for Rockstar Energy. “It’s becoming an all-around amazing package.”
The results of the 2010 season, which ended earlier this month, underscore Kelso’s point and demonstrate the impact of changes made by MX Sports and Alli Sports.
Changes to the series included moving races
to Saturdays and signing non-endemic sponsors.
In 2008, the series had a TV package on Speed that delayed coverage of races five to seven days. The partnership with Alli Sports put live coverage of three races on NBC in 2009, and the partners added another four live races on Speed this year.
The live coverage helped more than double viewership from 2.5 million in 2008 to approximately 5.5 million in 2010. Speed averaged 174,000 viewers a race for its 21 telecasts in 2010, and NBC averaged 600,000 viewers for its three broadcasts. The two networks averaged 0.4 and 0.2 Nielsen ratings, respectively.
MX and Alli complemented television coverage with live video streaming at allisports.com of each of the three classes of motocross races. More than 60,000 people streamed the broadcasts and spent more than 40 minutes watching, Alli officials said.
Despite moving races from Sundays, when they were traditionally held, to Saturdays for television, series attendance hasn’t declined. According to the series, 230,000 fans attended 12 rounds of racing over three months this year, a 13 percent increase from 2009.
“We made some controversial changes like going from a tape-delayed TV package to seven live races, but we’ve had some overwhelming success,” Coombs said.
Coombs pointed to a new race at Pala, an American Indian reservation in San Diego County, as a major contributor to the attendance increase. The event allowed the series to bring its rural sport to a site with a casino, resort and spa, and attracted one of the largest crowds in series history.
The series hopes to add more races like it in the future and is looking at sites in Salt Lake City, Illinois and Birmingham, Ala.
“Pala is closer to a metropolitan area and has real facilities,” said Alli Sports President Wade Martin. “It’s the start of where we’re going to go.”
The efforts have attracted the interest of several new sponsors. Lucas Oil signed on as the presenting sponsor of the series in 2009, Rockstar Energy joined as the official energy drink this year and Muscle Milk signed on as a non-endemic partner, as well.
Top sponsorships of the series are priced in the low seven figures annually, while presenting sponsorships are in the mid-six figures.
“The sport’s done a good job of bringing in new partners, but now it needs to do a better job of getting sponsors to activate,” said Bob Walker, president of Connexions Sports and Entertainment, which worked on the Muscle Milk deal. “Sponsors have to take their brands outside the sport to retail and elsewhere so the sport can increase its fan base.”
There are other areas MX and Alli hope to improve next season, as well. Half of the races have no hospitality services, which can deter corporate interest, and riders have limited exposure outside of the sport. They hope to address the former with new venues and the latter with digital features on athletes.
“We’re far from done with what we want to accomplish,” Martin said, “but we’re moving in the right direction.”
sorry for posting entire article, but wasn't sure if link would work.
Sports Business Journal - dated sept. 27, 2010
MX Sports, Alli partnership transforms motocross series
When Davey Coombs took over the AMA Motocross series in 2008, the sport faced an array of challenges. Networks wouldn’t broadcast Sunday races live, elite riders like Chad Reed skipped the series and non-endemic sponsors were scarce.
Two seasons later, it looks like a different series.
Coombs’ MX Sports cut a partnership in 2009 with Alli Sports, the NBC- and MTV-owned company behind the Dew Tour. The two worked together to address the sport’s shortcomings, moving races to Saturdays, adding live TV coverage, bringing back elite riders like Reed and signing non-endemic sponsors such as Rockstar Energy and Muscle Milk.
“Over the last couple of years they’ve really picked up engaging the consumer, from on-site to online to television,” said Mike Kelso, marketing director for Rockstar Energy. “It’s becoming an all-around amazing package.”
The results of the 2010 season, which ended earlier this month, underscore Kelso’s point and demonstrate the impact of changes made by MX Sports and Alli Sports.
Changes to the series included moving races
to Saturdays and signing non-endemic sponsors.
In 2008, the series had a TV package on Speed that delayed coverage of races five to seven days. The partnership with Alli Sports put live coverage of three races on NBC in 2009, and the partners added another four live races on Speed this year.
The live coverage helped more than double viewership from 2.5 million in 2008 to approximately 5.5 million in 2010. Speed averaged 174,000 viewers a race for its 21 telecasts in 2010, and NBC averaged 600,000 viewers for its three broadcasts. The two networks averaged 0.4 and 0.2 Nielsen ratings, respectively.
MX and Alli complemented television coverage with live video streaming at allisports.com of each of the three classes of motocross races. More than 60,000 people streamed the broadcasts and spent more than 40 minutes watching, Alli officials said.
Despite moving races from Sundays, when they were traditionally held, to Saturdays for television, series attendance hasn’t declined. According to the series, 230,000 fans attended 12 rounds of racing over three months this year, a 13 percent increase from 2009.
“We made some controversial changes like going from a tape-delayed TV package to seven live races, but we’ve had some overwhelming success,” Coombs said.
Coombs pointed to a new race at Pala, an American Indian reservation in San Diego County, as a major contributor to the attendance increase. The event allowed the series to bring its rural sport to a site with a casino, resort and spa, and attracted one of the largest crowds in series history.
The series hopes to add more races like it in the future and is looking at sites in Salt Lake City, Illinois and Birmingham, Ala.
“Pala is closer to a metropolitan area and has real facilities,” said Alli Sports President Wade Martin. “It’s the start of where we’re going to go.”
The efforts have attracted the interest of several new sponsors. Lucas Oil signed on as the presenting sponsor of the series in 2009, Rockstar Energy joined as the official energy drink this year and Muscle Milk signed on as a non-endemic partner, as well.
Top sponsorships of the series are priced in the low seven figures annually, while presenting sponsorships are in the mid-six figures.
“The sport’s done a good job of bringing in new partners, but now it needs to do a better job of getting sponsors to activate,” said Bob Walker, president of Connexions Sports and Entertainment, which worked on the Muscle Milk deal. “Sponsors have to take their brands outside the sport to retail and elsewhere so the sport can increase its fan base.”
There are other areas MX and Alli hope to improve next season, as well. Half of the races have no hospitality services, which can deter corporate interest, and riders have limited exposure outside of the sport. They hope to address the former with new venues and the latter with digital features on athletes.
“We’re far from done with what we want to accomplish,” Martin said, “but we’re moving in the right direction.”
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BF
Nitro Member
Oh come on now, that can't be right. What about all the "new" fans that the Countdown brought in?
Tony
Nitro Member
I can't take anyone seriously that doesn't know the difference between 'their' and 'there'.
I've been an NHRA fan for 40+ years. I remember when the NHRA races were broadcast on a 3 month delay and shared time on 'ABC's Wide World of Sports' with log-rolling and figure-skating. And by the way, the only two races that were on TV were the Winternationals and the US Nationals, and each race was shown for about 20 minutes per broadcast.
For all of the 40+ years that I've been a fan, various paranoid people have predicted the imminent demise of the NHRA. The NHRA is still here, is still strong, and will be here and prospering in another 40 years, in my opinion.
Super Mod
Nitro Member
Burk didn't say anything that wasn't true. Even a diehard fan like myself, sometimes record these 3 hr marathons and fast forwards through half of it. Some new production ideas need to be infused into this tired old format.
For one thing, what would be wrong with devoting a few minutes to a non-pro class? For instance when someone comes out with a new or interesting car combination and follow that car through some rounds of competition....or a record set in non-pro class. Something other than the "usual cast of characters"....please!
For one thing, what would be wrong with devoting a few minutes to a non-pro class? For instance when someone comes out with a new or interesting car combination and follow that car through some rounds of competition....or a record set in non-pro class. Something other than the "usual cast of characters"....please!
It's no surprise. The NHRA as a whole is completely bland and boring these days. I can't remember the last time I even had a desire to watch a race, and that's coming from someone who years ago drove 40 miles back home, because I forgot to set my VCR for the Gatornationals. I don't think there's really anything they can do to bring life to it that wouldn't be seen as contrived, over the top and stupid. I really like Mike Dunn, Reif and Gary Gerold. There's just nothing exciting about the racing really. There's just no personality with the racers, and there are no real rivalries anymore. It's pretty much the same old robotic speeches after every run, and it's been like that for years. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss Whit Bazemore.
I couldn't have said it better.
And, 1,000' racing is driving in another nail to the NHRA coffin.
HEMI6point1
Nitro Member
The Nielson ratings are a bit flawed, IMO and here's why:
1. Only a small fraction of the TV viewing public are subscribed to the Nielson program.
2. Nielson doesn't count a viewing if it's DVR'ed.
So many more people may be tuning in, but we just don't "see" it.
1. Only a small fraction of the TV viewing public are subscribed to the Nielson program.
2. Nielson doesn't count a viewing if it's DVR'ed.
So many more people may be tuning in, but we just don't "see" it.
sdwarf36
Nitro Member
Scooter mileage + cat racing doesn't count?
Anyone remember what happened the 1st live telecast? Bernstein crashed hard-45 minute clean up. Steve Evans + big Mac killing time without alot of prior coverage to fall back on.
Count me as one of the "DVR+ff" crowd.
clwill
Nitro Member
#1 is true, it's called sampling. Every poll and market research is done this way. It's proven to be accurate. But they don't solely rely on that, they use broader more accurate usage info (see #2).
#2 was the case, it's no longer true. As most DVRs are connected back to their service (cable, satellite, TiVo) they report viewing info. In fact, one of the reasons why cable companies push DVRs so hard is that they gather this info and report it back. This gives them close to 100% viewing info, unlike that in #1, and sell the info to Nielsen and the content creators.
In short, the more connected we get, the more accurate ratings are.
Johnny Mopar
Nitro Member
Sam,
I've been in the broadcast industry for 27 years now, and the Nielson (TV) and Arbitron (Radio) surverys are the most accurate analysis available. They are the best we have and we all use them to make programming decisions. Keep in mind, the methodology is the same in every market, for every station, and every network. Regarding samply size, it's the same in every market, relatively speaking. Both companies use the official population from the US Census and samples the same percentage per thousand persons in every market. The sample (then) is the same everywhere.
A DVR viewer is far less valuable than a viewer in real time. The reason...a real time viewer is usually reached by commercial messages. A DVR viewer almost always advances past the commercials. Since networks (and local stations) rely heavily on advertising revenue this is a major issue. Most corporate advertisers are now paying commercial rates based on actual measured viewers as opposed to anticipated viewers. That puts the pressure on the network to deliver the audience (consumers).
After each event someone usually posts something critical about ESPN delaying race coverage because of softball, or volleyball, etc. The reason (once again) is because those audiences are larger than ours and ESPN can then charge more for commercial messages ran in those broadcasts. On the flip side, you never see a NASCAR telecast delayed and that is because the audience is the largest the network can deliver to it's advertisers.
It's ALL about developing advertising revenue...and always will be.
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