Tim5636sc
Nitro Member
a quote from a very established sports marketing genius i have been working with over the years best sums this up..'THE BEST INVENTION IN THE HISTORY OF SELLING TV TO SPONSORS IS THE INSTANT SLOW MOTION REPLAY!'
Nitromater
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Ratings down for NHRA/ESPN2 show
- Thread starter Raconteur
- Start date
a quote from a very established sports marketing genius i have been working with over the years best sums this up..'THE BEST INVENTION IN THE HISTORY OF SELLING TV TO SPONSORS IS THE INSTANT SLOW MOTION REPLAY!'
Tim5636sc
Nitro Member
where do you think i got some of my info from Joe?
Ash is the first place i look for solid facts.
clwill
Nitro Member
Re: NHRA TV Ratings
There's a difference, though. Once NASCAR starts, it goes on for hours. Barely enough time for the commercials, let alone the fluff pieces. NHRA is all 3-6 second squirts with all kinds of downtime in between. Plenty of time to fill with fluff. Not saying it's right, just pointing out a key difference.
Three hours is ridiculous. You can't expect a casual fan to allocate 3 hours. 60-90 minutes would be great. Maybe an hour qualifying show on Saturday, with a qualifying recap, the back stories and fluff, then a 90 minute finals show on Sunday that concentrates on the racing.
And I've said this before, but there's WAY too much jargon and such for the casual fan. They need to do a LOT more education -- how the lights work, what the difference is between the classes, how they tune a nitro car, etc., etc. Occasional "track-tionary" pieces isn't even remotely enough.
There's a difference, though. Once NASCAR starts, it goes on for hours. Barely enough time for the commercials, let alone the fluff pieces. NHRA is all 3-6 second squirts with all kinds of downtime in between. Plenty of time to fill with fluff. Not saying it's right, just pointing out a key difference.
Three hours is ridiculous. You can't expect a casual fan to allocate 3 hours. 60-90 minutes would be great. Maybe an hour qualifying show on Saturday, with a qualifying recap, the back stories and fluff, then a 90 minute finals show on Sunday that concentrates on the racing.
And I've said this before, but there's WAY too much jargon and such for the casual fan. They need to do a LOT more education -- how the lights work, what the difference is between the classes, how they tune a nitro car, etc., etc. Occasional "track-tionary" pieces isn't even remotely enough.
BrettV
Nitro Member
n/a
Nitro Member
I went to my first NASCAR race a few months back at the CA speedway. Free rental car, tickets for the entire weekend, and beer. Yes all I could put down all weekend. Only had to pay for my hotel. We had what I would consider the best seats in the house. All that and at the end I must say that when my connection offers me to go again I'll say thanks but no thanks. Why? Boring!!! NASCAR on TV is way the heck better than live IMO. NHRA is quite the opposite. If I hadn't been exposed to Drag Racing live since 1961 when Fremont opened I wouldn't watch it on TV. I don't think enhancing the program, removing PP, shortening it or what ever will attract new fans of the sport. With Drag Racing in addition to marketing the show on TV I think they should get the public to a race. Put Nitro, TAD, PS, Comp, etc in the newbie’s face and get them addicted. So rather than only promoting the show, promote/market the NHRA races better. Promote the TV show at the race. Send the fan home with the desire to watch Drag Racing on TV. There are other Drag Racing organizations that market their venue with a % of free tickets and other incentives and draw huge crowds and they don't even have Nitro classes.
jackass
Nitro Member
Re: NHRA TV Ratings
Hate to say it but i know a couple people that the burnouts excite them as much or more than the runs do....
I realy hated hearing those rating numbers.. its a hard sell to a sponsor when are that low... you have to show what they are possibly going to pay for and you need higher tv numbers to get a better deals for better racing suport....
Billy
Hate to say it but i know a couple people that the burnouts excite them as much or more than the runs do....
I realy hated hearing those rating numbers.. its a hard sell to a sponsor when are that low... you have to show what they are possibly going to pay for and you need higher tv numbers to get a better deals for better racing suport....
Billy
FC138fan
Nitro Member
Re: NHRA TV Ratings
Good call. I agree that 3 hours is rediculous. The only way I could wach 3 hours is if it were a live feed. I can't stand 3 hours where 2 hours is fluff. I always enjoyed when after NHRA today on TNN they would book an hour slot and have LIVE qualifying. Of course every time they did that the first car would oil down and that would be it.
Wish they could sell their video (once broadcast) to the SPEED network, run the entire raw video footage (startups, burnouts, backups, staging, runs, turnout & interviews - for all cars, even "filler cars") eliminate commentary except for track announcer and track interviews- run them at the midnight hour on the middle of the week (Most people have DVR's and VCR's). I guess that wouldnt help ratings as I would stop watching the ESPN shows if they would do that.
Good call. I agree that 3 hours is rediculous. The only way I could wach 3 hours is if it were a live feed. I can't stand 3 hours where 2 hours is fluff. I always enjoyed when after NHRA today on TNN they would book an hour slot and have LIVE qualifying. Of course every time they did that the first car would oil down and that would be it.
Wish they could sell their video (once broadcast) to the SPEED network, run the entire raw video footage (startups, burnouts, backups, staging, runs, turnout & interviews - for all cars, even "filler cars") eliminate commentary except for track announcer and track interviews- run them at the midnight hour on the middle of the week (Most people have DVR's and VCR's). I guess that wouldnt help ratings as I would stop watching the ESPN shows if they would do that.
Super Mod
Nitro Member
Re: NHRA TV Ratings
Connie,the Snake,& the Greek
And do we REALLY need to see EVERY burnout?
Connie,the Snake,& the Greek
Ugly one
Nitro Member
Re: NHRA TV Ratings
I personally love drag racing but, it should come as no shocker to anyone that there are millions more interested in baseball, basketball, soccer, bowling, even underwater basket weaving.... etc. than drag racing.
They start on time and run to completion because THEY have viewers, viewers equal sponsors, sponsors pay money for viewers, it's ROI.
Drag racing has been and will always be a very small niche market no matter how much TV time it gets. To the average person it's way to hard to grasp on TV with all of the different classes and styles of racecars.
The real question should be; why is NHRA spending over $9,000,000.00 a year for the current TV contract. Those monies should go to better promote the races at a local level and try to fill the stands up with living, breathing people that have an extra $20.00 to spend on a hotdog and adult beverage.
Do you think anyone in the military would like to go on Saturday or Sunday with a discount? Why do they only qualify for a discount on Fridays?
Put the races on TV into a professionally directed 90 minute show the next day or following weekend. Most that watch will still TVO the show for later viewing.
The pin on the bottles has been pulled, flame away!
I personally love drag racing but, it should come as no shocker to anyone that there are millions more interested in baseball, basketball, soccer, bowling, even underwater basket weaving.... etc. than drag racing.
They start on time and run to completion because THEY have viewers, viewers equal sponsors, sponsors pay money for viewers, it's ROI.
Drag racing has been and will always be a very small niche market no matter how much TV time it gets. To the average person it's way to hard to grasp on TV with all of the different classes and styles of racecars.
The real question should be; why is NHRA spending over $9,000,000.00 a year for the current TV contract. Those monies should go to better promote the races at a local level and try to fill the stands up with living, breathing people that have an extra $20.00 to spend on a hotdog and adult beverage.
Do you think anyone in the military would like to go on Saturday or Sunday with a discount? Why do they only qualify for a discount on Fridays?
Put the races on TV into a professionally directed 90 minute show the next day or following weekend. Most that watch will still TVO the show for later viewing.
The pin on the bottles has been pulled, flame away!
T.Smith
Nitro Member
The lack of pro stock coverage? Even less would be better if you ask me...sleeping pill city.
Von Halen
Nitro Member
I rarely watch it anymore. I usually DVR it, and then delete it before I ever watch it.
The economy has NOTHING to do with me not watching much anymore, and I seriously doubt it has anything to do with other people not watching either. If anything, people are staying home and watching more tv.
I don't like the 1000' racing.
I don't like the bikes, I'd much rather watch Pro Mods.
The show almost never starts on time.
I usually know the results before I watch. (I know, that's my fault)
I have grown tired of the interviews with all the same people. Is it too much to ask them to go out and look in the pits for some interesting stuff to report on?
The economy has NOTHING to do with me not watching much anymore, and I seriously doubt it has anything to do with other people not watching either. If anything, people are staying home and watching more tv.
I don't like the 1000' racing.
I don't like the bikes, I'd much rather watch Pro Mods.
The show almost never starts on time.
I usually know the results before I watch. (I know, that's my fault)
I have grown tired of the interviews with all the same people. Is it too much to ask them to go out and look in the pits for some interesting stuff to report on?
d'kid
Nitro Member
listen to the Audio Cast all weekends, which is the only thing I do on NHRA.com. Last season turned me off from the ESPN coverage, the TV looked like a very poorly designed Web Page. I do like Paul more than Marty, His mistakes add humor to the broadcast, Marty's voice made my teeth hurt.
I like 1000 foot, I have always paid attention to 330, 660, and 1000 foot times. and yes, I can mentally translate a four flat to 4.68 in my head (flopper). I hate the 'countdown', It makes the first 2/3's of the season meaningless.
But, think I've only watched about two hours total this season. Overall, I've found the season somewhat boring. About as exciting as watching Golf, Pro Bowling, and the National Spelling Bee on TV.
Oh, and Tony, I love HTP Welders, and have since I used to sell them back in the late 80's...
d'kid
I like 1000 foot, I have always paid attention to 330, 660, and 1000 foot times. and yes, I can mentally translate a four flat to 4.68 in my head (flopper). I hate the 'countdown', It makes the first 2/3's of the season meaningless.
But, think I've only watched about two hours total this season. Overall, I've found the season somewhat boring. About as exciting as watching Golf, Pro Bowling, and the National Spelling Bee on TV.
Oh, and Tony, I love HTP Welders, and have since I used to sell them back in the late 80's...
d'kid
Responding in general to this thread, I believe there are some things we all need to keep in mind.
I know PJ Sapienza won’t like this, but the change in the points system probably has little if anything to do with the TV ratings. It’s time to climb on a different horse, PJ, ‘cause this one’s stuck in the starting gate.
Mark Krogen make a very good point that needs expansion. A drag race is so short and compact that it actually doesn’t benefit from television the way a NASCAR, IRL or even an F-1 race does. In those forms of racing the TV cameras allow the viewer to see every aspect of the course, while in drag racing everyone sitting in the seats can see the whole race.
In my opinion, drag racing suffers on television because there is no way TV can reproduce the visceral excitement that happens when you’re there in person. Your living room doesn’t shake like the ground does at the track, you can’t smell the nitro and burned rubber at home and no matter how good the camera angle is it’s not the same as watching the top cars streak into the distance in person. Kurt Leinekuel does a good job of stating that in his post.
Chris Cook also makes some excellent points. The show is too long. Knocking an hour off the show wouldn’t hurt a thing. “Plus, every race looks and sounds the same…” Truer words are seldom spoken!
There’s no point in addressing the purse issue here because we can’t solve that problem.
I don’t know where Chris came up with the information that NHRA is paying $8M for the privilege of being on espn2, but I’d love to see confirmation of that. Otherwise it’s just another rumor.
Mike Bowers’s reference to our lack of real rivalries is true. All of our drivers are so darn conscious of what they say on camera that the interviews truly are boring. You could intercut video of Bruce Allen (Reher-Morrison, remember?) answering questions being asked of, say, Allen Johnson at Englishtown, and no one would know the difference.
Remember, every form of American motorsports is suffering a steep ratings decline. The Indy 500 was down over 17% from the previous year, and NASCAR is down 14% or more for the year, so it’s not just drag racing.
Dan Bloomquist is right: NASCAR is better on TV, NHRA is better in person.
Just had friends go to the Cup race in Phoenix. I won’t delve into what crowd was like, but I thought it was interesting that once the cars started they couldn’t hear the PA. After some 130 laps of 300 they’d had enough of an assault on their ears and left, getting home in time to watch the end on TV. They vowed it would be their last NASCAR race in person.
There is a way to help “fix” Pro Stock as a TV sport, but every time this subject is brought up in Glendora it’s shot down – without serious discussion. The answer is to run Pro Stock and the bikes start to finish on Saturday, which would make them the “stars” of the Saturday night TV show, which is a ratings nightmare at present (because there’s no “hook” to make you watch – it’s “just” qualifying!). The other benefit would come on Sunday, when the Pro Stock car and bike winners would probably have their pictures in the paper (and the Sunday edition is every newspapers largest circulation edition) along with a story.
What do they get under the current system?
They’re lucky if they get their names mentioned in the Monday paper, and they sure aren’t the “stars” of the Sunday night telecast.
But making a change like that would require forward thinking, and….
Jon Asher
I know PJ Sapienza won’t like this, but the change in the points system probably has little if anything to do with the TV ratings. It’s time to climb on a different horse, PJ, ‘cause this one’s stuck in the starting gate.
Mark Krogen make a very good point that needs expansion. A drag race is so short and compact that it actually doesn’t benefit from television the way a NASCAR, IRL or even an F-1 race does. In those forms of racing the TV cameras allow the viewer to see every aspect of the course, while in drag racing everyone sitting in the seats can see the whole race.
In my opinion, drag racing suffers on television because there is no way TV can reproduce the visceral excitement that happens when you’re there in person. Your living room doesn’t shake like the ground does at the track, you can’t smell the nitro and burned rubber at home and no matter how good the camera angle is it’s not the same as watching the top cars streak into the distance in person. Kurt Leinekuel does a good job of stating that in his post.
Chris Cook also makes some excellent points. The show is too long. Knocking an hour off the show wouldn’t hurt a thing. “Plus, every race looks and sounds the same…” Truer words are seldom spoken!
There’s no point in addressing the purse issue here because we can’t solve that problem.
I don’t know where Chris came up with the information that NHRA is paying $8M for the privilege of being on espn2, but I’d love to see confirmation of that. Otherwise it’s just another rumor.
Mike Bowers’s reference to our lack of real rivalries is true. All of our drivers are so darn conscious of what they say on camera that the interviews truly are boring. You could intercut video of Bruce Allen (Reher-Morrison, remember?) answering questions being asked of, say, Allen Johnson at Englishtown, and no one would know the difference.
Remember, every form of American motorsports is suffering a steep ratings decline. The Indy 500 was down over 17% from the previous year, and NASCAR is down 14% or more for the year, so it’s not just drag racing.
Dan Bloomquist is right: NASCAR is better on TV, NHRA is better in person.
Just had friends go to the Cup race in Phoenix. I won’t delve into what crowd was like, but I thought it was interesting that once the cars started they couldn’t hear the PA. After some 130 laps of 300 they’d had enough of an assault on their ears and left, getting home in time to watch the end on TV. They vowed it would be their last NASCAR race in person.
There is a way to help “fix” Pro Stock as a TV sport, but every time this subject is brought up in Glendora it’s shot down – without serious discussion. The answer is to run Pro Stock and the bikes start to finish on Saturday, which would make them the “stars” of the Saturday night TV show, which is a ratings nightmare at present (because there’s no “hook” to make you watch – it’s “just” qualifying!). The other benefit would come on Sunday, when the Pro Stock car and bike winners would probably have their pictures in the paper (and the Sunday edition is every newspapers largest circulation edition) along with a story.
What do they get under the current system?
They’re lucky if they get their names mentioned in the Monday paper, and they sure aren’t the “stars” of the Sunday night telecast.
But making a change like that would require forward thinking, and….
Jon Asher
I haven't watched a Event real time in Years! Too Damn Long, 3 hrs. for a 2 hour show. I set the Caveman Tivo, snd skim through the commercials and yes the interviews! Unless it's a scary run or a wild one I have no desire to hear the same sponsor plugs.
