TV ratings are in for NASCAR's redhot season-finale, and Jimmie Johnson's historic fifth:

Posted Nov 23rd, 2010

Jimmie Johnson (48) and Carl Edwards celebrate their Sunday victories (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

By Mike Mulhern
mikemulhern.net

  HOMESTEAD, Fla.
   ESPN is reporting in on its TV ratings for the Ford championship weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, highlighted by Jimmie Johnson's record fifth straight NASCAR championship and Carl Edwards' win in Sunday's Ford 400.
   And the ratings were down.
   That means all 10 championship chase races this fall had down ratings from last season's playoffs. ESPN says coverage of the Sprint Cup tour's season finale "essentially matched the viewership for last year's race telecast on ABC, and saw a 33 percent rise in the key 'male 18-34' demographic."

   ESPN said the Sunday 400 pulled a 3.3 TV rating, compared to last year's 3.6, on network ABC.
   ESPN says that 3.3 means the telecast averaged 5.6 million viewers, "essentially matching the 5,606,608 average for last year's race."
   ESPN pointed out that 'the male 18-34 demographic rose from a 0.9 last year on ABC to a 1.2 on ESPN.'
   Saturday's Nationwide finale earned a final rating of 1.4 on ESPN2, which the company said means the broadcast averaged 1.9 million viewers. That's up from the 1.3 rating for last year’s race, which also aired on ESPN2. For the season ESPN says that its Nationwide coverage for the year on ESPN2 was up three percent over 2009.

Why should we care what ESPN

Submitted by on Wed 11/24/2010 - 02:34.

Why should we care what ESPN says their viewer numbers are? Like I trust ESPN to give us valid numbers. I don't think so. I'd like to see what Nielsen Media Research has to say on the numbers. I'll bet it's actually worse than the ESPN reported numbers.

i want to see all the

Submitted by Mike on Thu 11/25/2010 - 15:27.

i want to see all the demographics, from every part of the country...like they used to send out to us every week when things were booming. i want to know which demographics are hurting, what parts of the country aren't working for us. why aren't NASCAR and ESPN and Fox and TNT putting those numbers out for us to all ponder? sounds like somebody's scared of what we might really learn. i think the guy out of charlotte tv who posted sunday's tv numbers might have a hint -- the panthers, 1-8, kicked nascar's butt in the ratings on the day of the championship right smack in the charlotte market. uh, isn't that where all the nascar teams are based. what does that tell you? that maybe we've lost our core.....

How to make Nascar racing

Submitted by on Wed 11/24/2010 - 16:54.

How to make Nascar racing better for us....#1 Nascar needs to rethink the COT ....it can be safe, and still look cool instead they all look the same a Shoe Box #2 The races are for most part are like watching paint dry.... the first 20 and the last 20 laps are the best..... I think they should take some of the purse money and pay for leading laps 20, 40,60 80 and so on.It could make some of them change the way they race so the middle of the race want be so boring ...... .#3 If GM, Ford and Dodge wants to sell cars they they need to go Back to School the younger generation doesn't love cars like people in 1940-1990...... #4 there more they need to change but I don't have time to write them all down. So Nascar please hurry up I want my Sport BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

excellent points, all. send

Submitted by Mike on Thu 11/25/2010 - 15:23.

excellent points, all. send us some more. people do listen....i think a bonus point for every lap led would liven things up.....that's the big change i would make to the playoffs....and the regular season too, for that matter. and i certainly agree with getting rid of this common template crap; it was a bad idea in the first place, and it's still a bad idea -- it's just laziness in daytona and detroit both. make 'em work.

So...Brian France thinks ESPN

Submitted by on Fri 11/26/2010 - 00:07.

So...Brian France thinks ESPN is doing a great job, and the 'chase' is a runaway hit. Maybe he should pay attention to the number himself. The fans realize that the 'closest points race ever' only happened bacause someone arbitrarily zeroed out the points from the first 2/3 of the season and 'gifted' several drivers with unearned positions. If the media wonders why many fans aren't awed by JJ's 5 in a row titles, maybe it's because he has won 5 10 race 'titles', not 5 full 36 race season championships. He is, without a doubt the greatest ever of all time 10 race champeen. Yawn. Somehow I don't find that nearly as impressive as what Petty and Earnhardt accomplished. TV coverage of Homestead was of 3 drivers exclusively. the racing this year may have been 'the best ever'. Unfortunately fans watching on TV aren't allowed to see it. The fans are telling Nascar what we think by NOT watching or attending races. Too bad they aren't listening.

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