Race Weekend Central

Overnight Ratings Down for Food City 500

Overnight TV ratings were down again for Sunday’s Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway.

According to Sports Media Watch, the race scored a 3.2 rating which marks a 27 percent decline from when the event last ran in its scheduled time slot in 2013.

Over the last two years, this race has been impacted by rain and a majority of the event was broadcasted on FS1.

The rating is also the lowest since FOX began broadcasting the Bristol race in 2001. It ties with the 2014 Darlington event for the fourth lowest rating in the history of NASCAR on FOX.

Overnight ratings indicate the race trailed the NBA playoff game featuring the Cavaliers and Pistons, but final ratings could put the race ahead of the game.

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rg72

It’s gotten to the point where this story can be copied and pasted from week to week, with just an update to the rating and the lowest since year.

janice

imagine that! fans at home are discovering other things to do than watch 4 hrs of follow the leader til the last 20 laps.

hope brain fart is overjoyed at his handiwork.

GinaV24

ha, so true Janice. Russ, I have no problem with tire management and a driver saving his/her equipment for the end of the race. I agree that is smart racing. However Fox has made an art form out of ignoring a good portion of the field during its broadcasts and fixating on a few drivers, along with camera work that shows one car at a time for laps and laps. If fans at home were shown the entire race and as someone posted on another thread, they did an entire “thru the field” segment for all the teams several times during the broadcast, then people might be more inclined to watch. Of course then you add in the “chase” and win and you’re in concept, so really if your favorite already has a win, well then do you really need to watch the rest of the season until we get to the playoffs?

rg72, you’re right about the cut and paste function for the column.

DoninAjax

I’d like to hear the spin Brian puts on the ratings when he talks to the networks and discusses a new contract.

Russ

Does anybody remember when David Pearson, aka “the Silver Fox”, would pace himself , save his equipment and come on to win races at the end? Back then we talked about how he was smart not killing his equipment until he needed to.
Now we call that style of racing boring. Times change I guess.

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