There is a theory that moving the Chase from ABC to ESPN hurt the ratings. Over-the-air networks like ABC are in 116 million households whereas ESPN reaches nearly 100 million homes. With the nation's economic troubles, some racing fans surely dropped their cable or satellite service. However, an ESPN study released last month showed that such "cord cutting" is minimal.
"We really don't believe the move from ABC to ESPN is much of a factor," said Julie Sobieski, ESPN's vice president for programming and acquisitions. "The [racing] competition is as good as it's been. The ratings for NASCAR have been on the decline now for several years across the [network] partners. It takes time to turn trends around."
Sobieski said ESPN is encouraged, because "the time spent viewing [Chase races] was up double digits."
Hunter Nickell, president of Speed Channel, said ratings for NASCAR shows on Speed are "largely a good story." But Nickell says there has been an "erosion" in viewing by men ages 18 to 34.
"We have to best position the unique [strengths] of the sport," Nickell said. "Cup races are unlike anything else. [They] dwarf every other kind of auto-racing coverage domestically. People who go to races get it."
What puzzles many observers is, if fans hurt by the economy cannot afford to attend races, they should be home watching on TV. As Sobieski said, the competition has been first-rate. Denny Hamlin gave Jimmie Johnson all he could handle before Johnson extended his reign to 5 years in a row, edging Hamlin by 39 points.
If fans who used to attend races aren't watching, then the inference is they don't find the races interesting. There is a sense that new fans drawn to NASCAR in the past decade, when the sport boomed, were along for a temporary ride.
