- Dayton, OH - 9.3
- Louisville, KY - 8.4
- Fort Myers/Naples, FL - 8.4
- Orlando, FL - 7.2
This should not be a surprise to anyone.
Digital Sports Daily is reporting that the 2010 Indianapolis 500 earned the worst national overnight rating in the event's history. The source is new to me, but I believe the number to be credible.
NOTE: SportsBusiness Daily has now confirmed the 4.0 overnight number.
Thus, a racing product that is not designed to attract a large American television audience has again failed to attract a large American television audience.
DSD claims that an ABC source indicated that the overnight composite number is a 4.0. That is down 4.76% from the record low of 4.2 that was set last year.
That number is also less than the NASCAR Cup average on Fox (4.9) this year.
The overnight rating reflects viewership in the nation's largest, "metered" television markets. We should anticipate a downward revision when the smaller markets check in and the final rating is released.
Apparently, the IZOD IndyCar iteration of a U.S. based international road racing series is heading toward the same fate that greeted the previous permutations: CanAm, CART, and ChampCar. Mergification has generated worse television ratings than The Split.
Promotion of the event and its drivers was up this year. IZOD did a fine job holding up its end of the bargain. Promotion is not the principal marketing problem that imperils the IndyCar Series.
No, the core difficulty is that most Americans who are willing to watch racing on TV are not willing to watch an international road racing series on TV, not even when it races at the world's most celebrated oval. Promoting these drivers and these cars will not generate the desired results.
Randy Bernard, your suppliers of racing teams are gradually devaluing the one marketable asset that remains in your purview. How to stop the negative feedback loop? Here's one idea.
The Revolution is eating its children. The guillotine blade draws nearer with each "successful" government-subsidized event and every new Piloti-shod financier.
Additional Ratings Info (5:06 p.m.)
Sports Media Watch is reporting that the top market for the 500 was - surprise, surprise - Indianapolis. So, where else does IndyCar racing have some fans?
Notice that those nascent urban racing markets that IndyCar appears to be pursuing are not at the top of the list.
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