Overheard in Cleveland – 1

UPDATE #2 To clarify, Steve Johnson said total viewership was up 100% not total ratings and in fact total USA viewership is up over 100%.

06/22/07 Steve Johnson says the TV ratings for Champ Car are up 100% over the first 5 races of last year–not entirely true according to our research……at least not in the USA. Perhaps he meant worldwide.

In the USA the first 5 races last year generated a 1.9 rating vs. the first 4 this year getting a 2.5–that's a 32% increase.

The first 4 last year got 1.3 vs. 2.5 this year, which is +92%, but–and it's a BIG BUT–only one of last year's first 4 races was on network, while three of this year's were.

The fairer comparison is that the average rating of last year's 7 network races was a 0.73, vs. the average of this year's 3 network races (so far) is 0.73! So the ratings are the same.

They're even the same for the cable races–last year's Houston got a 0.1 on Speed, but that was on Saturday night. The two other early season races last year on Speed got a 0.3 each, which is what Houston got this year on ESPN.

06/22/07 Champ Car President Steve Johnson said today in Cleveland our attendance is up 20%, our TV ratings are up 100% and our website viewership is up over 100% from 2006 through the first five races. This is what led Bridgestone to renew for two more years already……..Champ Car is talking to five potential title sponsors, all global companies that don't have the myopic view that the world revolves just around the USA……..We hear that a race in Greece in 2008 is still a very real possibility, but the China race scheduled for October is probably not going to happen (as previously reported) and will run in May next year as was planned this year…….Another American city is pushing hard to land a Champ Car race…….Expect to see a renewal signed to extend the Champ Car deal in Toronto…….We are told the ticket sales for this weekend's Cleveland GP are up significantly. The weather, for once, is cool and comfortable.