Auto Club 500 TV ratings plunge

UPDATE FOX spin on lower TV ratings: Fox Sports’ coverage of the Autoclub 500 at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday evening (2/22) was the top-rated, most-watched sports event of the week and was one of the highest-rated prime time programs among several popular demographic categories, including adults 18-49. According to Nielsen Media Research, the race posted a 6.0/10 national household rating/share, with 10.2 million viewers watching, by far the highest-rated and most-watched sports event of the week. Placing a distant second was Sunday’s final round of the Northern Trust Open on CBS (3.7/7, 4.8 million viewers). Sunday’s Autoclub 500 coverage also fared well opposite expected stiff competition from the Academy Awards. FOX’s 5.9/9 prime time household average on Sunday fared +28% better than FOX's recent performance versus the Oscars (4.6 average from 2004 to 2007). Last year’s NASCAR race opposite the Academy Awards show was delayed by rain and pre-empted the planned prime time lineup, so it was excluded from this comparison. The 2009 Academy Awards on ABC averaged a 20.6/36. FoxPR

02/23/09 Auto Club 500 TV Ratings: NASCAR Sprint Cup racing on Fox averaged a 5.3/8 for the Auto Club 500 presented by Quaker State from California. Though that's down -13% from last year's 6.1/10 for the same race, yesterday's race was by far the top-rated sporting event for the weekend. That -13% year-to-year gap could shrink in the nationals with a good meter-to-national ratings index. Yesterday's race powered Fox to a second-place finish for the night opposite competition from the Academt Awards [Oscars] on ABC. Fox's prime average of 5.3/8 (7-10p) placed second behind ABC's 18.8/28, but beat CBS's 4.8/7, and NBC's 3.4/5. Last night's Prime average was also FOX's best Sunday night in six weeks. Sunday’s race improved over FOX’s recent Oscar night performances. Last night's 5.3/8 is +10% better than FOX's Sunday Prime average opposite the Oscars from 2004-2007. Last year is excluded from that comparison because the NASCAR race was delayed by rain and pre-empted the planned Primetime lineup. That +10% edge over recent Oscar nights is likely to increase when NASCAR gets its typically strong meters-to-nationals boost. The 2009 Academy Awards on ABC averaged a 23.5/36 from 8:30-12m, up +7% over last year's 21.9/33