01 cover sbi 152.indd - FIFA/CIES International University Network

MOTORSPORT:
MEDIA
Dale Earnhardt Jr in action -
Getty Images Sport
Storylines are the key to ratings spikes in motorsport
since compelling, relevant dramas help it reach beyond
the petrol-head audience. But Andy Fry discovers that
consistency is also crucially important.
THE ORTHODOX WISDOM is that
fans spend more time at home
during downturns because they
can’t afford to go out; and that
thesis certainly seems to have been
borne out in the case of F1 which
has delivered robust ratings across
a range of territories. US stock car
series Nascar the sector’s other bell
weather franchise, has struggled by
comparison though. So what’s the
explanation
While top motorsports
franchises can usually be
guaranteed to deliver a solid
hardcore of viewers, the sheer
range of digital media alternatives
means that a genuine hook is now
needed to boost TV ratings.
For F1, this added incentive
usually comes in three forms -
race location, the performance
of key individuals/teams and the
competitiveness of the overall
driver’s championships.
The first point is underlined by
the Mediametrie figures oppostite
which show that TF1 France
secured a 40 per cent share of
audience for the 2009 Monaco
Grand Prix - its highest rating of
the year (at the time of writing
before the Brazilian GP). Similarly,
RAI Italy’s best figures came for
the Italian Grand Prix (45 per
cent share, 7.7 million). In other
words, races close to home have a
particular appeal to viewers.
This point is even more
accentuated in new F1 markets
where news that a Grand Prix is
on its way can have a ripple effect
across the entire racing season.
Take Singapore for example where
ESPN Star Sports reported an
increased appetite for the sport
ahead of its debut GP in 2008.
The most impressive figures came
in the male 35-44 demographic,
where audiences for live F1 races
grew 127 per cent year-on-year
(2008 vs 2007). Even among
younger men figures were up
around 20 per cent.
While ESPNSS shows most
F1 races, the Singapore GP itself
is aired on domestic Englishlanguage
network Channel 5.
This year (2009), the race secured
23.6 per cent of audience - which
may not sound high until you
consider a) it aired in primetime
not daytime b) most viewing
in Singapore goes to Chineselanguage
Channel 8 and c) a highproportion
of fans watch the race
in bars. With all that in mind, the
fact that the race was Channel 5’s
12th best performer of the year (up
to Sept 27) is pretty impressive.
The impact on TV ratings of
hosting a GP is only matched when
one of the other key factors come
into play. Take a look at the UK’s F1
viewing figures, for example. Despite
a five-hour time difference between
the UK and the Americas, the
Brazilian Grand Prix has delivered
extremely strong ratings in the UK
for both of the last two seasons.
Home advantage
The reason is simple. In both cases,
the race has delivered a British
World Champion - Lewis Hamilton
in 2008 and Jenson Button in
2009. In 2008, the race averaged
8.8 milion viewers (41 per cent
share) and peaked at 12.5 million
for commercial network ITV. In
2009, it averaged 6.6 million (35
per cent) and peaked at 8.9 million
for new rights holder the BBC.
The impact of driver
personalities in motorsports has
been evident for years. Ayrton
Senna, Michael Schumacher,
Fernando Alonso and Kimi
Raikkonen have all had a dramatic
impact on F1 viewing figures
in their domestic markets. By
contrast, the absence of a top talent
- or their retirement - generally
causes the reverse effect.
This was certainly the case in
Germany after Schumacher retired.
And it’s possibly one reason why
Nascar on Fox US saw the average
rating for its first ten races in 2009
drop to 5.4 (8.9 million viewers)
from 6.1 (10 million) year-on-year,
which analysts have, at least partly,
attributed to the inconsistent
performance of Nascar icon Dale
Earnhardt Jr.
Nascar is acutely aware of the
point - with Nascar Media Group
president Paul Brooks saying that
2009 has suffered from a lack of
“storylines” - since it is these which
drive viewing momentum. Usually,
Nascar can rely on set-piece events
like the Daytona 500 to help turn
things round. But this year the race
was rain-shortened - with the result
that the audience was down 10 per
cent on the previous year’s race.
As we’ve noted above, a good
story will make audiences ignore
time differences. But this isn’t the
same as saying time differences
don’t matter - they do. In F1,
Bernie Ecclestone has grasped this
point - which is why he encouraged
Singapore to hold a night-race
(since this suited European
television audiences better). It has
also been noted also how much
difference rescheduling race times
in the likes of Australia and Asia
can make to European audiences.
Of course, it’s not always an
easy judgment to make changes.
Looking again at Nascar, for
example, there is an argument that
moving ad breaks away from pit
stops would boost ratings since
Nascar fans like pit stops.
52 SportBusiness International • No. 152 • 12.09