Media

NBC looks to ‘Chase’ for ratings help

SCOTT WARFIELD 7.12.2004

NBC executives hope NASCAR’s new “Chase for the Championship” scoring system reverses the ratings decline of the Nextel Cup season’s first half on Fox.

The 2004 NASCAR “regular season” on Fox averaged a 5.6 rating for 13 races, an average of 9 million viewers a race. This year’s average audience is identical to last year’s, but the 5.6 national rating is a 3 percent dip compared with the 5.8 that Fox averaged in each of its first three years broadcasting NASCAR.

Kevin Sullivan, vice president of NBC Sports, said the network is looking forward to strong ratings because it does not have to worry about an anticlimactic finish to the season, thanks to NASCAR’s new points system. The champion is now determined in the last 10 races of the season, unlike last year when Matt Kenseth held a commanding lead weeks in advance.

“That will not be the case this year,” Sullivan said.

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