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Is Nascar’s Stunning Decline Now Irreversible?

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Lot’s to think about in terms of why there has been such a huge decline in Nascar’s ratings as we enter Daytona 500 weekend. Reporters at The Wall Street Journal analyze Nascar’s decline.

Nascar threw a bash at Kansas Speedway in October to thank Sprint Corp. for being stock-car racing’s top sponsor for 13 years. More than 800 Sprint employees received hot dogs, burgers and seats to a nail-biting race.

One thing was missing: a new sponsor. Despite knowing for two years that Sprint was leaving, Nascar didn’t announce a replacement until December, when it said energy-drink maker Monster Beverage Corp. had won naming rights to the top-tier racing circuit.

Monster paid about $20 million, below Nascar’s asking price of $35 million and nowhere close to the original goal of $100 million, according to television and racing-industry executives familiar with the new contract. A Nascar spokesman wouldn’t comment.

With the first big race of the new season set for Sunday, Nascar’s problems seem to have spun out of control.

About a decade ago, the sport was a cultural icon and inspired the hit car-racing comedy movie “Talladega Nights,” starring Will Ferrell. Since 2005, Nascar’s television viewership is down 45%, according to an analysis of Nielsen ratings by SportsBusiness Daily, a trade publication. That is twice as large as the National Basketball Association’s decline from its peak. National Football League viewership has fallen 8%, Nielsen data show.

Read more here.

Nascar Ratings Trouble No Surprise

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E.J. Smith

Editor-in-Chief
E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com.