When Going in Circles is Going Backwards: Outcome Uncertainty and Fan Interest in Nascar
34 Pages Posted: 24 Mar 2010
Date Written: March 2010
Abstract
Using data from the 2007, 2008, and 2009 NASCAR seasons, this paper shows that the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis pertains to both race attendance and television audience, with the former only responding to race-level uncertainty and the latter responding to both race-level and season-level uncertainty. Of the other contributing influences, the price of gasoline and the unemployment rate were both unrelated to race attendance during the sample period, counter to conventional wisdom expressed during the declining attendance and ratings of the 2009 season. We also find that NASCAR broadcasts lose audience when competing against other big-interest sporting events and that declines in both television ratings and audience size during the NASCAR season were not unique to 2009, again contradicting conventional wisdom. Overall, the empirical evidence suggests that declining competitive balance might have been the common factor that reduced both television audiences and race attendance during this period.
Keywords: Competitiveness, Adjusted Churn, Motor Sports, Uncertainty of Outcome
JEL Classification: D23, L25, L83
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
By Men-andri Benz, Leif Brandes, ...
-
Driver Success in the Nascar Sprint Cup Series: The Impact of Multi-Car Teams
By Craig A. Depken and Larisa Mackey
-
Uncertainty of Outcome, Match Quality and Television Viewership of NPC Rugby Matches
-
By Leif Brandes, Egon P. Franck, ...
-
A Die-Hard Aristocracy: Competitive Balance in Italian Soccer 1929-2009
By Carlo Amenta and Paolo Di Betta
-
On the Decisiveness of a Game in a Tournament
By Gery Geenens
-
Playoff Uncertainty, Match Uncertainty and Attendance at Australian National Rugby League Matches
By Nicholas King, P. Dorian Owen, ...