NASCAR’s new elimination format for Chase isn’t faring well on TV

There were several reasons why TV ratings should have jumped for NASCAR’s race at Charlotte a week ago.

The Charlotte race was part of NASCAR’s revamped Sprint Cup Series’ Chase for the Cup title playoff, with a new knockout format that eliminates drivers during the playoff in hopes of boosting the excitement of the championship hunt. The competitive race was followed by a scuffle between drivers Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski in the garage as TV cameras rolled.

However, TV viewership of the Charlotte race fell 8.3% from a year earlier, to 5.10 million, and its TV rating fell to 3.1 from 3.4, according to Nielsen.

It’s a familiar story.

Halfway through the 10-race Chase, NASCAR’s TV viewership and ratings mostly are down about 6% from a year ago, extending declines that have dragged on for much of the last eight years. The effort by NASCAR Chairman Brian France to reverse the TV trend with changes such as the new Chase format hasn’t worked, at least so far.

NASCAR contends it’s premature to judge the success of the new Chase format on the TV ratings of five races. The sanctioning body says it will take time for fans to get familiar with the revamped format and it might take years to see the effects on TV ratings.

In the meantime, NASCAR noted it remains one of the most popular sports on TV. The Charlotte race, for instance, had slightly more viewers than the 5 million who watched Game 1 of baseball’s National League Championship Series.

NASCAR also said fans increasingly follow races in ways other than watching on TV. NASCAR’s website carries a live leader board during races, and fans also can follow on NASCAR’s phone app, Twitter and other digital and social-media outlets.

NASCAR said fan activity on all of its non-TV platforms during the Chase has showed double-digit percentage gains compared with a year ago.

“Although still in its infancy just five events in, the new elimination format of the Chase has been a resounding success,” Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “Our digital and social numbers are through the roof, fan feedback is extremely positive.”

But it’s a different story on TV, where NASCAR’s popularity has steadily dropped, along with track attendance, since the sport’s popularity peaked in the mid-2000s.

In 2006, for instance, average viewership of a NASCAR race was 7.9 million, according to Sports Business Daily. Viewership of the Charlotte race last weekend was 35% below that figure.

The Chase opened at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 14 but TV ratings for that race weren’t comparable to a year ago because the 2013 race was delayed by rain.

In the four Chase races since then, TV viewership dropped an average 6.1% from a year ago and TV ratings fell 6.5%.

The declines extended a year-long trend. Of the 27 Cup races that can be compared to the same races a year earlier, 22 had declines in TV ratings and 21 had viewership drops, according to the website Sports Media Watch.

Nine of the 10 Chase races are being televised by cable’s ESPN and the other one, Charlotte, by ESPN’s broadcast sister network, ABC. Under a new NASCAR TV-rights contract starting in 2015, NBC Sports will carry the Chase races next year.

Despite the ratings declines, “we’re averaging more than 4 million viewers per race and that’s still something we’re pretty proud of,” especially in the fall when there are so many other sports on TV, said Dan Ochs, ESPN’s director of content strategy and acquisitions.

As for the Chase’s new format, “we certainly don’t believe the jury is in after just five races,” Ochs said.

james.peltz@latimes.com

Twitter: @PeltzLATimes