Riding in the Ratings Fast Lane

To some, NASCAR may simply be cars going around in circles. But as a television attraction, the direction is straight up.

In an era of declining television ratings, NASCAR is on the rise. Stock car racing has experienced double-digit rating increases the past two years and now ranks second behind pro football in number of viewers.

So is it any wonder that Fox is treating Sunday’s Daytona 500 as if it were a Super Bowl?

By the time the race is over, Fox and its sister networks will have devoted more than 80 hours to it. The coverage, shared by Fox, FX, Speed Channel and Fox Sports Net, includes nearly 60 hours of on-track coverage and another 20-plus hours of studio programming.

When Fox televised its first Daytona 500 in 2001 -- it alternates with NBC -- there were 43 hours of programming.

The main reason for the big increase is Fox’s acquisition of Speed Channel before last year’s Daytona 500. Speed Channel’s Daytona coverage has gone from eight hours in 2002 to at least 60 this year, including the debut of its NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series coverage.

With a boost from NASCAR programming, Speed Channel is the nation’s fastest-growing sports cable channel and now reaches 55.5 million homes.

Meanwhile, the Daytona 500 has become America’s premier motor sports event. The race on Fox and NBC the last two years averaged a 10.5 rating. Last year’s Indianapolis 500 on ABC got a 4.8. Daytona has beaten Indy in the ratings for the last seven years.

In Los Angeles, NASCAR does not get the kind of ratings it does elsewhere. The L.A. rating for last year’s Daytona 500 was a 7.3. But because of the size of its market, L.A. ranks second behind Atlanta in number of NASCAR viewers.

Surprisingly, last year’s Daytona 500 did the best in the eastern central part of the country, with a 16.2 rating. The southeast was second with a 14.5.

Fox Sports chairman David Hill, who may be as responsible for the growth of NASCAR as anyone, was weaned on Formula One racing when he headed up networks in Australia and Britain. But he was won over quickly when Fox began televising NASCAR two years ago.

“It’s a race, not a chase,” he said Thursday from Daytona. “There are passes all the time. And because of the yellow flags, there are seven or eight different starts.

“And I’m so impressed with the people who run this sport. They’ve taken something of regional interest and turned it into a national obsession.”

NASCAR consolidated and reorganized its television coverage before the 2001 season. Instead of having races on six broadcast and cable networks in no particular order, Fox and its sister networks have the first half of the season, and NBC and TNT have the second half, with the Daytona 500 alternating between Fox and NBC.

Another plus has been the way television covers NASCAR, making it attractive to even casual fans. Hill gives credit to such people as producer Neil Goldberg, director Artie Kempner and sound consultant Fred Aldus. And he gives credit to his counterpart at NBC, Dick Ebersol.

“Dick loves the sport just as much as I do,” Hill said.

Apparently, a lot of other people do too.

NBA on ABC

ABC begins its regular NBA Sunday coverage this weekend with a doubleheader. At 10 a.m., it will be the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, with Brent Musburger and Sean Elliott announcing, followed at 12:30 by San Antonio at Sacramento, with Brad Nessler, Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert.

The Lakers will be on ABC March 9, when they play host to the 76ers.

ABC last week added Tolbert to its No. 1 announcing team. So how does Walton feel about working in a three-man booth?

“Make it a 30-man team, I wouldn’t care,” he said. “Bring ‘em all on.”

More NBA News

Beginning this weekend, Channel 7 will have a new postgame show, “Sunday Sports Zone,” with Michael Cooper and Rob Fukuzaki, after ABC’s NBA coverage. The hour-long show will originate from the ESPN Zone in Anaheim.... TNT has added Tuesday’s game between the Houston Rockets and Lakers to its schedule, which was a no-brainer. When Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming squared off for the first time Jan. 17, ESPN got a national cable rating of 3.82, its highest of the season. ESPN’s second highest was a 2.15 when the Lakers played at Washington Jan. 8. After 40 NBA telecasts, ESPN’s five highest-rated have all involved the Lakers.

Overall, ESPN is averaging a 1.34, which is 49% higher than the 0.9 it averaged for the same time periods last year.... Because TNT added Tuesday’s Shaq-Yao matchup, Fox Sports Net was able to add a Feb. 27 Laker home game with Detroit. Previously, that game was exclusive to TNT.... Jerry Buss will be a guest on a special one-hour edition of “Lakers Live” on Fox Sports Net tonight at 6:30.

Synergy at Work

The sports departments of sister stations Channel 2 and Channel 9 essentially have been combined. The two Viacom stations are in the same building on Sunset Boulevard, and Channel 2’s weekend “Sports Central” programs will be done from the same set Channel 9 uses for its Laker pregame shows and its weeknight sports reports, which also will be called “Sports Central.”

The main distinction will be that Jim Hill remains Channel 2’s main sports anchor and Alan Massengale remains Channel 9’s main sports anchor. Otherwise, there will be lots of crossover.

Don Corsini, president and general manager of the two stations, said: “And we are now the station of champions.” The two stations carry the NFL, the NBA champion Lakers, World Series champion Angels and Major League Soccer champion Galaxy.

Short Waves

The Avengers make their second of six consecutive appearances on NBC when they play John Elway’s Colorado Crush on Sunday at noon at Denver.... NBC, in search of more sports programming, announced Thursday that it has entered into a venture with sister network Telemundo and the boxing promotional group Main Events to televise boxing programs on three consecutive Saturdays in May.... “Citgo Racing to the Kentucky Derby,” a nine-show series on ESPN, kicks off Saturday at 2 p.m. with live coverage of the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla. Kenny Mayne is the host.... Attention cricket fans: The World Cup, which began last weekend and continues through March 23, is being televised on pay-per-view on Dish Network. Information: (800) 333-3474.

Radio Daze

It’s a good thing for Roger Lodge, the new morning host on KMPC (1540), that his broadcasting career is going well. He’d never make it as a basketball player. He was one for 11 from the field in the celebrity All-Star game on TNT last Friday.... “World Soccer Weekly,” with Steven Cohen and Nick Geber, is moving from Sunday mornings on KMPC to Mondays at 7 p.m. Fred Roggin’s afternoon show on KMPC has been expanded from one to two hours.... “SpeedFreaks” is moving from Sundays at 7 p.m. on KLSX (97.1) to Sundays at 9 p.m. on KSPN (710).