TV Ratings Jump 40% on SPEED
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series TV Numbers Up Across the Board in 2007
This month’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen – the first endurance race for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve since the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona – drew a 40% ratings increase on SPEED while producing additional strong growth in viewers (49%) and average households (45%) over the 2006 race.
The impressive Sahlen’s Six Hours results have kept the Grand-Am Rolex Series numbers on SPEED tracking in positive territory in 2007 as the schedule nears the mid-season mark. For the year, Grand-Am Rolex Series ratings on SPEED are up 3% – with an average rating of .31 – while viewers (+6%) and households (+10%) are also above the 2006 marks.
“Any television number that is up this year is a good number,” said Grand-Am President Roger Edmondson. “It is no secret that television ratings have been on the decline for some motorsports properties and all of us in the sports entertainment industry are facing challenges in not only expanding our audiences but in just maintaining our existing numbers. I am very pleased that we have been able to keep our numbers on the positive side and we owe a great deal of credit to not only our partners at SPEED but primarily to the great teams and drivers in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series that continue to provide the best sports car road racing anywhere every time the green flag drops.”
The audience boost for the Sahlen’s Six Hours was fueled by the possibility of a record sixth different winner to start the Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype season, but No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing’s Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty posted their second win of the season, and their first in an endurance race. A close GT race also kept the attention of viewers as Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly and RJ Valentine also posted the second win of the year for the No. 66 TRG/CRG Maxter Porsche GT3. Both teams in turn posted their third victories of the season and second straight during this past weekend’s EMCO Gears Classic presented by KeyBank at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The Sahlen’s Six Hours aired in two live parts with the opening two hours of the June 9th race beginning at 11 a.m. The final portion was a three-hour block from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. The race aired directly up against NASCAR Busch Series qualifying, the French Open and Major League Baseball, PGA and LPGA events and held its own with a .21 rating, 170,000 viewers and nearly 150,000 households.
The next televised Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race on SPEED will be the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona which airs live at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 5, 2007.
The Grand American Road Racing Association, which operates and sanctions the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve and the KONI Challenge Series, is the premier road racing organization in North America. The 15-race 2007 Rolex Series schedule and the 12-race KONI Challenge Series calendar delivered professional sports car racing to key markets throughout North America in addition to being televised in the United States and Canada on SPEED and distributed globally through ESPN International. With title sponsorship support from Rolex Watch USA and presenting sponsorship from Crown Royal Special Reserve, the Rolex Series showcases emerging and legendary drivers from around the globe and thoroughbred racing machines from the industry's leading constructors and the world's top automobile manufacturers.
