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American Flat Track Sets Viewership Record
American Flat Track is experiencing record viewership growth in 2018, according to a press release sent out by the series.
According to the series, more than 2 million viewers have already tuned into telecasts shown on NBC Sports Network. The series reached 1.8 million viewers on NBCSN during the entire 2017 season. There are five more races yet to air in 2018.
“American Flat Track’s partnership with NBC Sports has been the catalyst for our sport to break through to a whole new generation of fans across the country,” Michael Lock, CEO of American Flat Track, said. “The extraordinary growth in viewership is testament to the exciting bar-to-bar action taking place at iconic racetracks almost every weekend through the spring and summer. We are very proud of our competitors and our series.”
Telecasts are reaching 56 percent more viewers in 2018 than in 2017, per the release, resulting in a 50 percent increase in the 24-years-or-younger demographic.
Our own Jason Weigandt is the play-by-play announcer for these shows, with Ralph Sheheen providing color commentary. Weege keeps mumbling something about "dream team" and "two quarterbacks" while trying to take credit for the ratings spike. The real story might be about time slots—last year AFT races aired on Thursday nights, they've moved to the weekends this year, often sandwiched around Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, or NASCAR or IndyCar coverage on NBCSN. Putting flat track in the mix with these other motorsports clearly has helped the viewership.
AFT also streams live on FansChoice.tv, and that platform has also seen a rise in viewership, according to the release. Viewership has seen triple-digit gains, with an average of more than 30,000 unique viewers tuning in to each event, an increase of 109 percent over 2017.
Of course, we all know why:
Viewership way up for our shows this year. @ralphsheheen is wondering if it’s because they added him to the broadcasts? #DreamTeam #twopointguards https://t.co/zleo43CE14
— Jason Weigandt (@JasonWeigandt) August 31, 2018