THE DRAMATIC closing stages of the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship has dominated the digital discussion across the weekend. 

The Race Torque last week reported on the new ratings battleground that TV networks and sporting organisations are heavily focused on, in a story that detailed the high level of interactions the sport enjoys online compared to others.

Backing up our initial reporting, Sunday’s final race of the championship saw more than 297,000 engaged via social media and the #VASC hashtag – an increase of nearly 10,000 from the same decider last year.

Newcastle smashed all other sporting offerings in the past week, including three T20 Internationals against India and the Tim Cahill sendoff that saw the Socceroos beat Lebanon 3-0 in a Friendly last week.

Also up were TV ratings of the title decider.

More than 572,000 people watched Sunday’s action on Channel 10 and FOX Sports, an increase of 114,000 over last year.

Interestingly, while 291,000 watched on 10, FOX Sports numbers soared with 281,000 watching on Sunday – up more than 105,000 or more than 60 per cent.

463,000 watched Saturday’s remarkable penultimate race of the season – the same number that watched the Sunday race last year.

Again, FOX Sports numbers were enormous, jumping from 116,000 to 201,000 on Saturday this year which is an increase of 41 per cent.

Streaming and regional TV audience numbers are not yet available.

Just over 160,000 attended the three day event, down from just over 190,000 in the inaugural year last November.

A majority of the reduction in attendance was due to a smaller Friday number, while The Race Torque understands Saturday and Sunday’s figures were basically on par with last year.

Sources: TV Tonight, Mediaweek, Newcastle Herald. 

WORDS: Richard Craill
IMAGE: Dirk Klynsmith / Touring Car Masters