Supercars tops Ashes in Aussie social media ratings
Sunday's wild Supercars finale edged out the opening day of the first Ashes test in terms of social media engagement, according to Nielsen figures.
Fabian Coulthard, Team Penske Ford
Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images
Media Week in Australia is reporting that in the Nielsen Social Content Ratings for the week between 20/11/2017 and 26/11/2017, it was Sunday's dramatic conclusion to the Supercars series that came out on top.
The wild race, which saw Jamie Whincup claim the crown after title favourite Scott McLaughlin was hit with three penalties, was measured at 289,500 interactions on social media.
The next four slots in the top five for the week were taken up by the first Ashes test at the 'Gabba in Brisbane. Day 1 of the Australia versus England test was measured at 286,400 interactions, Day 3 at 250,300, Day 2 at 172,600, and Day 4 at 159,300.
While topping the ratings is a win for both the sport and the brand new Newcastle 500 event, not all of the social media buzz created by Sunday's action was positive. Yesterday, Craig Lowndes – who was involved in a last-lap crash with McLaughlin that effectively sealed the title for Whincup – took to Instagram to ask for calm from outraged fans that had been active across the popular channels.
The chart-topping social media storm comes off the back of what Supercars is proclaiming as a successful first trip to the New South Wales city.
Despite a rocky build-up plagued with protests from local residents, the event delivered an impressive reported crowd figure of over 190,000 people across the three days.
The biggest attendance according to figures supplied by Supercars was 69,526 on Saturday, followed by 66,238 on Sunday and 56,478 on the Friday.
“This weekend is all we hoped it would be; and to be honest well exceeded our expectations,” said Supercars CEO James Warburton.
“The venue is incredible; the crowds have been huge and the live pictures of the boats, ships, the harbour, the beaches and Newcastle being beamed live around Australia and the world are amazing.
“It is credit to Destination New South Wales and Newcastle City Council to support our vision and deliver such a fantastic event to the city.”
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