Fox and NBC, what were they thinking?

NASCAR Sprint Cup Television ratings are spiraling downward even with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the midst of a career year and Jeff Gordon a strong contender to win his fifth championship. Fifteen of the first 16 races saw a drop in ratings (excluding three races that were either delayed a day or moved from network to cable because of rain).

Despite no longer being made public, NASCAR Sprint Cup attendance continues to decline. Wide swaths of empty seats have been visible at several tracks. Dover International Speedway's CEO apologized in the pre-race drivers' meeting for the lack of spectators prior to the June 1 event. Venues such as Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway have combated this by removing seats. Daytona has gone so far as to remove a whole section of grandstands.

Now think about the record television deal that kicks in next season. One which FOX and NBC will pay a combined $8.2 billion to broadcast Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races for the next 10 years and you have to think the brass at Fox and NBC must be kicking themselves for bidding so high for a sport in decline.