Will NBC Be Able To Boost Record-Low Indy 500 TV Viewership?

The last time the Indy 500 drew over 10 million TV viewers was in 1995 when CART was IndyCar. This man, Tony George, destroyed it all and now the family's prize possession, the Indy 500, continues to plummet in popularity.

Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 was easily the race’s least-viewed telecast on record, with ABC drawing 4.91 million viewers for its last broadcast of the race. Will Power’s win was down from the 5.27 million viewers that saw Takuma Sato’s victory, which was the previous low.

The 100th running of the race in ’16, which and saw the telecast air live in the Indianapolis TV market for the first time since ’50, drew 6.0 million viewers.

The last time the Indy 500 topped 10 million viewers was in ’95, the last year before the IRL-Champ Car split (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).

In Indianapolis, Jim Ayello writes he is "stumped" that the audience levels for the Indy 500 "continue to plummet."

Ayello: "I know motor sports don't occupy the same place in as many hearts as they used to, but … this is a bit mind-boggling."

There is "no spinning" the all-time low audience, which "has to be a huge disappointment for IndyCar and IMS, which are now counting on NBC to reverse a troubling trend."

NBC takes over next year as the rights holder for the Indy 500. INDIANAPOLIS STAR