Indy 500 TV rating down 7.3% but beats NASCAR (3rd Update)
The rating and viewership were down 7.3% from last year’s 4.1 rating and 6.394 million average viewers
With the race sold out and the traditional local television blackout lifted, the race aired live in Indianapolis for the first time since 1950 and viewers responded with a 33.6 local rating, adding two-tenths of a ratings point to the national rating. Last year’s race aired locally on delay at 7 p.m. and earned a 12.9 rating, still the nation’s largest among metered markets.
Milwaukee had the second-largest rating among local markets with an 8.4, followed by Dayton, Ohio, at 7.6, Cincinnati at 7.2 and Knoxville, Tenn., at 6.6. Rounding out the top 10 metered markets were Fort Myers/Naples, Fla., at 5.9, Seattle/Tacoma at 5.8, Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C., and Louisville, Ky., at 5.7 and Columbus, Ohio, at 5.6.
The Indy 500 telecast also was streaming live on WatchESPN for the first time and had an average minute audience of 23,000 and 5.3 million total minutes viewed. ABC PR
05/30/16 Massive gains in Indianapolis could not keep Indy 500 overnights from declining.
The 2016 Indianapolis 500 earned a 4.1 overnight rating on ABC Sunday afternoon, down 5% from last year (4.3) and even with 2014. The 4.1 is tied as the third-lowest for the race since it began airing live in 1986.
Alexander Rossi‘s win peaked at a 4.8 from 3:15-3:30 PM ET.
The decline in overnights came despite a dramatic increase in Indianapolis, where the race aired live for the first time in 66 years. The market delivered a 33.6 rating, up 161% from last year (12.9) and up 171% from 2014 (12.4), when coverage was tape delayed until primetime.
05/30/16 The 'metered market' rating for the Indy 500 on ABC was a 4.1, down 5% from the 4.3 'metered market' rating in 2015.
Rating peaked at 4.8 from 3:15-3:30 pm at the finish of the race.
Indianapolis, which was airing the race live in-market for the first time since 1950, led all metered markets with a 33.6 rating. Last year's delayed telecast in Indy had a 12.9 rating.
As always, please remember this is metered market/overnight only. We will have a fast national number (i.e. the official national overnight rating) and full report including numbers from WatchESPN on Tuesday. ABC PR
05/30/16 The national overnight TV rating should be out today and we will bring it to you. Overnight local Indianapolis TV market LIVE Indy 500 TV ratings are in: A 33.4 rating with roughly 64% of those watching TV tuned to rtv6. The race was always blacked out live in the Indianapolis area. 7pm re-air was 12.7 last year so as expected a big bump up this year because it was live.