TV News: Weekend USA TV Ratings, NASCAR tanks, F1 booms (Update)

Some additional data on the Belgian GP TV Rating:

  • ESPN2’s telecast of the Belgian GP drew the race’s largest U.S. TV audience ever
  • 1.05 million viewers avg, peaking at 1.3 million
  • 2022 F1 season averaging 1.3 million viewers per race – up 33% over 2021 (949K Users)
  • Up next, the Dutch GP this coming Sunday at 8:55am ET on ESPN

August 30, 2022 

TV Rating Analysis

NASCAR Cup: The rain delayed NASCAR Cup Coke Zero 400 on CNBC Sunday from Daytona was watched by 1.406 million viewers and a rating of 0.88. The viewership is down 64.21% from last year on NBC and the TV rating was down 60.89% from a 2.25 in 2021. The ratio of 18-49 year old viewers to total viewers was 20%, as it is week-in-and-week-out, indicating 80% of NASCAR viewers are old and not what advertisers and sponsors are after.

Formula 1: The Formula 1 Belgian GP from Spa on ESPN2 Sunday morning drew 1.045 million viewers and a 0.57 TV rating. The viewership was up 64.05% from 637,000 in 2021, also on ESPN2.  The TV rating was up 46.15% from a 0.39 last year.  Most important: 46% of F1 TV viewers are in the all-important 18-49 year old range, which is precisely what advertisers and sponsors are after. Globally, the race was watched by about 75 million viewers, dwarfing all other forms of motorsports in the world.

NASCAR Xfinity: The NASCAR Xfinity Race from Daytona on the USA Network drew just 0.571 million viewers and a 0.37 TV Rating, both numbers down about 14% from last year’s race on NBCSN

Weekend Ratings

Network Event Location Total Viewers 18-49 Viewers Ratio:
18-49 Yr Old/
Total Viewers
2022 Rating 2021 Rating Rating % Chg. 2021 Network 2021 Viewers 2021 18-49 Viewers Viewers % Chg
CNBC NASCAR Cup Race L Daytona 1,406,000 284,000 20% 0.88 2.25 -60.89% NBCSN 3,928,000 779,000 -64.21%
ESPN2 F1 Belgian GP L Spa 1,045,000 477,000 46% 0.57 0.39 46.15% ESPN2   637,000 287,000 64.05%
USA NASCAR Xfinity Race L Daytona 571,000 144,000 25% 0.37 0.43 -13.95% NBCSN   670,000 128,000 -14.78%