Formula 1 Hot News

Formula 1 Season Smashes U.S. Television Viewership Records

Posted by AR1 staff
  • Season Race Audience Average of 1.21 Million Up 28 Percent Over Record Set in 2021
  • Twelve of 22 Races Set U.S. Television Event Viewership Records
  • More Female and Younger Viewers Tune In for F1 Races Than Ever Before

As television viewership records fell by the wayside all year, the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship season has ended as the most-viewed ever on U.S. television, smashing a record that was set just one year ago.

The season averaged 1.21 million viewers per race across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, a 28 percent increase over the previous U.S. television record of 949,000 average viewers that was set in 2021. The 2022 season also became the first in U.S. television history to average 1 million or more viewers per race.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB18 leads Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Ferrari F1-75 and the rest of the field on lap one during the F1 Grand Prix of The Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on September 04, 2022 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

In addition, more female and younger viewers watched F1 races on U.S. television than ever before.

The 22-race season ended Sunday in Abu Dhabi with Max Verstappen winning his second consecutive World Championship.

The season included a record 2.583 million average viewers for the new Miami Grand Prix, setting the mark for the most-viewed live F1 telecast ever in the U.S.

Including Miami, there were 12 races that set all-time event viewership records:

  • Bahrain – 1.353 million average viewers
  • Saudi Arabia – 1.445 million
  • Miami (new event) – 2.583 million
  • Spanish – 1.146 million (largest live version)
  • British – 1.239 million
  • Austrian – 1.066 million
  • Hungarian – 1.249 million
  • Belgian – 1.047 million
  • Dutch – 1.148 million
  • Italian – 995K (largest live version)
  • Singapore – 1.036 million
  • Brazilian – 1.401 million (largest live version)

Other superlatives from the season:

  • The Monaco (1.396 million) and Emilia Romagna (1.166 million) races had their largest live cable audiences on record.
  • Seventeen races drew more than 1 million average viewers.
  • The season averaged 521,000 viewers per race in the Persons ages 18-49 demographic, an increase of 29 percent over 2021 (402K viewers).
  • Younger viewers were up significantly in 2022 – Persons ages 12-17 were up 49 percent over 2021, averaging 36,000 viewers per race, the largest year-over-year growth across all key demographics. Persons ages 18-34 averaged 238K viewers per race, up 43 percent over 2021, and Persons ages 25-34 averaged 169K viewers per race, up 46 percent over 2021.
  • Women averaged 352K viewers per race, up 34 percent over 2021, and averaged 28 percent of the 2022 audience.
  • F1 qualifying sessions on ESPN television platforms in 2022 averaged 554K viewers, up 17 percent over the 2021 full-season qualifying average (475K viewers).

The rain-plagued Japanese Grand Prix is not included in the overall viewership average for the season.

The Walt Disney Company, ESPN and Formula 1 recently announced an extension of their relationship with a new, multi-year contract that will keep F1 races on ESPN platforms in the U.S. through the 2025 season.

F1 returned to its original U.S. television home in 2018 – the first race ever aired in the country was on ABC in 1962. F1 races also aired on ESPN from 1984-1997.