Weekend TV Ratings (2nd Update)
Sunday’s race (2:40-4:46 p.m. ET) was the most-watched IndyCar race on cable since 2008 (ESPN, Richmond, 947,000). Viewership peaked in the 3-3:15 p.m. ET quarter hour with more than 1.3 million viewers (1.326 million). Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud took the checkered flag at Mid-Ohio on Sunday to increase his lead in the championship standings with his fourth win of the season.
Mid-Ohio was originally scheduled to air on CNBC, but when Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono was delayed due to weather, the race was also simulcast on NBCSN.
NBC Sports Group is on pace for its most-watched IndyCar season ever. Through seven races, the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series has averaged 505,000 viewers, up 28% vs. 2015 (394,000). Dating back to last season, nine of the last 13 races on NBCSN have averaged more than 500,000 viewers, more than the prior six seasons combined (five races).
Following are NBC Sports Group’s five most-watched IndyCar races:
|
Date |
Race |
Viewership |
Network |
|
July 31, 2016 |
Mid-Ohio |
929,000 |
NBCSN/CNBC |
|
August 30, 2015 |
Sonoma |
841,000 |
NBCSN |
|
August 2, 2015 |
Mid-Ohio |
666,000 |
NBCSN |
|
July 24, 2011 |
Edmonton |
642,000 |
CNBC |
|
August 23, 2015 |
Pocono |
635,000 |
NBCSN |
NBC Sports Group will continue its exclusive cable coverage of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series on Sunday, August 21, with live coverage of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN
08/02/16 UPDATE According to Cynopsis, the IndyCar Mid-Ohio race's simulcast on NBCSN and CNBC posted a 0.62 overnight rating, 0.55 for NBCSN (where it replaced the rained out NASCAR Pocono event) plus another 0.07 for CNBC (the channel it was supposed to be on) for a 0.62 total. Maybe they should do that every race – simulcast it on two channels and add the two together for a better rating. The 0.62 is the highest rating an IndyCar race ever got for NBCSN and its affiliate CNBC.
Not including Sunday, NBCSN has televised six IndyCar events this season and averaged 433,000 viewers per race. That average is a 16 percent increase from NBCSN's first six televised races of 2015.
08/02/16 The postponement of the NASCAR Pocono race to Monday due to rain helped the other series gain more viewers on Sunday afternoon, most notably IndyCar, which drew one of its highest number of viewers ever on NBCSN. The IndyCar race was supposed to be broadcast on CNBC but was moved to NBCSN when the NASCAR race rained out. So half the viewers IndyCar received were probably NASCAR fans tuning in looking for the NASCAR Pocono race.
| Station | Series | Day | Total Viewers |
18-49 Viewers |
% Viewers in 'Key Demo' 18-49* |
Rating | Location |
| NBCSN | NASCAR Rain Delay | Sun | 1,728K | 456K | 26.4% | 1.09 | Pocono |
| NBCSN | NASCAR Xfinity Race L | Sat | 1,053 | 258 | 24.5% | 0.64 | Iowa |
| FOX | NHRA Mello Yello Series | Sun | 998 | 259 | 26.0% | 0.65 | Toyota Sonoma Nationals |
| NBCSN | Indycar Series L | Sun | 811 | 232 | 28.6% | 0.55 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course |
| FS1 | NASCAR Truck Racing L | Sat | 775 | 139 | 17.9% | 0.51 | Pocono |
| NBCSN | F1 Racing L | Sun | 506 | 200 | 39.5% | 0.33 | Germany |
| NBCSN | NASCAR Sprint Cup Prac | Sat | 412 | 93 | 22.6% | 0.27 | Pocono |
| NBC | Global Rallycross | Sat | 366 | 120 | 32.8% | 0.27 | Washington DC |
| NBCSN | NASCAR Xfinity Qualify L | Sat | 346 | 64 | 18.5% | 0.24 | Iowa |
| NBCSN | NASCAR Sprint Cup Prac L | Sat | 320 | 49 | 15.3% | 0.22 | Pocono |
| NBCSN | F1 Racing (Replay) | Sun | 290 | 113 | 39.0% | 0.19 | Germany |
| NBCSN | F1 Qualifying | Sat | 247 | 84 | 34.0% | 0.16 | Germany |
| NBCSN | NASCAR Sprint Cup Prac | Sun | 181 | 46 | 25.5% | 0.12 | Pocono |
| FS1 | NASCAR Truck Racing (Replay) | Sun | 153 | 44 | 28.8% | 0.10 | Pocono |
*The key demographic is a term in television ratings that refers to the most desirable demographic group to a given advertiser. Key demographics vary by network, time of day, and programming type, but they are generally composed of individuals who are younger and more affluent than the general public: "Young adult viewers have been TV's target demographic for decades, because they're thought to have less brand loyalty and more disposable income.