NASCAR Charlotte TV Ratings (Update)
NASCAR and their broadcast partners do a much better job of letting fans know when the races will be telecast than IndyCar. Additionally, there are very few breaks during the NASCAR season, so fans know that every weekend, there is usually a NASCAR race on TV. There are no 3-4 week breaks between events, so the sport is always in the front of the minds of the racing fans, and is also in the sports pages every week.
We know IndyCar is trying to end its season by Labor Day so it doesn't have to compete for TV viewers that start to watch football. Other than the NFL, NASCAR doesn't seem to have any problems with people watching its races, as they best most other sports on TV every week. If you have a product that people are passionate about, and they can find it on TV, the fans will watch it.
From: Stirling Apex
Television Viewership
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on ABC
- An average of 5.6 million viewers tuned in to this year’s Charlotte event on ABC, +9 percent over 2012. Up +24 percent among kids 2-17; up +3 percent among adults 18-34; up +11 percent among females.
- Most-viewed Charlotte race on ABC since 2008.
- Most-viewed non-Miami Chase event in the last three years (2010-2013).
- Among the top 10 sporting events of the weekend.
- No. 1 sporting event of the week on ABC (10/7 – 10/13).
- Outperformed all college football games of the weekend on television.
- Through 31 events, an average of 6.0 million viewers have tuned in to each NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event.
-Up +6 percent YTD among adults 25-34.
-Four out of five Chase events have experienced year-over-year viewership increases.
-19 of 31 event weekends, NASCAR has delivered ratings equal to or greater than last year.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on ESPN2
- An average of 1.3 million viewers tuned in to this year’s Charlotte event on ESPN2 – Up +6 percent among adults 18-34.
- Among the top 10 sporting events of the weekend on cable.
- No. 2 program of the week on ESPN2 (10/7 – 10/13).
- Dominant No. 2 motorsport event of the weekend.
- Through 30 events, the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) is averaging 1.8 million viewers tuned in per event.
- 16 of 26 event weekends, NNS events ranked among the top five sporting events of the weekend on cable.
- 28 of 30 event weekends, NNS events ranked among the top two motorsports of the weekend on television.
10/15/13 For the fourth consecutive week in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, TV ratings and viewership grew over last year.
ABC’s live telecast of the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night, Oct. 12, earned a 3.4 U.S. household rating, averaging 5,560,141 viewers, according to Nielsen Media. The rating and viewership were the highest of the five races that have been run so far in the Chase and exceeded last year’s 3.2 rating and average viewership of 5,095,231.
All four races in the Chase that have been run and telecast as scheduled have seen ratings and viewership growth over the same events in 2012. The opening race at Chicagoland Speedway was rain-delayed.
Greensboro, N.C., led all metered markets across the country with a 10.0 rating for the Charlotte race, with Greenville, S.C., second in the nation at a 9.4 rating. Charlotte was third with an 8.1 rating while Richmond, Va., and Knoxville, Tenn., completed the top five with matching 6.8 ratings.
Rounding out the top 10 markets were Norfolk, Va., (6.4), Raleigh-Durham, N.C., (6.3), Orlando (6.0), Indianapolis (5.9) and Tulsa (5.8).
ESPN2’s live telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Charlotte on Friday night, Oct. 11, earned a 0.8 rating, averaging 1,302,324 viewers. Last year’s race earned a 1.0 rating with 1,525,790 viewers.