TV News: Weekend TV Ratings (2nd Update)
We now have the viewership number for the rain delayed Nashville IndyCar race. This year’s race drew 121,000 viewers on CNBC, down 89.92% from last year’s 1.2 million on NBCSN. The number of young people (18-49 years old) watching the race was 20%, like NASCAR indicating an aging out fan base.
No word on how many people streamed the race on Peacock. But if Peacock refuses to publish that number, it’s likely horrible and, in either case, useless to a potential sponsor if it’s invisible.
The horrible rating was not helped by the fact the pace car driver Oriol Servia led the most laps because the IndyCar drivers kept crashing. Fans were so bored the race dragged on, they likely switched off the TV.
Weekend TV Ratings
| Network | Event | Location | Total Viewers | 18-49 Viewers | Ratio: 18-49 Yr Old/Total Viewers | 2022 Rating | 2021 Rating | % Chg. | 2021 Network | 2021 Viewers | 2021 18-49 Viewers | % Chg |
| USA | NASCAR Cup Race L | Michigan | 2,621,000 | 513,000 | 20% | 1.54 | 1.49 | +3.36% | NBCSN | 2,505,000 | 503,000 | +4.63% |
| USA | NASCAR Xfinity Race L | Michigan | 1,002,000 | 195,000 | 19% | 0.62 | 0.55 | +2.73% | NBCSN | 925,000 | 168,000 | +8.32% |
| USA | IMSA Weathertech Race L | Road America | 266,000 | 62,000 | 23% | 0.18 | 0.13 | +29.50% | NBCSN | 207,000 | 64,000 | +28.50% |
| NBC/CNBC | IndyCar Race L | Nashville | 121,000 | 24,000 | 20% | 0.09 | 0.68 | -86.76% | NBCSN | 1,200,000 | 288,000 | -89.92% |
August 9, 2022
We have some information on the IndyCar TV rating from Nashville, and it’s likely indicative of how the national rating performed.
The Nashville market delivered a 3.0 ‘local’ television rating on NBC for the 2022 IndyCar Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Sunday.
That means 33,633 Nashville households turned in, down 46.4% from the 5.6 (62,782 households) the inaugural race earned in 2021.
It’s likely the national rating was down a similar percentage on NBC, and when the race switched to CNBC the rating likely dropped 75% or more from 2021.
August 9, 2022
TV Rating Analysis
NASCAR: The NASCAR Cup race at Michigan on the USA Network drew 2.621 million viewers and a 1.54 rating, up 4.63% from last year’s 2.505 million viewers, and a 1.49 rating on NBCSN. The Ratio of young people to total viewers was just 20%, continuing NASCAR’s aging out population.
The NASCAR Xfinity race at Michigan on the USA Network drew 1.002 million viewers and a 0.62 rating, up 8.32% from last year’s 925K viewers, and a 0.55 rating on NBCSN.
IMSA: The IMSA Weathertech race at Road America on the USA Network drew just 266,000 viewers and a 0.18 rating, up 28.5% from last year’s 207,000 viewers and a 0.13 rating on NBCSN. Although up 28.5% from last year, the numbers are still horribly low as IMSA remains but a very small blip on the American public’s radar.
IndyCar: The rain delayed Nashville IndyCar race on NBC that switched to CNBC halfway thru the event must have scored very low numbers as our source did not report anything for the race. Last year’s inaugural Nashville race drew a fantastic 1.2 million viewers, but that numbers is likely to be down significantly this year.
Weekend TV Ratings
| Network | Event | Location | Total Viewers | 18-49 Viewers | Ratio: 18-49 Yr Old/Total Viewers | 2022 Rating | 2021 Rating | % Chg. | 2021 Network | 2021 Viewers | 2021 18-49 Viewers | % Chg |
| USA | NASCAR Cup Race L | Michigan | 2,621,000 | 513,000 | 20% | 1.54 | 1.49 | 3.36% | NBCSN | 2,505,000 | 503,000 | 4.63% |
| USA | NASCAR Xfinity Race L | Michigan | 1,002,000 | 195,000 | 19% | 0.62 | 0.55 | 12.73% | NBCSN | 925,000 | 168,000 | 8.32% |
| USA | IMSA Weathertech Race L | Road America | 266,000 | 62,000 | 23% | 0.18 | 0.13 | 29.50% | NBCSN | 207,000 | 64,000 | 28.50% |
| NBC/CNBC | IndyCar Race L | Nashville | Not Available | – | – | – | 0.68 | – | NBCSN | 1,200,000 | 288,000 | – |