TV News: Weekend USA TV Ratings (Update)
Here is the updated rating data table with the missing data earlier.
| Network | Event | Location | Total Viewers |
18-49 Viewers |
Ratio: 18-49 Yr Old/ Total Viewers |
2023 Rating |
2022 Rating |
Rating % Chg. |
2022 Network |
2022 Viewers |
2022 18-49 Viewers |
Total Viewers % Chg |
18-49 Viewers % Chg |
| USA | NASCAR Cup race | Richmond | 2,430,000 | 438,000 | 18% | 1.41 | 1.45 | -2.76% | USA | 2,390,000 | 472,000 | 1.67% | -7.20% |
| NBC | NASCAR Xfinity race | Road America | 1,566,000 | 260,000 | 17% | 0.90 | 0.57 | 57.89% | USA | 914,000 | 159,000 | 71.33% | 63.52% |
| ESPN | F1 Belgian GP | Spa | 1,170,000 | 492,000 | 42% | 0.64 | 0.57 | 12.28% | ESPN2 | 1,045,000 | 477,000 | 11.96% | 3.14% |
| ESPN2 | F1 Sprint race | Spa | 555,000 | 240,000 | 43% | 0.41 | No Sprint Race at Spa last year | ||||||
| FOX | NHRA Finals | Sonoma | 528,000 | 65,000 | 12% | 0.40 | 0.43 | -6.98% | FOX | 676,000 | 80,000 | -21.89% | -18.75% |
| FS1 | NASCAR Truck Race | Richmond | 462,000 | 65,000 | 14% | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.00% | FS1 | 521,000 | 105,000 | -11.32% | -38.10% |
| ESPN2 | F1 Qualifying | Spa | 405,000 | 160,000 | 40% | 0.24 | 0.32 | -25.00% | ESPN2 | 579,000 | 249,000 | -30.05% | -35.74% |
| ESPN | SRX Series Race | Radford VA | 391,000 | 130,000 | 33% | 0.20 | No race in Radford VA. last year | ||||||
August 1, 2023
USA motorsports TV Rating data from this past weekend’s races for NASCAR, F1 and NHRA. Some of the data is missing and will be updated later.
-by Mark Cipolloni–
Rating Analysis
NASCAR
The USA Network got a 1.41 rating and 2.430 million viewers for Sunday’s NASCAR race at Richmond, slightly down in rating and slightly up in viewership from a 1.45 rating + 2.390 million viewers from last year’s comparable event, which was in mid August.
Formula 1
ESPN got 1.170 million viewers for the Belgian GP Formula 1 race Sunday morning, up 12% from 1.045 million viewers in 2022.
It was the largest USA Television audience on record for the event.
Once again, F1 gets a healthy 42% of its viewers in the all-important 18-49 year old group, leaving all other forms of motorsports sucking its exhaust fumes.
Saturday’s Sprint on ESPN attracted 555K viewers at 10:25 a.m. ET.
Friday’s qualifying averaged 405K viewers between 10:54 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. ET.
The 2023 season has had three of the four largest live audiences in history on U.S. television:
- Miami 1.96 million
- Monaco 1.79 million
- Canada 1.76 million
Five races this year have set event viewership records (Saudi Arabia, Monaco, Canada, Austria, Belgium).
All but two races this year have averaged more than 1 million viewers:
- Australia (aired in overnight hours) – 556K
- Azerbaijan – 959K
Through 12 races, the 2023 F1 season is averaging 1.24 million viewers per race across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC
How much have F1 audiences grown? In 2018, the first year the Championship returned to ESPN platforms, F1 races averaged 554K.
NHRA
TBD – Not out yet
TV Rating Data
| Network | Event | Location | Total Viewers |
18-49 Viewers |
Ratio: 18-49 Yr Old/ Total Viewers |
2023 Rating |
2022 Rating |
Rating % Chg. |
2022 Network |
2022 Viewers |
2022 18-49 Viewers |
Total Viewers % Chg |
18-49 Viewers % Chg |
| USA | NASCAR Cup race | Richmond | 2,430,000 | 438,000 | 18% | 1.41 | 1.45 | -2.76% | USA | 2,390,000 | 472,000 | 1.67% | -7.20% |
| ESPN | F1 Belgian GP | Spa | 1,170,000 | 492,000 | 42% | 0.64 | 0.57 | 12.28% | ESPN2 | 1,045,000 | 477,000 | 11.96% | 3.14% |
| USA | NASCAR Xfinity race | Road America | No Data Yet | 0.57 | USA | 914,000 | 159,000 | ||||||
| ESPN2 | F1 Sprint race | Spa | 555,000 | 240,000 | 43% | 0.55 | No Sprint Race in 2022 | ||||||
| ESPN2 | F1 Qualifying | Spa | 405,000 | 162,000 | 40% | 0.40 | 0.32 | 25.00% | ESPN2 | 579,000 | 249,000 | -30.05% | -34.94% |
| FOX | NHRA Finals | Sonoma | No Data Yet | 0.43 | FOX | 676,000 | 80,000 | ||||||