Sprint Cup: TNT Opens ‘Summer Series’ With Slight Bump

Posted by | 06/12/2012 at 7:56 pm

The first NASCAR race of the season on TNT had a modest increase over last year.

Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Pocono 400 drew a 3.2 U.S. rating and 5.257 million viewers on TNT Sunday afternoon, up 3% in ratings* and 2% in viewership from last year (3.1, 5.175M), and up 3% in both measures compared to 2010 (3.1, 5.097M).

This marks the most-viewed edition of the race in three years (5.480M). In addition, this is just the third time this season that any NASCAR Sprint Cup race has had an increase in ratings or viewership compared to last year.

The Pocono 400 continues to trail the pace set in the early 2000s, when the race aired on FOX. From 2002-06, the Pocono 400 earned at least 7.7 million viewers each year. Since TNT began airing the race in 2007, viewership has topped six million viewers just once — and then only barely (6.098M in 2008).

For the week, the Pocono 400 ranked as the ninth-most viewed program on cable — trailing only five NBA playoff games, a post-NBA edition of ‘SportsCenter’ on ESPN, ‘Rizzoli and Isles’ on TNT, and a reality show on History.

Ratings/Viewership For Pocono 400
Past decade

Year Date Winner Net Rating Viewers
2012 Sun., 6/10/12 Gordon
TNT
3.2
5,257
2011 Sun., 6/12/11 Logano
TNT
3.1
5,175
2010 Sun., 6/6/10 Hamlin
TNT
3.1
5,097
2009 Sun., 6/7/09 Stewart
TNT
3.4
5,480
2008 Sun., 6/8/08 Kahne
TNT
3.9
6,098
2007 Sun., 6/10/07 Gordon
TNT
3.0
4,968
2006 Sun., 6/11/06 Hamlin
FOX
5.2
8,178
2005 Sun., 6/12/05 Edwards
FOX
5.6
8,644
2004 Sun., 6/13/04 Johnson
FOX
5.2
8,317
2003 Sun., 6/8/03 Stewart
FOX
5.3
7,744
2002 Sun., 6/9/02 Jarrett
FOX
5.1
7,961

* Turner Sports said in a press release that the 3.2 rating for Sunday’s race marks a 3% increase from last year. However, Turner reported last year that the Pocono race drew a 3.2, meaning this year’s race should be even.

(Sunday’s numbers from TV By the Numbers; Turner Sports press release via The Futon Critic)

# # #