The Coca-Cola 600 narrowly avoided a fourteen-year low in ratings and viewership.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte earned a 4.1 final rating and just under 7.0 million viewers on FOX Sunday evening, down 5% in ratings and 2% in viewership from last year (4.3, 7.1M), and down 7% and 6%, respectively, from 2012 (4.4, 7.4M).
Ratings and viewership were the second-lowest for the Coca-Cola 600 since it moved to FOX in 2001, ahead of only 2010 (4.0, 6.6M). This year’s race was also the third-straight Coca-Cola 600 to have a decline from the previous year.
Excluding two rainouts, every NASCAR Sprint Cup race this season has had a decline in ratings compared to last year, and all-but-one has had a decline in viewership. While most of the declines have been by less than ten percent, most of the races have also hit multi-year lows.
Despite the lower numbers, the Coca-Cola 600 finished comfortably ahead of the Indianapolis 500 on ABC (3.8, 5.9M). The race has earned a larger audience than the Indy 500 every year since FOX acquired rights (excluding 2009, when coverage was postponed to Monday).
In addition, the race outdrew competing coverage of the Spurs/Thunder NBA Western Conference Finals on TNT (6.7M). According to a FOX press release, the race was the top sporting event of the weekend — though it was not immediately clear whether that included sporting events on Memorial Day.
(Sun. numbers from Bloomberg/TV By the Numbers)
