Ratings and viewership were the lowest in more than a decade for NASCAR from Talladega.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Talladega, the sixth race in the Chase for the Cup, earned a 3.0 final rating and 4.8 million viewers on ESPN Sunday — down 3% in ratings and viewership from last year (3.1, 4.9M) and down 6% and 7%, respectively, from 2012 (3.2, 5.1M). Nielsen originally reported that the race had a 2.7 and 4.3 million, before issuing a correction nearly four weeks later.
Even with the correction, this year marked the lowest rated edition of the fall Talladega race since at least 2000 and the least-viewed since at least 2001. Both Talladega races this season hit at least a ten-year low in ratings and/or viewership, with the spring race on FOX the lowest rated since at least 1997 and the least-viewed since at least 2001.
Several other races this season also hit at least a ten-year low in one or both measures, including the Daytona 500, Martinsville, Darlington, Richmond, Dover, Michigan, Loudon, Atlanta, Richmond (again), Chicago and Kansas. Overall, 23 of the 28 NASCAR races that can be compared to last year have had declines in ratings and 22 have had declines in viewership.
Despite the multi-year low, Sunday’s race was still the highest rated and most-watched of this year’s Chase on ESPN.
UPDATE 11/15: The post has been edited to include the corrected numbers from Nielsen.
(Sun. numbers from ESPN)
