A cure for what ails NASCAR ratings — moving the races from cable to broadcast television.
The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs from Talladega (Ala.) earned a 2.8 rating and 4.7 million viewers on NBC, up 27% in ratings and 32% in viewership from last year (2.2, 3.6M) and up 8% and 11% respectively from 2015 (2.6, 4.2M), both of which aired on NBCSN.
Brad Keselowski‘s win was the highest rated and most-watched fall Talladega race since it last aired on ESPN three years ago (3.0, 4.8M).
Relative to this season, it was the top race since the Brickyard 400 on NBC (3.4, 5.6M). Streaming viewership boosted the numbers only slightly, from 4.73 to 4.74 million.
Talladega was just the third Cup Series race all season to post an increase in ratings, joining the aforementioned Brickyard 400 and Bristol Night Race. All three races moved up the dial from NBCSN last year to the NBC broadcast network.
It was the fifth race to post an increase in viewership, joining the Brickyard, Bristol, Texas and the Daytona 500.
The 12 most-watched races this season have aired on broadcast television, no small feat given there have only been 13 races on broadcast thus far.
The last time the Talladega race aired on broadcast television — 2009 on ABC — it had a 4.1 and 6.6 million. This year’s race was the third-lowest rated at Talladega since at least 1998 and the third-least watched since at least 2001.
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 10.17]
