NBC galloped to the highest rated, most viewed Kentucky Derby in well over a decade.
The race segment of the 2009 Kentucky Derby drew a 9.8/22 final rating and 16.3 million viewers on NBC last Saturday, up 11% in ratings and 15% in viewership from an 8.8/21 and 14.2 million for last year’s Derby.
The 9.8 rating is the highest for the Kentucky Derby since 1992 (10.3/30), and the 16.3 million viewers is the most for the event since 1989 (18.5 million).
To put the numbers in perspective, the race segment of the Kentucky Derby drew a higher rating than all but two games of last year’s NBA Finals, every game of last year’s World Series, the Daytona 500 and the final round of The Masters.
Since 2000, ratings and viewership for the Kentucky Derby have grown by 48% and 51%, respectively.
Ratings/viewership for the race segment of the Kentucky Derby since 2000.
| Year | Date | Winner | Net | Rating | Viewership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Sat., 5/2/09 | Mine That Bird | NBC | ||
| 2008 | Sat., 5/3/09 | Big Brown | NBC | ||
| 2007 | Sat., 5/5/07 | Street Sense | NBC | ||
| 2006 | Sat., 5/6/06 | Barbaro | NBC | ||
| 2005 | Sat., 5/7/05 | Giacamo | NBC | ||
| 2004 | Sat., 5/1/04 | Smarty Jones | NBC | ||
| 2003 | Sat., 5/3/03 | Funny Cide | NBC | ||
| 2002 | Sat., 5/4/02 | War Emblem | NBC | ||
| 2001 | Sat., 5/5/01 | Monarchos | NBC | ||
| 2000 | Sat., 5/6/00 | Fusaichi Pegasus | ABC |
