For all the hype, Danica Patrick‘s pole qualifying victory at Daytona actually hit a three-year low in viewership.
FOX earned a 2.0 final rating and 3.1 million viewers for Daytona 500 Pole Qualifying last Sunday afternoon, flat in ratings and down 4% in viewership from last year (2.0, 3.2M), and flat and down 6%, respectively, from 2011 (2.0, 3.3M).
This marks the least-viewed Daytona 500 qualifying telecast since 2010 (2.4M), and the second-least viewed since at least 2001 (viewership prior to 2002 was not available).
As recently as 2008, Daytona qualifying earned 4.4 million viewers on FOX.
On Saturday night, the Sprint Unlimited (the Budweiser Shootout) earned a 3.5 final rating and 5.7 million viewers — down 17% in ratings and 23% in viewership from last year (4.2, 7.5M), and down 22% and 27%, respectively, from 2011 (4.5, 7.8M).
The telecast ranks as the lowest rated and least-viewed edition of the event since 2002 (3.4, 5.4M). This year’s telecast was the first to air opposite the NBA’s All-Star Saturday Night since 2003.
Ratings/Viewership For Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500 Qualifying
Dating back to 2002
| Year | Budweiser Shootout | Daytona Qualifying | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net | Rating | Viewers | Net | Rating | Viewers | |
| 2013 | FOX |
3.5
|
5.7M
|
FOX |
2.0
|
3.1M
|
| 2012 | FOX |
4.2
|
7.5M
|
FOX |
2.0
|
3.2M
|
| 2011 | FOX |
4.5
|
7.8M
|
FOX |
2.0
|
3.3M
|
|
2010
|
FOX |
4.4
|
8.2M
|
FOX
|
1.6
|
2.4M
|
| 2009 | FOX |
4.9
|
8.3M
|
FOX
|
2.4
|
3.6M
|
| 2008 | FOX |
5.1
|
8.5M
|
FOX
|
2.9
|
4.4M
|
| 2007 | FOX |
4.8
|
8.4M
|
FOX
|
2.8
|
4.4M
|
| 2006 | TNT |
3.7
|
6.2M
|
NBC
|
3.9
|
5.6M
|
| 2005 | FOX |
5.3
|
9.5M
|
FOX
|
2.9
|
4.5M
|
| 2004 | TNT |
3.6
|
6.6M
|
NBC
|
3.3
|
5.1M
|
| 2003 | FOX |
5.5
|
9.5M
|
FOX
|
2.1
|
3.2M
|
| 2002 | TNT |
3.4
|
5.4M
|
NBC
|
2.9
|
4.1M
|
(This year’s numbers from Sports Business Daily)
