The possibility of a Triple Crown winner helped viewership for The Belmont Stakes soar to a near-record high.
The race portion of The Belmont Stakes earned a 12.0 rating and 20.6 million viewers on NBC Saturday evening, according to Nielsen fast-nationals — up 167% in ratings and 194% in viewership from last year (4.5, 7.0M), up 150% and 168%, respectively, from 2012 (4.8, 7.7M), and the second-largest audience on record (dates back to 1988). The only race to earn a larger audience was the 2004 Belmont Stakes (13.1, 21.9M).
The last time the Belmont featured the possibility of a Triple Crown, the race drew a comparably pedestrian 8.2 and 13.1 million on ABC. Overall, Saturday’s race ranks as the second-most watched Triple Crown race ever on NBC (37 telecasts dating back to 2001). The network’s top Kentucky Derby telecast, by comparison, had 16.5 million viewers.
Among adults 18-49, Saturday’s race drew a 4.0 rating — frankly low considering the massive overall audience, but tied as the second-highest since 1988.
The race portion of the Belmont ranks among the top sporting events of the past year (June 2013-June 2014). Excluding the NFL and the Olympics, it trailed only the NCAA men’s basketball title game in April (12.4, 21.2M), the BCS National Championship Game in January (14.8, 26.1M), and Game 7 of last year’s NBA Finals (15.3, 26.3M)
Locally, Louisville was the top market for Saturday’s race with a 21.1 rating. Ft. Myers (FL), West Palm Beach (FL) and Sacramento tied for second (19.2) and Baltimore rounded out the top five with a 17.3. In host market New York, the race drew a 15.8 rating — the second-highest on record, and well ahead of the Rangers Stanley Cup Final game that followed (10.5).
(Sat. numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box)
