IndyCar's Houston Doubleheader Up Big on NBCSN

Sprint Cup TV Ratings: Season-Low 2.3 Rating For Kentucky Race

Jon Lewis

Jon Lewis has been covering the sports media industry on a daily basis since 2006 as the founder and main writer of Sports Media Watch. You can contact him here or on the social media websites X (Twitter) or Bluesky.

The Penske file: Fox buys stake in IndyCar, extends rights deal

by Jon Lewis

11 months ago

Just one year into their new relationship, Fox and IndyCar are taking things to the next level.

May 25, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou (10) celebrates Sunday, May 25, 2025, after winning the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Christine Tannous-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Indy 500 draws shockingly well in FOX debut

by Jon Lewis

1 year ago

The Indy 500 soared to a 17-year high -- and past the seven million mark -- in its debut...

IndyCar up big in FOX debut; NASCAR still dominant despite dip

by Jon Lewis

1 year ago

IndyCar began its new FOX era with a big increase, but NASCAR still dominated weekend motorsports viewership despite a...

Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) drops to throw against Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker MJ Sherman (48) during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Ratings: Friday CFB, NASCAR Xfinity, IndyCar wrap

by Jon Lewis

2 years ago

Featuring an overtime matchup of ranked Big Ten schools, the second edition of "FOX College Football Friday" was a...

Comments 4

Robbie C says:

12 years ago

Good to see Indycar increasing its viewership, now just gotta get off of NBCSN and have NBC show some races instead of infomercials and rounds of golf, or law & order and other boring weekend programming.
- Forza360 says:
  
  12 years ago
  
  No doubt a positive for the IRL that the rating increased, but they’re still miniscule by most any standard. I think the main reason for the increase was that they faced almost no competition outside of some World Cup action. This is what they need to try to do from a scheduling standpoint…avoid competing against most all other sports programming. I don’t think NBCSN is the problem, they seem to get good ratings for NHL, EPL and Olympic broadcasts.
  - Robbie C says:
    
    12 years ago
    
    Anytime a race is on abc, ratings are easily 3 – 4 x higher, you get more eyes on channels like abc, nbc, cbs than NBCSN or these fringe sports networks.
    - Forza360 says:
      
      12 years ago
      
      No doubt, but the IRL is not any kind of a position (ratings wise) to have all of their races carried on a broadcast network unless they start doing time buys. That could happen I suppose, but I’m not sure they have the money to do something like that. I think they’re more likely to stay on a network like NBCSN with a smattering of races carried by the Indy 500 broadcast partner (currently ABC). With NASCAR coming to NBCSN, I could definitely see them trying to change networks as I don’t see how the IRL gets any attention there once that happens. Maybe to Fox Sports1 (formerly Speed)?