It was either a soft year or a great year for Formula 1, depending on which numbers one cites.
The NBC Sports family of networks averaged 482,000 for Formula 1 racing this season (20 telecasts), down 7% from last year (521K) but up 5% from 2014 (457K). Despite the decline, it was still the second-most watched F1 season since at least 2011.
Figures do not include streaming viewership on NBCSports.com or the NBC Sports app, which averaged 12,000 viewers — up 187% from last year (4K) but not enough to close the overall gap.
While viewership was down overall, NBCSN averaged 429,000 for its 14 races — up 3% from last year (418K), up 11% from 2014 (385K) and the most-watched F1 season on a single cable network since ESPN averaged 755,000 in 1995. The previous high was set last season.
Last week’s season finale from Abu Dhabi had a 0.3 final rating and 429,000 viewers on NBCSN, up a tick in ratings and 36% in viewership from last year (0.2, 316K) and flat and down 9%, respectively, from 2014 (0.3, 473K). The race concluded a solid end to the season, as viewership increased for seven of the final ten races that could be compared to last year. That was a marked turnaround from the start of the season, in which six of the first eight races declined.
(Numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box 12/1, ShowBuzz Daily 11/30)
