NASCAR ratings are not recovering quite yet.
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Atlanta scored a 3.8 final rating and 6.6 million viewers on FOX Sunday afternoon, down 7% in ratings and 3% in viewership from last year (4.1, 6.8M) and down 32% and 31% respectively from 2015 (5.6, 9.5M).
The 3.8 rating is the lowest for NASCAR’s second race of the season since at least 1998, falling below the previous mark of 3.9 for Rockingham on TNN in 2000. Ratings were as high as 6.7 just a decade ago, and that was below the previous two years.
Brad Keselowski‘s win also delivered the smallest audience for the post-Daytona race since at least 2001 (viewership prior to 2002 was not available). Viewership once routinely topped the ten million mark, including 11.7 million ten years ago.
Sunday’s race also delivered the lowest rating and viewership for NASCAR from Atlanta since 2014, the last time it took place on Labor Day weekend (3.2, 5.2M).
After opening last season with unusually low numbers for Daytona and Atlanta, this season is off to an even worse start in the ratings (though viewership is up slightly).
Despite the lower numbers, NASCAR on FOX was the top sports program of the weekend, ranking well ahead of the Duke-North Carolina college basketball game (2.4, 4.1M).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 3.7)
