NASCAR’s marquee Memorial Day weekend race hit new lows in ratings and viewership.
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Charlotte earned a 2.8 final rating and 4.6 million viewers on FOX Sunday evening, down 18% in ratings and 19% in viewership from last year (3.4, 5.7M) and down 26% and 28% respectively from 2015 (3.8, 6.4M). The race was delayed 100 minutes due to rain and finished after Midnight ET.
Keeping that caveat in mind, Austin Dillon‘s win was the lowest rated Coca-Cola 600 since at least 1996 and the least-watched since at least 2000. Ratings and viewership for the race have declined in six straight seasons, falling more-than-a-third since 2011 (4.5, 8.1M).
Excluding the rainout at Bristol, nine of the 11 Cup Series races this year have declined, with eight hitting multi-year lows. Including non-points events — the All-Star Race and Daytona qualifying (“The Clash” was rained out) — 12 of 14 telecasts have declined and 11 have hit multi-year lows.
Sunday’s race delivered the third-lowest Cup Series rating ever on FOX, ahead of only Texas both this year and last (2.7). Four of the network’s eight lowest rated races have come this season. For the first time ever, none of the post-Daytona races on FOX managed a 4.0 rating.
The Coca-Cola 600 trailed the day’s Indianapolis 500 by 18% in ratings and 15% in viewership, its largest deficit against the IndyCar race since 2000. It tied the Indy 500 in adults 18-49 (0.9).
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 5.31]
