NASCAR scored a viewership bump for the first time since March.
Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Kansas earned a 1.2 rating and 2.18 million viewers on FS1, flat in ratings and up 7% in viewership from last year (1.2, 2.04M), but down 25% and 17% respectively from 2017 (1.6, 2.62M).
Brad Keselowski‘s win was the fifth Cup Series race this season to post an increase, topping last year’s full-season total of four.
It was the first race to increase since Texas on March 31, and the first race to increase without aid of a scheduling change since Fontana on March 17.
Even with the improved numbers, the race still tied its lowest rating ever and delivered its second-smallest audience (dates back to 2011). It was also the lowest rated and least-watched race of the season, which is not unusual for Kansas.
Head-to-head, NASCAR on FS1 earned a larger audience than Game 1 of the NHL Western Conference Final on over-the-air NBC (Blues-Sharks: 2.09M). The events had the same rating and Blues-Sharks cruised to victory in adults 18-49 (0.6 to 0.36).
Richmond, Va., led all markets Saturday night with a 4.6 rating, followed by North Carolina markets Greenville (4.5), Greensboro (4.2) and Charlotte (3.35). Indianapolis rounded out the top five at a 3.25.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 5.14]
