NASCAR scored its most-watched playoff opener in five years; Formula 1 continues to surge over previous years; Dodgers-Giants scored one of baseball’s better cable audiences this season.
NASCAR scores most-watched playoff opener since ’16
The NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener from Darlington (S.C.) averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.46 million viewers on NBCSN last Sunday evening, marking the largest audience of the first race of the playoffs since Chicagoland in 2016 (2.69M).
Denny Hamlin’s win, which peaked with 2.7 million viewers, was flat in ratings and inched up 1% in viewership compared to last year (1.4, 2.43M) but declined 27% and 33% respectively from 2019, when the race was severely delayed due to rain (1.1, 1.86M).
The corresponding Xfinity Series race drew a 0.52 and 861,000 on NBCSN Saturday, down from last year’s race on the NBC broadcast network (0.7, 1.18M).
F1 still riding high
Last Sunday’s Formula 1 Netherlands Grand Prix averaged a 0.53 and 864,000 viewers on ESPN2 — the third-largest F1 audience ever on ESPN’s secondary network and among the 20 largest F1 audiences ever on cable. The race had not been contested since 1985.
F1 is now averaging 943,000 viewers across the ESPN networks, up 47% from the comparable number of races in last year’s delayed, shortened season (640K) and up 41% from the same point in 2019 (668K). Viewership is also up 55% from last year’s full-season average (608K) and up 40% from the full-season mark in ’19 (672K).
Averages do not include the previous week’s virtual rainout at the Belgian Grand Prix, which averaged 637,000 across four hours despite featuring only two laps of actual racing.
Dodgers-Giants among top five games on cable this season
Dodgers-Giants averaged a 0.85 rating and 1.73 million viewers on the latest edition of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, the fourth-largest MLB audience on cable this season.
Ratings jumped 23% and viewership 42% from Cardinals-Cubs last year (0.7, 1.21M) and 15% and 46% respectively from 2019 (Mets-Phillies: 0.7, 1.19M).
On Labor Day, ESPN drew 503,000 for a Rays-Red Sox marathon and 623,000 for an abbreviated Giants-Rockies game thereafter. Both games topped last year’s Labor Day matinee on ESPN (Cardinals-Cubs: 596K), but neither could match the network’s Labor Day doubleheader in 2019 (Rangers-Yankees: 759K; Astros-Brewers: 1.19M).
In other action, FS1 drew just 146,000 viewers for Mets-Marlins on Tuesday and 108,000 for Twins-Rays last Saturday. TBS pulled a 0.17 rating and 263,000 viewers for Indians-Red Sox on Sunday.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 9.8]
