Recent sports TV ratings, including NASCAR and Formula 1, the NHL on TNT and the NWSL on ION.
NASCAR enters finale with five-straight gains
Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Martinsville (Va.) averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.50 million viewers on NBC, up 8% and 14% respectively from last year (1.2, 2.49M). Ryan Blaney’s win, which peaked with 3.1 million viewers, was the fifth-straight Cup Series race to improve over a year ago.
Entering this Sunday’s season finale, viewership for the Cup Series playoffs is up 6% (from 2.1 to 2.3 million).
In other racing action, Formula 1 racing from Brazil averaged 531,000 viewers across ESPN2 and ESPNU. The race was originally set to air solely on ESPN2 starting at Noon ET, but was moved up 90 minutes to inclement weather. ESPNU carried the entire rescheduled race, with ESPN2 joining in at 11:30 AM ET following its coverage of the New York Marathon.
Max Verstappen’s win, which peaked with 921,000 viewers in the 12:45 PM ET quarter-hour, will not be factored into ESPN’s F1 season average.
TNT scores first NHL increase of season
Wednesday’s Red Wings-Blackhawks NHL regular season game averaged a 0.22 rating and 411,000 viewers across TNT and truTV, up 12% and 5% respectively from Panthers-Capitals last year (0.20, 390K) and the network’s first increase of the season.
Including games on ESPN, the Red Wings’ win was just the second to post an increase this season.
ION generates half of NWSL viewing during regular season
ION averaged 145,000 viewers for its NWSL coverage this season, topping out at 234,000 for Orlando-Kansas City on July 6. The Scripps-owned “netlet” accounted for fully half of all NWSL viewing during the regular season, though it should be noted that it also had more games than the other networks (50).
As might go without saying given the Caitlin Clark effect — and the general disparity between basketball and soccer — the NWSL average trails that of the WNBA on ION, which averaged 670,000 this season.
