Viewership declined across the board for major racing series last weekend. Plus: a second-straight bump for Thursday night MLB on FOX; and more sports ratings from the past week.
NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA, F1, all down last weekend
Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Watkins Glen (N.Y.) averaged 1.81 million viewers on USA Network, down 22% from last year (2.31M) and the least-watched edition of the race since at least 2001. The race had never before coincided with the NFL season. There was no race on the same NFL Sunday last year, as NASCAR held a Saturday night race from Bristol that drew 1.56 million.
In the competing window on NBC, the IndyCar Series season finale from Nashville averaged just 483,000 viewers — down from last year’s finale at Laguna Seca (538K) and the smallest IndyCar audience on broadcast this season.
In other racing action, the NHRA averaged 1.26 million viewers in an NFL-adjacent window on FOX — a season-high, but down from last year’s NFL-adjacent coverage (1.50M). Finally, the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix drew 865,000 on ESPN, down from last year’s April edition (959K) but still the third-largest audience ever for the race.
FOX scores second-straight bump for Thursday night MLB
Regional Major League Baseball action on FOX averaged a 1.0 rating and 1.7 million viewers Thursday night, up from the same night last year (0.9, 1.59M), marking the second-straight week that FOX has posted an increase for its Thursday night window opposite the NFL.
Going back to last weekend, Dodgers-Braves drew a 0.6 and 1.14 million on the latest edition of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, up sharply from Cubs-Diamondbacks on the same weekend a year ago (0.42, 742K).
Plus: Premier Lacrosse League, Solheim Cup, 30 For 30
— Last Sunday’s Premier Lacrosse League final averaged 282,000 viewers on ABC, up from 258,000 last year and the event’s largest audience since moving to ABC three years ago. (Other PLL matches have had larger audiences, including both of this year’s opening weekend matches on ABC in June.) By comparison, the Wings-Fever WNBA game on NBA TV averaged 344,000 in the same mid-afternoon window.
— Final day coverage of the Solheim Cup women’s golf event averaged 657,000 viewers on NBC last weekend, down from the last time the event was held in the United States three years ago.
— Tuesday’s debut of the ESPN 30 For 30 documentary “Stolen Gold” averaged 130,000 viewers, marking the third-straight 30 For 30 premiere to fall below the 200,000 mark. “Dude Perfect: A Very Long Shot” drew 103,000 on a Saturday night in August and “American Son” 158,000 on a Monday night in July.
