Fox Sports earned its lowest NASCAR television rating in 13 years televising the sport last week.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Richmond earned a 3.3 final rating and 5.6 million viewers on FOX last Saturday, down 11% in ratings and 8% in viewership from last year (3.7, 6.1M), and down 8% in both measures from 2012 (3.6, 5.9M).
The 3.3 rating is the lowest ever for NASCAR Sprint Cup racing on FOX, falling below the previous mark of 3.6 set on multiple occasions. Of the sixteen lowest rated Sprint Cup races ever on FOX, fifteen have taken place since the start of the decade.
Of note, ten of the sixteen lowest rated races have taken place on Saturday nights, including five from Richmond alone.
Last week’s 3.3 rating also ranks as the lowest for the spring Richmond race 2004 on FX (2.9). Despite the lower numbers, the race was the #2 sporting event of the weekend on broadcast or cable, trailing only ABC’s Clippers/Warriors NBA playoff game (4.2, 6.5M).
Lowest NASCAR Sprint Cup Ratings Ever on FOX
| Rating | Frequency | Race |
|---|---|---|
| 3.3 | Once | 2014 Richmond |
| 3.6 | Three times | 2009 Phoenix, 2012 Richmond, 2014 Darlington |
| 3.7 | Six times | 2010 Richmond, 2010 Phoenix, 2010 Dover, 2011 Richmond, 2012 Dover, 2013 Richmond |
| 3.8 | Five times | 2012 Fontana, 2012 Darlington, 2013 Texas, 2013 Darlington, 2013 Dover |
| 3.9 | Once | 2011 Kansas |
(Last week’s numbers from Sports Business Daily)
