For the first time in 14 years televising NASCAR, FOX slipped under a 3.0 rating for a Sprint Cup race.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Texas drew a 2.9 final rating and 4.8 million viewers on FOX Saturday night, down 24% in ratings and 23% in viewership from 2013 (3.8, 6.3M) and down 28% in both measures from 2012 (4.0, 6.8M). Last year’s race was postponed due to rain, earning a 2.4 and 3.8 million in its scheduled Sunday afternoon window.
Excluding rainouts, the 2.9 rating is easily the lowest ever for a NASCAR Sprint Cup telecast on FOX (dates back to 2001). The previous low was a 3.3 for last year’s Richmond race. Of the 18 lowest rated NASCAR telecasts on FOX, 13 have taken place on a Saturday night.
Again excluding rainouts, the 2.9 is also the lowest rating in the history of the spring Texas race (dates back to 1997). The previous low was the previously noted 3.8 in 2013. Prior to moving from Sunday to Saturday in 2011, the race had never dipped below a 4.7 rating.
Head-to-head, the race topped competing coverage of the Premier Boxing Champions series on NBC (1.8, 2.9M). It was television’s third-highest rated and second-most watched program of the night, trailing an NCIS rerun in the former measure (3.0) and 48 Hours in both (3.5, 5.1M). Among adults 18-49, it was the top program of the night with a 1.0 rating.
Lowest NASCAR Sprint Cup Ratings Ever on FOX
Saturday night races in bold
| Rating | Frequency | Race |
|---|---|---|
| 2.9 | Once | 2015 Texas |
| 3.3 | Once | 2014 Richmond |
| 3.5 | Twice | 2014 Kansas, 2014 Dover |
| 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 |
(Sat. numbers via TV Media Insights)
