The Indy 500 delivered its best numbers in three years.
The IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500 earned a 4.2 final rating and 6.5 million viewers on ABC Sunday afternoon, up 8% in ratings and 7% in viewership from last year (3.9, 6.1M), up 14% and 13%, respectively, from 2013 (3.7, 5.8M), and the highest rated and most-watched Indy 500 since 2012 (4.3, 6.9M). [UPDATE 6/3: Post updated with final national numbers.]
The 4.2 rating is the second-highest since 2008, trailing only 2012.
Juan Pablo Montoya‘s win was the fourth Indy 500 in the past five years to have an increase in ratings and viewership. With that said, it ranked just 24th in both measures out of the 30 editions of the race since live start-to-finish coverage began in 1986.
The Indy 500 drew a higher rating than NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 for the first time in a decade (4.2 to 3.8) and earned a larger audience for the first time since at least 2000 (6.5M to 6.4M). That does not include 2009, when the Coca-Cola 600 was pushed to Monday due to rain.
(Sun. numbers from ESPN)
