The Formula 1 season ended on a down note, but still set viewership records a viewership record on NBCSN.
Formula 1 racing from Abu Dhabi had 316,000 viewers on NBCSN last Sunday morning, down a third from last year (473K) and down 11% from 2013 (354K). It was the fourth of the final six races to have a year-over-year decline, the lone exceptions being the USA and Mexico races on the NBC broadcast network.
A strong start to the season made up for the relatively weak finish. The 19-race schedule averaged 521,000 viewers across NBC, NBCSN and CNBC — up 14% from last year (457K), up 42% from 2013 (366K), and the highest average since at least 2011.
NBCSN in particular averaged 418,000 for its 13 races, up 9% from last year (385K), up 102% from 2013 (207K), and the most-watched F1 season on a single cable network since ESPN averaged 755,000 in 1995. The previous high over that span was set last season.
Nine races this season had more than 500,000 viewers, including five on NBCSN — the network’s highest total since acquiring rights.
(Sun. numbers via Awful Announcing; season avg. from NBC Sports Group Press Box)
