College football competition sent NASCAR’s Southern 500 to its lowest rating since 2000.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Darlington earned a 2.8 final rating and 4.6 million viewers on NBC Sunday night, down 24% in ratings and 22% in viewership from last year (3.7, 5.9M) and down 22% and 23%, respectively, from 2014 — when the race took place on a Saturday night in April and aired on FOX (3.6, 6.0M).
The 2.8 rating is the lowest for NASCAR at Darlington, including the 400-mile race that was discontinued in 2004, since the 2000 Southern 500. That year, race coverage was split between ESPN and ESPN2 due to rain, earning a combined 2.1 and 3.1 million across the networks (ESPN alone pulled a 2.2 and 3.2 million).
The 2.8 is also the lowest for NASCAR on Labor Day weekend since the same 2000 telecast.
Sunday’s race was trounced head-to-head by the Notre Dame/Texas college football game, which posted a 6.4 and 10.9 million on ABC. Last year’s race faced no significant sports competition.
Darlington was the 13th Sprint Cup race this season, and the fifth of the past six, to hit a multi-year low in ratings and/or viewership. Keep in mind that excludes rainouts.
(Wknd. numbers from NBC Sports)
