Facing unique competition, NASCAR’s Richmond race hit new lows in ratings and viewership.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Richmond earned a 1.6 final rating and 2.7 million viewers on NBCSN Saturday night, down 11% in ratings and 12% in viewership from last year (1.8, 3.1M) and down 47% and 45%, respectively, from 2014 on ABC (3.0, 4.9M).
Denny Hamlin‘s win ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Sprint Cup race from Richmond since at least 2001, falling below the previous marks set last year. Moreover, the 1.6 rating is tied as the lowest for any Sprint Cup race in at least eight years (excluding rainouts), matching the mark set by Kansas on Fox Sports 1 last year.
Saturday’s race had unusual competition from the Virginia Tech/Tennessee college football game on ABC, which took place from Bristol Motor Speedway. The so-called “Battle at Bristol” more than doubled NASCAR with 5.8 million viewers. While last year’s comparable Oregon/Michigan State game actually provided tougher competition (7.9M), it is likely that Virginia Tech/Tennessee pulled more viewers from the race due to its NASCAR connection.
Richmond was the fourth straight NASCAR race, and the sixth of the past seven, to hit multi-year lows in ratings and viewership — a stretch that does not include rained out races at Pocono and Bristol. By comparison, only two of the previous seven races had a decline in either measure.
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
