Albeit with a major mitigating factor, NASCAR got a rare increase in the ratings on Sunday.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Charlotte, the fourth race in the Chase For the Cup, had a 2.1 final rating and 3.2 million viewers on NBC and NBCSN Sunday afternoon — up 31% in ratings and 17% in viewership from last year on NBCSN alone (1.6, 2.7M). Both this year and last, the race was postponed from its scheduled Saturday night date due to rain.
The last time the race was run as scheduled, it had a 3.1 and 5.1 million on ABC in 2014.
Year-over-year comparisons are usually irrelevant for rained out races, but since last year’s edition was also postponed and aired in the same Sunday afternoon timeslot, NASCAR could conceivably claim a ratings win. On the other hand, the fact that the race was simulcast on both NBC and NBCSN — rather than airing on cable alone — could explain much if not all of the increase.
Notably, Sunday’s postponed race posted the highest rating and viewership for any NASCAR telecast since Darlington in September (2.8, 4.6M). Not coincidentally, that was also the previous race to air on the NBC broadcast network. In the intervening weeks, none of the four races on NBCSN managed to exceed a 1.6 or 2.7 million.
Head-to-head, the rescheduled NASCAR race easily topped the rescheduled Dodgers/Nationals baseball playoff game on Fox Sports 1 (0.7, 1.2M).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 10/11)
