Daytona 500 ratings fell to an all-time low opposite the Winter Olympics.
Sunday’s NASCAR Daytona 500 earned a 5.3 rating and 9.3 million viewers on FOX, down 20% in ratings and 22% in viewership from last year (6.6, 11.9M) and down 20% and 18% respectively from 2016 (6.6, 11.4M).
The 5.3 rating is the lowest for the Daytona 500 since live start-to-finish coverage began in 1979. The previous low was a 5.6 in 2014. The four lowest Daytona 500 ratings have come in the past five years.
The TV audience is also the smallest in the history of the race, falling slightly below 2014 (9.31M to 9.30M). Including a streaming audience of 51,000 viewers on Fox Sports GO — up 28% from last year (40K) — and Nielsen’s new out-of-home measure, the race had 9.78 million across all platforms. That still ranks as its second-smallest audience ever.
Just as in 2014, this year’s race aired directly opposite NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage. The key difference between now and then is that the 2014 race included a six-hour rain delay that pushed it into direct competition with the Olympic Closing Ceremony. This year’s race was run as scheduled and faced a lower rated afternoon window.
Like NASCAR ratings generally, Daytona 500 ratings have fallen off dramatically from the 2000s. From 2001-08, the race had at least a 10.0 rating and 17 million viewers in all-but-one year. In the final year of that run — just ten years ago — it had a 10.2 rating and 17.8 million.
Daytona 500 ratings have now fallen 52% from their high water mark in 2006 (11.3). By comparison, Indy 500 ratings declined 54% from 1995 — the year before the infamous ‘split’ — to 2007, the same span of time.
In adults 18-49, Sunday’s 2.1 rating declined 25% from last year (2.8).
Outside of the Olympics, Daytona was the highest rated and most-watched sporting event of the weekend. It beat that night’s NBA All-Star Game by 23% in ratings (5.3 to 4.3) and 22% in viewership (9.3M to 7.65M), though those margins were significantly narrower than in 2011 — the last time the events took place on the same day. That year, Daytona beat the All-Star Game by 67% in ratings (8.7 to 5.2) and 72% in viewership (15.6M to 9.1M).
It tied for second in adults 18-49, trailing the NBA All-Star Game (3.3) and tying NBA All-Star Saturday Night.
The all-time list of Daytona 500 ratings and viewership is available here.
[Sun. numbers from Fox Sports]
