NASCAR ratings increased for the first time all season thanks to a scheduling change.
Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Michigan 400 earned a 2.2 rating and 3.7 million viewers on FOX, up 19% in ratings and 18% in viewership from last year (1.85, 3.1M) and flat and up 7% respectively from 2016 (2.2, 3.5M). Prior to this year, the race aired on FS1.
Clint Bowyer‘s win, which was delayed and shortened due to rain, ranks as the most-watched edition of the race in four years (2014: 4.3M).
It was the first of Cup Series race all season to post an increase in ratings or viewership, snapping a streak of 12 straight declines (not counting rainouts). No race had increased over the previous year since Martinsville on NBCSN last October.
For the weekend, the race ranked second among all sporting events behind The Belmont Stakes (7.5, 12.7M).
In an era of declining NASCAR ratings, one surefire way to increase the numbers has been to move races from cable to broadcast TV. Under the current TV deal that began in 2015, nine races have moved from cable to broadcast and eight of those have posted increases in ratings and viewership. Needless to say that is not a long-term solution to the sport’s ratings woes.
Despite the increase, Sunday’s numbers still pale in comparison to the last time Michigan aired on broadcast television — 2006 on FOX (4.5, 7.1M).
NASCAR Ratings When Moved From Cable to Broadcast
Under current TV deal
| Year | Race | Channel Shift | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. | +/- |
| 2018 | Michigan | from FS1 to FOX | 2.2 | +19% | 3.70M | +18% |
| 2017 | Talladega | from NBCSN to NBC | 2.8 | +27% | 4.73M | +32% |
| 2017 | Bristol | from NBCSN to NBC | 2.3 | +10% | 3.82M | +6% |
| 2017 | Brickyard | from NBCSN to NBC | 3.4 | +10% | 5.63M | +8% |
| 2015 | Homestead* | from ESPN to NBC | 4.4 | +42% | 7.64M | +46% |
| 2015 | Texas | from ESPN to NBC | 2.7 | -4% | 4.55M | -4% |
| 2015 | Kansas | from ESPN to NBC | 2.5 | +8% | 4.04M | +12% |
| 2015 | Daytona | from TNT to NBC | 2.7 | +13% | 3.99M | +0.4% |
| 2015 | Atlanta^ | from ESPN to FOX | 5.6 | +75% | 9.50M | +82% |
*: includes simulcast viewership on NBCSN; ^: race also moved dates to the week after Daytona
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 6.12]
