Whether last year as a driver or this year as a broadcaster, Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not have the hoped for impact on NASCAR Daytona ratings.
Saturday’s NASCAR Daytona 400 earned a 2.7 rating and 4.4 million viewers on NBC, down 16% in ratings and 18% in viewership from last year (3.2, 5.4M) and down 21% and 22% respectively from 2016 (3.4, 5.7M).
The 2.7 rating is tied as the lowest on record for the race, excluding rainouts (dates back to 1997). It matched 2015, when the race did not start until after 11 PM ET and was overshadowed by the Women’s World Cup final. Even including rainouts, it was the second-lowest rating on record ahead of a postponed 2014 race on TNT (2.4).
Erik Jones‘ win also ranked as the least-watched at Daytona since the above-mentioned 2015 race (4.0M).
Daytona was the 14th of 16 Cup Series races this season to decline double-digits to a multi-year low.
The summer Daytona race was once a much stronger draw. It had a 3.8 and 6.4 million a decade ago and exceeded a 5.0 and 8.0 million in six straight years from 2001-06.
NBC gave Daytona marquee treatment. NFL and Olympic host Mike Tirico anchored pre-race coverage alongside the network’s prized acquisition, the much-hyped freshman analyst Earnhardt Jr.
While it is still early — Saturday was only Earnhardt Jr.’s second Cup Series assignment — it does not appear as if his presence will have the desired effect on NASCAR’s flagging ratings. Ratings increased for his debut at Chicagoland the previous weekend, but that was primarily because of a scheduling shift away from NFL competition.
Despite the lower numbers, NASCAR was still the top non-World Cup sporting event of the weekend. It comfortably topped FOX Major League Baseball coverage head-to-head (1.4, 2.2M).
[Numbers from ShowBuzz Daily 7.10]
