From Sports Media Watch, a one-stop page for all sports ratings news.
Jon Lewis
Last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Talladega (Ala.) averaged a 2.1 rating and 3.97 million viewers on FOX, down a tick in ratings and 2% in viewership from last year (2.2, 4.04M). Excluding 2020, when the race was delayed several weeks and then postponed due to rain, Carson Hocevar’s win was the least-watched spring Talladega race since it began airing on FOX in 2001.
The corresponding O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race drew 1.34 million on CW, up 6% from last year. The first 11 races on CW this season have averaged a seven-figure audience.
Source: Nielsen, Nexstar
Jon Lewis
Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Darlington (S.C.) averaged a 1.3 rating and 2.43 million viewers on FS1, up a tick in ratings but down 1% in viewership from Homestead-Miami on the same weekend last year (1.2, 2.46M).
Compared to last year’s first Darlington race, which took place one week later in the calendar, ratings were flat and viewership inched up from 2.42 million. (That is in the margin that would usually be explained by Nielsen methodological changes, but note that NASCAR rarely gets any lift from the new “Big Data + Panel” methodology.)
Tyler Reddick’s win, his fourth in the first six races this season, peaked with 3.0 million viewers in the 6 PM ET quarter-hour.
The corresponding Xfinity Series race drew a 0.65 and 1.18 million on CW the previous day, up from both last year at Homestead (0.56, 1.16M) and last year at Darlington (0.57, 1.01M).
Source: Nielsen
Jon Lewis
Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Phoenix averaged a 1.5 rating and 2.84 million viewers on FS1, up a tick in ratings and 1% in viewership from last year (1.4, 2.82). That was the first increase for the Cup Series since the Daytona 500.
The corresponding Xfinity Series race had a 0.7 and 1.20 million on CW, flat and down 6%, respectively.
Source: Nielsen, Nexstar
Jon Lewis
Last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Circuit of the Americas (Austin, TX) averaged a 2.1 rating and 3.93 million viewers on FOX, down 4% in ratings and 5% in viewership from last year (2.15, 4.1M). Tyler Reddick’s third-straight win, which peaked with 4.7 million viewers, was still the most-watched sporting event of the weekend.
Reddick has opened the season with three-straight wins, but the last two of those have declined year-over-year.
Shifting to the secondary O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, CW averaged a 0.6 and 1.07 million for its race last Saturday — down 3% and 4% respectively from last year (0.61, 1.1M).
Finally, Truck Series racing from St. Petersburg averaged a 0.6 and 1.0 million on FOX — the highest for a Truck Series race on the broadcast network since 2018.
Source: Nielsen
Jon Lewis
Last Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Atlanta averaged a 0.8 rating and 1.61 million viewers across TNT and truTV, a figure that includes a half-hour weather-delay — down 23% and 20% respectively from last year, when the race aired on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend on USA Network (1.1, 2.02M).
Versus Nashville on same late June weekend last year, another Sunday race on USA Network, ratings fell 28% and viewership 25% from a 1.1 and 2.13 million.
In other action, last Friday’s rain-delayed Xfinity Series race from Atlanta averaged a 0.33 and 583,000 on CW, and Truck Series action from Lime Rock (Conn.) drew a 0.36 and 616,000 on FOX.
Source: NASCAR
Jon Lewis
Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race averaged a 1.1 rating and 2.0 million viewers on FS1, down from last year (1.4, 2.57M). Excluding prerace and postrace segments, the race drew a 1.2 (-21%) and 2.27 million (-18%).
Last year’s All-Star Race marked NASCAR’s return to the North Wilkesboro track.
Source: NASCAR
Jon Lewis
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Kansas averaged a 1.1 rating and 2.32 million viewers on FS1 last Sunday, down 11% in ratings but up 1% in viewership from last year, when the start was delayed due to rain (1.3, 2.30M). Kyle Larson’s win — which peaked with 2.92 million in the 6 PM ET quarter-hour — declined slightly from two years ago, when the race was run as scheduled (2.35M).
There was no corresponding Xfinity Series race.
Source: NASCAR
Jon Lewis
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Texas averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.56 million viewers on FS1, up a tick in ratings and 9% in viewership from last year, when the race was run in mid-April. Compared to Dover on the equivalent weekend of last season, viewership for Joey Logano’s win increased 7% from last year’s 2.4 million.
The Cup race comfortably outdrew the competing F1 Miami Grand Prix on ABC (2.17M).
As for the corresponding Xfinity Series race, CW averaged a 0.56 and 1.00 million on Saturday — up sharply from last year’s Texas race (803K).
Source: NASCAR
Jon Lewis
Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Talladega averaged a 2.2 rating and 4.0 million viewers on FOX, down 10% and 6% respectively from last year (2.4, 4.3M). Austin Cindric’s win, which peaked with 4.8 million viewers, still delivered the second-largest sports audience of the week (behind the competing Lakers-Timberwolves NBA playoff game on ABC — 7.35M).
On Saturday, Xfinity Series racing at Talladega drew a 0.7 and 1.3 million on CW — down 22% and 21% respectively from last year on the FOX broadcast network (0.9, 1.6M), but still the third-largest Xfinity Series audience in the CW era (18 races).
The Xfinity Series again delivered the largest CW audience of the week and has now topped the one million mark for 11-straight weeks.
In other Talladega action, the ARCA race there averaged 317,000 on FS1 (-23%).
Source: NASCAR
Jon Lewis
Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Bristol (Tenn.) averaged a 1.1 rating and 2.05 million viewers on FS1, down sharply from last year’s Bristol race, which aired on the FOX broadcast network in mid-March (2.1, 3.81M). Versus the race on the equivalent weekend last year — Texas on FS1 — ratings fell 18% and viewership 13% from a 1.3 and 2.4 million.
The NASCAR race on FS1 outdrew the competing IndyCar race on FOX, which drew 552,000.
On Saturday, Xfinity Series racing averaged a 0.6 and 1.00 million on CW — extending to nine the season-opening streak of races with at least one million viewers. Viewership declined from the equivalent race of last season, Talladega on FOX (1.6M).
Source: NASCAR, CW
Jon Lewis
Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Darlington (S.C.) averaged a 1.3 rating and 2.52 million viewers on FS1, down a tick and 4 percent respectively from last year, when the race took place in May (1.4, 2.63M).
Denny Hamlin’s win, which peaked with 3.10 million in the 6:15 PM ET quarter-hour, increased a tick and 15 percent respectively from Martinsville on the same race weekend a year ago (1.2, 2.19M).
Saturday’s Xfinity Series race on CW averaged a 0.6 and 1.12 million, up a third and 44 percent respectively from last year on FS1 (0.48, 782K) and the largest audience for the spring Darlington race since 2019. The first eight Xfinity Series races this season have topped the million viewer mark, the first such occurrence since 2017.
Source: NASCAR, CW, Fox Sports
Jon Lewis
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Martinsville averaged a 1.3 rating and 2.4 million viewers on FS1, up a tick in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year, when coverage aired opposite the record-setting NCAA women’s basketball national championship (1.2, 2.2M). Denny Hamlin’s win, which peaked with 2.9 million viewers, ranks as the most-watched spring Martinsville race since 2019 (2.5M).
Shifting to the Xfinity Series, CW averaged a 0.6 and 1.01 million for coverage from Martinsville on Saturday — up a tick and 19% respectively from last year on FS1 (0.49, 852K). The first seven Xfinity races on CW this season have topped the million viewer mark, the longest such streak to start a season since 2017. (NASCAR, CW, 4/1)
Jon Lewis
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Homestead averaged a 1.2 rating and 2.46 million viewers on FS1, marking the largest audience for the race since 2021, when it aired on FOX as the third race of the season. The race took place in October the past three seasons, airing on broadcast television (NBC) but opposite the NFL. Compared to the same weekend of last season, ratings fell a third and viewership 26% from COTA on FOX (1.8, 3.3M).
The Xfinity Series at Homestead averaged a 0.6 and 1.16 million on CW, also the highest since 2021 (1.25M) and up 46% from last year’s sixth race of the season — Richmond at the end of March (795K).
Jon Lewis
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Las Vegas averaged a 1.4 rating and 3.01 million viewers on FS1 Sunday, surpassing Phoenix the prior week to rank as the most-watched NASCAR race on cable since 2021, and the first over that span to average at least three million viewers. Compared to last year on broadcast (FOX), viewership fell 31% from 4.36 million.
On CW, Xfinity Series racing drew a 0.6 and 1.1 million — up 8 and 21 percent respectively from last year on FS1 (0.53, 896K).
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