FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 11th, 2018

MORE THAN 15 MILLION WATCHED ON NBC AS JUSTIFY CROSSED THE FINISH LINE TO WIN THE TRIPLE CROWN IN THE 150TH BELMONT STAKES

Justify Joins Seattle Slew (1977) as the Only Unbeaten Triple Crown Winners & Is 13th Horse to Win It

NBC Sports Digital Clip of Larry Collmus’ Race Call & Additional Belmont Coverage Delivers More Than 7 Million Views across Digital Platforms

NBC Sports’ Group’s Live Horse Racing Coverage Continues This Saturday, June 16, at 8:30 PM ET on NBCSN with Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series from Churchill Downs

Next Week, NBC Sports Group’s 5 Days of Exclusive Live Royal Ascot Coverage Includes Saturday, June 23, Show on NBC at 9 AM ET in First-Ever U.S. Broadcast Network Coverage of the Event

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 11, 2018 – More than 15 million viewers were watching NBC’s Belmont Stakes broadcast on Saturday as NBC Sports’ Larry Collmus called the race, finishing with a flourish…

“He’s just perfect! And now he’s just immortal! Justify is the 13th Triple Crown winner! Justify has done it!” – Collmus’ race call on NBC (to watch the full race, click here)

Collmus’ thrilling call of the 150th Belmont Stakes on NBC, watched by 15.3 million television viewers in the 6:45-7 p.m. ET quarter hour, was also heard throughout Belmont Park and cheered by the 90,000+ in attendance, as Justify became only the second horse in history to remain unbeaten in running to a Triple Crown (Seattle Slew, 1977). Justify is the 13th Triple Crown winner, and only the second to win the all three American Classics – Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes – in the last 40 years (American Pharoah, 2015).

The full race portion of the telecast (6:22-7:13 p.m. ET) posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 12.7 million viewers on NBC, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, which will rank as the weekend’s most watched event, according to fast national data provided by Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

In addition:

  • NBC Sports Digital’s presentation of the Belmont Stakes ranks as the most-streamed Belmont Stakes requiring authentication, delivering 6.2 million minutes and 233,000 uniques. The Average Minute Audience (AMA) for the Belmont Stakes via the NBC Sports app and NBCSports.com was 79,200 viewers.
  • NBC Sports Digital’s replay of the Belmont Stakes with Collmus’ race call, plus additional Belmont video coverage (including “Collmus cam,” and Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski cheering on his namesake horse) was viewed more than 7 million times across NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports App, YouTube, and Facebook. Collmus’ race call alone accounted for more than 5 million video views.
  • The 2018 Belmont Stakes (6:22-7:13 p.m. ET) posted a 7.5/19 fast national rating on NBC, with an average of 12.6 million TV-only viewers.

NBC Sports Group’s Live Horse Racing Coverage Continues with Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series This Saturday & Royal Ascot Next Week

NBC Sports continues its horse racing coverage with the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series this Saturday, June 16, live at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with live races including the Stephen Foster and Fleur De Lis from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Laffit Pincay III hosts the telecast, joined by analysts Randy Moss and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, as well as reporters Donna Brothers and Britney Eurton.

Next week, NBC Sports presents daily live coverage of the Royal Meeting in Ascot, Berkshire, England  – one of the most prestigious horse racing meets in the world – highlighted by the first-ever U.S. broadcast coverage of the event on Saturday, June 23, at 9 a.m. ET on NBC. Live coverage of Royal Ascot begins Tuesday, June 19, at 8:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN, with daily telecasts of the full five-day Royal meeting on NBCSN through Friday, June 22. In total, NBC Sports Group will present 23 hours of coverage over the five days.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–