NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Peaks at More Than 8.4 Million Viewers and 4.8 HH Rating
NASCAR Sprint Cup & XFINITY Series Championship Races Earn Double Digit Growth in Live Minutes Streamed
STAMFORD, Conn. – November 21, 2016 – NBC Sports Group presented the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship race last night from Homestead-Miami Speedway. NBC and NBCSN’s dual coverage of Jimmie Johnson’s record-tying seventh Championship delivered the most-watched NASCAR race of NBC Sports Group’s season, based on fast national data provided by The Nielsen Company.
The 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship on NBC and NBCSN averaged 6.08 million viewers and posted a combined 3.51 national HH rating, marking increases of +16% (vs. 5.22 million) and +12% (vs. 3.14 HH), respectively, over 2014’s presentation on ESPN. Excluding last year’s decade high Championship race, which was delayed into primetime by rain and celebrated Jeff Gordon’s retirement, Sunday’s race was the most-watched and highest rated NASCAR season finale since Tony Stewart’s Championship win in 2011.
Additional highlights surrounding last night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship include:
- Viewing peaked from 6:45 - 7 p.m. ET with more than 8.4 million viewers and a 4.8 HH rating as the Championship Four drivers battled for position in the final laps.
- Compared to the prior four Sprint Cup races presented on NBC in 2016 (excluding the rain impacted Charlotte race), yesterday’s race was up 37% among average viewers.
- The Top 10 markets for last night’s Sprint Cup race on NBC/NBCSN:
| Rank | Metered Market | HH Rtg | HH Shr |
| 1 | Greenville | 10.8 | 17 |
| 2 | Greensboro | 10.7 | 17 |
| 3 | Indianapolis | 8.6 | 14 |
| 4 | Knoxville | 7.7 | 12 |
| 5 | Richmond-Petersburg | 7.4 | 11 |
| 6 | Raleigh-Durham | 6.8 | 11 |
| 6 | Charlotte | 6.8 | 12 |
| 8 | Buffalo | 6.5 | 10 |
| 9 | Ft. Myers | 6.4 | 10 |
| 9 | Orlando | 6.4 | 12 |
- Digital consumption was also impressive, as Sunday’s Sprint Cup race garnered 4.67 million live minutes across com, the NBC Sports app and connected devices, a 16% growth vs. last year’s race.
- Saturday’s XFINITY Championship was the XFINITY Series’ best race ever on NBC Sports Digital. It earned 1.04 million live minutes streamed, a 163% increase vs. last year’s Championship race.
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—NASCAR ON NBC—