FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 20th, 2019

VIEWERSHIP INCREASES FOR NBC SPORTS’ NASCAR AND INDYCAR COVERAGE THIS PAST WEEKEND

NASCAR’S Bristol Night Race on Saturday Averages TAD of 2.530 Million Viewers on NBCSN, Up 8% vs. Last Year & Most-Watched Cable Sports Program of the Week

Sunday’s Pocono 500 is NBCSN’s Most-Watched INDYCAR Race in Nearly a Year

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 20, 2019 – NBC Sports’ coverage of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series from Bristol and the NTT IndyCar Series from Pocono this weekend resulted in viewership increases for both races vs. last year, according to television data from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

NASCAR

Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Night Race averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.530 million viewers across NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, up 8% vs. last year and making it the most-watched sporting event on cable of the week.

Won by Denny Hamlin, the Bristol night race (7:57-10:49 p.m. ET) averaged a TV-only 2.503 million viewers, a household rating of 1.50, and a streaming Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 27,000 viewers. TV-only viewership peaked at 2.728 million from 10:30-10:45 ET as Hamlin outdueled Matt DiBenedetto for the win.

This is the second consecutive NASCAR race with a significant viewership increase. The Consumer Energy 400 at Michigan on Sunday, Aug. 11, averaged a TAD of 2.919 million viewers on NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, up 14% from the 2018 race and the best Cup Series race on cable in nearly two years. It was also the most-watched sporting event of the week, and NBCSN was the most-watched network on television during the race.

In addition to race coverage, NBCSports.com’s NASCAR Talk has generated more than six million uniques and 22 million page views for its coverage of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2019, already surpassing those metrics for the entire 2018 season.

NBC Sports’ Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series coverage resumes on Sept. 1 from Darlington on NBCSN.

INDYCAR

Despite a lengthy red flag and a shortened race due to weather, NBC Sports’ coverage of the ABC Supply 500 from Pocono (2:47-6 p.m. ET) averaged a TAD of 553,000 viewers on Sunday across NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, up vs. last year (548,000) and making it the most-watched INDYCAR race on cable since last year’s finale at Sonoma on Sept. 16 (638,000 viewers). Will Power’s victory of the weather-shortened race delivered TV-only viewership of 549,000 viewers and a household rating of 0.36.

For 13 races to date across NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series is averaging a TAD of 1.201 million viewers, up 9% vs. last year (ABC/NBCSN/NBC Sports digital).

NBC Sports’ IndyCar coverage continues Saturday night with the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 from World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill., at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

–NBC SPORTS–