NBC SPORTS’ PRESENTATION OF THE KENTUCKY DERBY AVERAGES 16 MILLION VIEWERS – TOPPING 15 MILLION MARK FOR 8TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR, EXCLUDING PANDEMIC-IMPACTED EVENTS

NBC’s Kentucky Derby Coverage Peaked at 19.0 Million Viewers just after 80-1 Longshot Rich Strike Crossed Finish Line – Largest Derby Peak Audience since 2017

2022 Kentucky Derby is NBC’s Most-Watched Program since Super Bowl Sunday

Led by Peacock, 2022 Kentucky Derby is Most Streamed “Run for the Roses” Ever; More than 36 Million Views of Race Replay on NBC Sports’ Social Media Platforms

The Preakness Stakes is Sat., May 21 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC & Peacock

***

Sunday MLB Leadoff is Most-Watched Regular-Season Sunday Day Game since 2019

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 10, 2022 – NBC Sports’ presentation of the 148^th Kentucky Derby, a thriller won by 80-1 longshot Rich Strike, averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 16.0 million viewers – marking the eighth consecutive year that the event topped the 15-million mark, excluding pandemic-impacted events. In addition, NBC Sports delivered impressive audiences for the debut of its MLB Sunday Leadoff package and Sunday’s USFL game.

Additional viewership highlights from weekend NBC Sports coverage:

• 
  
  
  
  • With 16.0 million viewers, the 2022 Kentucky Derby is the most watched “Run for the Roses” since 2019 and marks an 8% increase from last year’s event (14.9 million on Sept. 5).

• 
  
  
  
  • Viewership peaked at 19.0 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET on NBC, shortly after Rich Strike mounted his astounding closing charge to cross the finish line as the winner – marking the largest Kentucky Derby peak audience since 2017, ahead of the 18.5 million for the controversial 2019 disqualification of Maximum Security.

• 
  
  
  
  • The TV-only average audience of 15.8 million viewers is NBC’s most-watched program since Super Bowl Sunday.

• 
  
  
  
  • Led by Peacock, which live streamed the Kentucky Derby for the first time, the event posted a record Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 247,300 viewers across NBCUniversal streaming platforms.

• 
  
  
  
  • The overhead replay of the race with Larry Collmus’ call has been viewed more than 36 million times across NBC Sports’ flagship Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok handles and the NBC Sports YouTube channel – the most-viewed Kentucky Derby video ever on NBC Sports’ social media platforms and six times the consumption of Justify’s Triple Crown-winning run in the 2018 Belmont Stakes (six million views). In addition, the video is the most-viewed moment ever for NBC Sports’ TikTok account (11.6 million views).

• 
  
  
  
  • The NBC-TV household rating for the broadcast (6:31-7:21 p.m. ET) was a 7.7/24.

• 
  
  
  
  • The debut of MLB Sunday Leadoff on Peacock and NBC averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 1.34 million viewers, marking the most-watched regular-season Sunday day game since 2019 (Yankees-Red Sox in London, ESPN, 6/30/19).

• 
  
  
  
  • Following baseball, Sunday’s Houston-New Orleans USFL matchup averaged a TAD of 1.17 million viewers, to rank as NBC Sports’ most-watched USFL game since the season’s opening weekend.

Total Audience Delivery is based upon live-plus-same day figures from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

147TH PREAKNESS STAKES ON NBC SPORTS, MAY 21: In two weeks, Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike attempts the next step in his Triple Crown quest. NBC Sports’ coverage of The 147th Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Md., begins with the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on Friday, May 20, at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network. NBC Sports presents The Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 21, at 4 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET on CNBC.

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR 2022 KENTUCKY DERBY (Race Portion)

--NBC SPORTS--