As recently as 2013, when Danica Patrick competed in the race for the first time, the 500 had a 9.9 and 16.7 million. By the measurements used today, NASCAR then is in a very good place. Because that race is so large from a viewership perspective, youre talking about nine million viewers. For NASCAR it meant fewer butts in seats at tracks, and fewer sponsors willing to part with what little revenue they were earning. Statista assumes no Im pleasantly surprised about the stability of our viewership number over the course of the last three or four years. The 2023 NASCAR season is underway and it is bound to be very exciting in the second year of the NextGen car. You have to look at the penetration levels and the trajectory of those platforms at the time that we do our rights deal. What is NASCARs perspective on this criticism? Show sources information The 2019 race averaged a 5.3 and 9.17 million, while the 2018 event averaged a 5.3 and 9.30. Now, NASCAR might say, Well, 3.759 million for a race in November, even if it is half as much as four years ago, is more than 0.000 viewers for no race. And ratings are slightly better overall when you include the Fox half, which is better than another plunge, as in 2018. You hear often it should be around three hours. If the sport starts rotating the tracks within the playoffs, including the championship event, it would be surprising to not see a boost in numbers. Youve seen a lot of change in our industry over the course of the last two or three years. Last year, Indys start time was 1 p.m. Overall, NASCAR brought in 114.231 million average viewers throughout the entire 2022 season which marks its best since the 2018 season (120.454 million average viewers). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Please have NASCAR contact me ..Im serious.. NBC, we performed exceptionally well for them on the broadcast side, on the cable side; our OTT product, TrackPass, has doubled our expectations in 2020, tripled some expectations in 2021. winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Homestead Speedway on November 17, 2019 in Homestead, Florida. I have been around and covered NASCAR for over two decades. I definitely think that was the right call at the time. Most valuable sport event brands worldwide 2019, Racing teams of NASCAR ranked by team value 2019, Average U.S. TV audience of NASCAR races 2019, Daytona 500 TV viewers in the U.S. 2000-2022, To download this statistic in XLS format you need a Statista Account, To download this statistic in PNG format you need a Statista Account, To download this statistic in PDF format you need a Statista Account. This is no different with sponsor-centric NASCAR, whose teams, in part, use television air time as a selling point to potential partners whose brand could be seen by millions of viewers. To the extent that the platform penetration levels change or the trajectory of those platforms changes between now and then, thats something that we would take a look at. Three of the four drivers in the championship race were also in the 2018 race, and three of the four drivers were in Toyotas. It could be just Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon up in the booth, which would sound like a library compared to NBC.). Plus, the hype leading from the Clash helped the start of the year. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set The good news for us is we have all the data from how midweek races performed versus how we perform on a Sunday against the NFL. No longer tied to a box atop the TV or a diary that viewers filled out, the company started to figure out how to report who was watching on TV, on cable, and on streaming platforms. We have 36 races after Phoenix to model out our network numbers before they start to plan for the 2023 (negotiating) rights cycle. If we go back to 2013, there was a hot market for sports cable channels and NASCAR was the beneficiary of that hot market. When we lay out a schedule that includes new markets in Nashville, when we lay out a schedule change that has a Bristol Dirt format change that Fox is incredibly excited about, those are essentially new tentpole events on the schedule. Last year's fifth race, which took place in Phoenix six days earlier . NASCAR had its best season of overall viewership (114.231 million average viewers) since the 2018 season (120.454 million average viewers), according to the exact numbers released by Show. Website (racingnews.co), and SportsBusiness Daily, and Sports Media Watch. And I feel like were peaking at the right time, for sure. There were slight improvements from last years, however, which had a viewership of 4.24 million and a rating of 2.5. Learn more about how Statista can support your business. Though fewer fans were able to attend in person, with the improvements in internet bandwidth, and the rise of more and more cable channels, some were finding other ways to digest their favorite sports. The best of the best: the portal for top lists & rankings: Strategy and business building for the data-driven economy: Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). Every single playoff stretch since the 2014 season has seen a decrease in viewership. Comparing those championship viewer numbers with NASCAR's biggest race of the year and it's even more troubling. NASCAR averaged 2.93 viewers across Fox and NBC Sports in 2021, down 4 percent from last year (3.06 million) and 6 percent from 2019 (3.11 million), according to Sports Media Watch. Try a week on us. NASCARs TV ratings began to fall; the once all-mighty numbers began to show not an increase, but a decline. The 2013 Daytona 500 that was because of Danica Patrick. Thats the first time that has happened since 2009 where well have more network races than cable races. I wont disclose exact numbers, but there were 23 new brands that were not in the sport in 2019 that are buying ads for Fox today. The fan base that is paying attention to our sport now than probably two or three years agopart of that is the economic model of our sport is a little bit more sounder, on solid footing; the introduction to the Next Gen car, it brings on new owners like Justin Marks and Michael Jordan, Pitbull et cetera. Related: NASCAR intends to continue the charter system beyond 2024. As were putting our schedule together, we are ensuring that for these new tentpole events or races in new markets, that we have a network window home for those new events. These numbers were slightly lower compared to the 2019 Daytona 500, where they recorded a viewership of 9.17 million. We couldnt come on any earlier, frankly, so well run the Clash the weekend before the Super Bowl at the L.A. Fair to say midweek races are probably an idea thats come and gone? Kyle Busch, NASCARs black hat, won his second title. Many fans, especially those who might want to disparage the sport, dont understand that just because the TV numbers are down or not at the sky-high levels they once were, doesnt mean NASCAR is facing any sort of loss of popularity. Cup Series racing finished with its third consecutive year of share growth, up 14 percent since 2018 and up 8 percent over the 2020 season. NASCAR Daytona 500 ratings and viewership dating back to 1979, the first year the race was televised in full. This comes after the first complete season of the NextGen car with many notable events, such as the Busch Light Clash and the new event at World Wide Technology Raceway. Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race from Talladega averaged a 2.6 rating and 4.55 million viewers on FOX, flat in ratings and up 5% in viewership from last year (2.6, 4.34M). LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 14: (L-R) Brian Herbst, NASCAR managing director, broadcasting, Scott [+] Warfield, NASCAR managing director, social and digital content, Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Team Penske Ford Fusion, Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer and Laura Froelich, Twitter global head of sports partnerships, pose for a photo after NASCAR announces plans to live-stream in-car cameras on Twitter for the 2018 season on March 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images). to incorporate the statistic into your presentation at any time. Facebook: quarterly number of MAU (monthly active users) worldwide 2008-2022, Quarterly smartphone market share worldwide by vendor 2009-2022, Number of apps available in leading app stores Q3 2022. The original 4.68m from last year seems reasonable, dropping it down to 4.34m and saying the 2023 race increased by +200,000 just isnt realistic at all. The Iowa vs Purdue college basketball games was the second most watched event with 3,585,000. The rain-delayed 2021 Daytona 500 had a 2.8 rating and 4.83 million viewers, marking the lowest rated and least-watched edition of the race. In terms of tier one sports properties, he said. NFL Draft viewership bounced back from last year, led by a double-digit jump for the primary ESPN broadcast. The belief is that maybe NASCARs partners dont always present the sport in the best light or maybe educate their viewers compared to some other motorsports forums. Coliseum and then well run the Daytona 500 the week after the Super Bowl. Coming off the 2021 season, how would you assess where NASCAR is at in the television landscape, the ratings NASCAR has earned and the direction NASCAR is headed regarding its next contract? In, Website (racingnews.co), und SportsBusiness Daily, und Sports Media Watch. This year's race peaked at 10.57 million viewers during the final laps from 6:30 p.m. to 6:45. Accessed May 01, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/812557/average-us-tv-audience-nascar-cup-series/. NASCAR intends to continue the charter system beyond 2024, NASCAR could possibly race internationally as early as 2024. Reflecting on seven years back, it's clear that NASCAR Cup Series is slowly losing viewership in its circle but gaining more popularity than other sports. Get the best reports to understand your industry. Whats been the reaction from teams as you walk them through this? As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail. However, NASCAR has been taking major strides as the on-track product is improving, the schedule is being changed, bold decisions are being made, and communication between each party is better. This year's Daytona 500 was watched by 8.17 million total viewers, or an eight percent decrease from the year before. Certain segments of fans, and media, began to cry that sky was falling. Looking back, knowing that its probably best for NASCAR to be on a network channel as opposed to cable, is that a concession NASCAR would have made? This year's Daytona 500, which was won by Austin Cindric, NASCAR averaged a total viewership of 8.9 million. When we turned around that viewership narrative, I would say in 2019 and 2020, we started to see new brands come back to the sport. Fans might be tired of the novelty of the playoffs. They hate all of the commercials. April 29, 2023 at 3:55 PM. At a designated cut-off . It is possible that another playoff system to sustain interest in TV programming for nine months could be introduced with a radically revamped schedule in 2021 and it is possible that NASCAR could go back to the old way and determine a champ on points over an entire season. And those ways that didnt always involve traditional broadcast TV. (Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 4.25). NBC reported Monday that its broadcast of the NASCAR Cup championship race from Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida drew an average of 3.759 million viewers, its best audience for its half of the season. The back-to-back increases coincide with the return of Chase Elliott from injury (though it should be noted that the first of those gains at Martinsville last week can be attributed to a shift from Saturday night a year ago to Sunday afternoon). In 2013, the sport averaged 16.65 million viewers in the Daytona 500 which is now halfway through something that is not pleasing. Viewership has been down for each and every one of NASCAR's events prior to Sunday's race and over the last five races, those numbers have been significantly lower with each of them 12% or. Follow Jordan on Twitter @jordan_bianchi. NASCAR Daytona 500 ratings and viewership dating back to 1979, the first year the race was televised in full. So to the extent that you can be flat or even up a couple of points it says a lot just about fan interest in the sport.. Please create an employee account to be able to mark statistics as favorites. I love the sport and breaks my heart to watch it spiral downward .. They did not find their way into the 2022 schedule. The next evolution in viewing habits is streaming. This year's viewership will be the Daytona 500's worst since the start of data availability began in 1979, . Jordan Bianchi is a motorsports reporter for The Athletic. NASCAR at Dover live updates, highlights from 2023 race Bristol Dirt, another tentpole event that we expected big things from in 2021 and expect big things in 2022, was also rain-impacted and pushed to Monday afternoon for a 4 p.m. These numbers were slightly lower compared to the 2019 Daytona 500, where they. This was 9% less than last years race in Las Vegas, which attracted a total viewership of 4.396 million. Herbst adds that small swings in the numbers show the steadiness of viewership week to week, and thats a very good thing. So I think thats probably unlikely. Does it make it more complicated that NASCAR is a sponsor-driven sport where its imperative to get those sponsors in front of people? NBC was slightly ahead of last years pace before the Nov. 10 race at Phoenix, but it drew 2.567 million, the least-watched Cup race on broadcast television since 2001 (not counting rainouts). NASCAR ratings have been on the decline over the last decade as they have taken a significant drop. And thats with a rain-impacted Daytona 500 in 2021. This year's race at . How critical is it for NASCAR to have a good 2022 in terms of viewership as you look ahead to negotiating the next TV contract? You may opt-out by. To say that 2022 is important would be an understatement because its our audition year for the rights deal in 2023. The season ended with two flat tires. Required fields are marked *. Every FOX race that can be compared to last year has posted an increase in ratings and viewership; the lone race on FS1 (Martinsville) declined. If the new NASCAR is losing fans, it's hard to tell for now. The rain-delayed 2021 Daytona 500 had a 2.8 rating and 4.83 million viewers, marking the lowest rated and least-watched edition of the race. Daytona 500 TV audience has declined roughly 47% from 2013-2022. [Online]. We could shorten the season in terms of the number of races, which would have an impact on industry sponsorship, economics, the number of dates the tracks get, and certainly the size of our TV deal. Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Speedway was also the most-watched event of the weekend on March 6 with a viewership of 4.544 million and a rating of 2.71 million. The victory was Truex's first in the . Most Super Bowl wins by NFL team 1967-2023, Average ticket price in the NFL by team 2021, FIFA World Ranking: top male soccer teams 2022, Athletic footwear global market share by company 2015, Health & Fitness Clubs - Statistics & Facts, Sporting goods industry in the U.S. - statistics & facts, Profit from additional features with an Employee Account. We are a national sport; we will deliver 3 million viewers in a typical NASCAR Cup Series race. UPDATE: Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix scored a 2.8 rating and 4.6 million viewers on FOX, down 15% in ratings and viewership from last year (3.3, 5.4M), down 30% and 31% respectively from . There's a lot of people that are looking around and understand that the economics of our sport probably are in a better place now than they've been in a long time.. This past week, he pitched the idea of a single-elimination tournament, played out within the confines of five Cup Series races on five consecutive weekends. Please do not hesitate to contact me. Has either Fox or NBC indicated that theyre interested in re-upping? By then, hardly anyone will have a standard TV, anyway, because every event will be streamed, and ratings wont matter. NASCAR rose to prominence in the 1980s and 90s as TV became more and more involved. The Wednesday night race at Martinsville Speedway in June averaged 1.71 million viewers, and one at Charlotte Motor. Be the first one to comment on this story. I ask this question because two of the last three races (prior to Phoenix), at Texas, at Martinsville, were 3 hours, 42 minutes and thats in the fall against heavy competition. Sundays NASCAR Cup Series race from Talladega averaged a 2.6 rating and 4.55 million viewers on FOX, flat in ratings and up 5% in viewership from last year (2.6, 4.34M). The best of the best: the portal for top lists & rankings: Strategy and business building for the data-driven economy: Racing teams of NASCAR ranked by revenue 2017, Revenue of NASCAR's Team Penske racing team 2006-2017, Racing teams of NASCAR ranked by team value 2019, Average TV audience of NASCAR Cup Series 2022, Average U.S. TV audience of NASCAR races 2019, Average TV viewership of selected NASCAR events in the United States in 2019 (in million viewers), Average television viewership of NASCAR events in the United States in 2018 and 2019 (in millions), Total television viewership of NASCAR events in the United States in 2018 and 2019 (in millions), NASCAR average TV rating in the U.S. 2019, Average TV rating of NASCAR events in the United States in 2018 and 2019, TV rating Daytona 500 in the U.S. 2000-2022, TV ratings of Daytona 500 in the United States from 2000 to 2022, Daytona 500 TV viewers in the U.S. 2000-2022, Number of TV viewers of Daytona 500 in the United States from 2000 to 2022 (in million viewers), Average TV audience of NASCAR Cup Series finale 2019, Average viewership of the NASCAR Cup Series finale in the United States from 2015 to 2019 (in million viewers), Average viewership of the NASCAR Cup Series in the United States from 2014 to 2022 (in million viewers), Share of NASCAR fans in the United States in 2016, by gender, Average age of NASCAR TV viewers in the United States in 2006 and 2016 (in years), NASCAR fans in the U.S. 2017, by ethnicity, Share of NASCAR viewers in the United States in 2016-2017, by ethnicity, NASCAR fans in the U.S. 2017, by ethnicity and party, Share of NASCAR viewers in the United States in 2016-2017, by ethnicity and political affiliation, NASCAR fan opinions on who sports fans are in United States in 2017, Opinions of NASCAR fans on what makes someone a sports fan United States in 2017, NASCAR favorability in the U.S. 2018, by political party, Net favorability of NASCAR in the United States in 2018, by political affiliation, Top NASCAR purchases by fans in the United States in 2017, Leading NASCAR related purchases among NASCAR fans in the United States in 2017, Share of NASCAR fans in the United States in 2018, by city, NASCAR drivers with the most social media mentions during the playoffs in 2019, Most mentioned NASCAR drivers on social media during the playoffs in 2019, NASCAR racing teams ranked by revenue in 2017 (in million U.S. dollars), Revenue of NASCAR's Hendrick Motorsport team 2006-2017, Hendrick Motorsport team (NASCAR) revenue from 2006 to 2017 (in million U.S. dollars), Team Penske racing team (NASCAR) revenue from 2006 to 2017 (in million U.S. dollars), Revenue of NASCAR's Roush Fenway Racing team 2006-2017, Roush Fenway Racing team (NASCAR) revenue from 2006 to 2017 (in million U.S. dollars), Revenue of NASCAR's Front Row Motorsports team 2014-2017, Front Row Motorsports team (NASCAR) revenue from 2014 to 2017 (in million U.S. dollars), Most valuable sport event brands worldwide 2019, Most valuable sports events brands worldwide in 2019 (in million U.S. dollars), Brand value of the sports event Daytona 500 from 2012 to 2017 (in million U.S. dollars)*, Most active NASCAR sponsors on Twitter 2019, Most active NASCAR sponsors on Twitter during Daytona 500 in February 2019, by total activity*, NASCAR racing teams ranked by team value in 2019 (in million U.S. dollars), Value of NASCAR's Hendrick Motorsport team 2006-2020, Hendrick Motorsport team (NASCAR) team value* from 2006 to 2020 (in million U.S. dollars), Value of NASCAR's Joe Gibbs Racing team 2006-2018, Joe Gibbs Racing team (NASCAR) team value* from 2006 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars), Value of NASCAR's Stewart-Haas Racing team 2010-2018, Stewart-Haas Racing team (NASCAR) team value* from 2010 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars). It's peak viewership was 10.1 million viewers. NBC Sports' 2021 NASCAR Cup Series viewership across NBC and NBCSN produced a Total Audience Delivery of 2.562 million viewers, . June 16, 2022. Is that directly because of television and trying to capture more viewers? The advent of streaming services has further changed how sports are presented to viewers. I think were really well-positioned both today and going into the rights discussion in 2023. However, the 2022 season represented very notable numbers. "Average Viewership of The Nascar Cup Series in The United States from 2014 to 2022 (in Million Viewers). Any change that we would make would be done just like anything else, with a lot of input and feedback from the industry, teams, tracks, and we have fan council research we rely on a lot, and nothing that we would make would be sudden in nature. And what both Fox and NBC have done a really good job doing with us is evolving their product and evolving the distribution mix to make it current digital products, streaming in-car cameras on platforms like YouTube or Twitter or Fox having watch parties or alternate broadcasts on their various Fox Sports platforms. The same race last year attracted 4.154 million viewers, and the 2017 race drew 4.662 million both of which had established respective viewership lows for the 36th and final race of the too-dang-long Cup season. There is only up to go from here and that is a good thing. TV ratings are no longer the end all be all for NASCAR. So what Steve is referring to, the opportunity that we have in 2022 if the weather cooperates, is one that were pretty excited about. Steve Phelps said, We are going to have our most successful year on TV, weather permitting, that weve had in a long, long time. Hes very bullish on 2022 and where he thinks the ratings are going to be. The statistic depicts the average national TV viewership in the U.S. for selected motor . working with us to tweak the distribution as needed. They are now just one part of a bigger picture: one pixel of a screenshot. The NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas is down slightly from late February race in 2021. NBC did the best with what it was given, really, but there were few compelling storylines. Brian Herbst is the senior vice president for media and productions for NASCAR. Every sport has a very passionate fan base. The last TV deal NASCAR negotiated in 2013 was a record television deal for NASCAR. We are happy to help. You will find all of your NASCAR ratings coverage at Sportsnaut. So even if were competing versus the NFL, we hold up pretty well. Its a great viewership opportunity. Gone are the days when a fan would tune in to a broadcast or cable channel to see their favorite sporting event or teams, as many leagues around the globe have signed rights fees with streaming platforms like ESPN+, Amazon, Peacock, Paramount+ and a plethora of others. What is the sweet spot for how long a race should be from a television perspective? Certainly, theres not a lot of sports properties that are on our scale that can tell that story. Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header. Without this postponement, NASCAR's average viewership is up 3% in 2020. Hes tasked with not only getting exposure for the sport but measuring that exposure and translating in a way that shows value to stakeholders. or Disney plus; there's more competition for those eyeballs then there's ever been. Thursday's opening round of the NFL Draft averaged a combined 11.29 million viewers across ESPN (5.62M), ABC (4.11M) and NFL Network (1.56M), up 13% from last year (10.03M). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Daytona 500 ratings history (1979-present), 1979-2004 numbers from Sports Business Daily. Viewership of the NASCAR Cup Series increased by six percent since last year, from an average of 3.48 million to 3.7 million viewers. The 2022 NASCAR season concluded at Phoenix Raceway when Joey Logano was crowned as the sports second active two-time champion at the top level. Lets dive into the NASCAR ratings over the course of the 2022 season compared to years past. With that, here's what you need to know about this year's Cup Series race at Dover, including start time and broadcast information. Home Motorsports NASCAR NASCAR scores increase at Talladega, LONG POND, PA - JULY 28: A general view of the NASCAR logo on the wall during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400 on July 28, 2019 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire). NASCAR scraped bottom. All of these numbers are the raw total from each rating release throughout the season. Below, we take a look at the NASCAR ratings over the course of the 2023 season with an up-to-date analysis of each event. Weve been partners with Fox for 20-plus years. Get in touch with us. If you look at average viewership for a network race for NASCAR right now it is 3.7 million viewers, the average viewership for cable races is 2.3 million viewers. That is more critical to our sport than probably any other sport in America. It is and it will be a balancing act for us in the industry in 2023 to get that distribution mix right because were not going to have all of our races on broadcast, were not going to have all of our races on over the top platforms, we will be somewhere in between. Please do not hesitate to contact me. That was a concession NASCAR made for the big contract. Theres been some thought that maybe getting out of the NFLs way a little sooner could boost ratings.