IMSA sees TV viewership increase for 2020

NBC Sports delivered significant viewership gains and milestones for the second straight year for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2020, producing a 21% increase in viewership for 19 race telecasts across NBC, and NBCSN, despite the season being significantly affected by COVID-19.

NBC Sports’ 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Championship coverage across NBC and NBCSN averaged 242,000 viewers, according to Nielsen. NBC Sports has nearly doubled viewership for the IMSA WeatherTech Championship in two years since acquiring the rights, up 89% from the 2018 season (128,000 viewers on FOX/FS1/FS2).

Season-long viewership highlights are headlined by NBC Sports’ coverage of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 26, which averaged nearly 1 million viewers (996,000) on NBC to rank as the most-watched IMSA race since 2014 (Petit Le Mans, 2014; 1.160 million).

In addition, coverage from Sebring International Raceway on July 18 on NBCSN produced the network’s most-watched IMSA race since acquiring broadcast rights prior to the 2019 season, averaging 358,000 viewers.

IMSA viewership gains come on the heels of strong season-long viewership for NBC Sports’ coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series and the NTT INDYCAR Series. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series averaged a TAD of 3.235 million viewers on NBC, up 3% vs. 2019, while NBC Sports’ INDYCAR viewership on NBC and NBCSN was up 2% vs. 2019, when excluding the rescheduled Indianapolis 500.