F1 USA TV audience up 123.8% in 5 years

–by Mark Cipolloni–

F1 TV audiences have grown 123.8% in the USA since 2018 when Formula 1 returned to the ABC/ESPN Platform.

In 2018, the first year the Championship returned to ESPN platforms, F1 races averaged 554K.

In 2023, they are averaging 1.24 million per race.

That is a 123.8% increase over 5 years, or an average annual growth of 24.77%

More importantly, every race gets at least 40% of its TV audience in the all-important 18-49 year old range. This far outdistances all other forms of motorsports in the USA.

Sunday’s Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, broadcast live on ESPN, attracted an average audience of 1.17 million viewers, the largest audience ever in the U.S. for the race.

The 2023 season has had three of the four largest live audiences in history on U.S. television:

• • Miami 1.96 million
  • Monaco 1.79 million
  • Canada 1.76 million

Five races this year have set event viewership records (Saudi Arabia, Monaco, Canada, Austria, Belgium).

All but two races this year have averaged more than 1 million viewers:

• • Australia (aired in overnight hours) – 556K
  • Azerbaijan – 959K