TV News: Weekend USA Motorsports TV Ratings
TV Ratings for this past weekend for all major USA motorsports events – NASCAR, IndyCar, MotoGP, SRX, and IMSA
–By Mark Cipolloni–
TV Ratings Analysis
NASCAR
The USA Network got 2.603 million viewers and a 1.5 rating for the 78 minutes of the rained out Michigan Speedway Cup Race that was started Sunday and finished Monday.
Figures for Monday’s makeup race were not immediately available.
The numbers were down from last year, but that may be due to the rain out.
NBC got 1.630 million viewers and a 1.0 rating for the NASCAR Xfinity race at Michigan Speedway on Saturday, up significantly from 2022 on the USA network.
Both NASCAR races drew less than 20% of the viewers in the all-important 18-49 age group, a bad omen.
IndyCar
NBC got 1.113 million viewers and a 0.7 rating for the Music City GP in Nashville Sunday. Last year’s race was rained impacted and finished on CNBC so those ratings were meaningless.
In 2021 the race was broadcast on NBCSN and this year’s viewership was down 7.25% from 2021 despite being on NBC now.
Given how poor ratings were on NBCSN in the day, one has to scratch their head and wonder why less people tuned into the NBC broadcast than NBCSN.
The race lost over 30% of viewers in the all important 18-49 year old age group from 2021 to this year – a horrific omen of an aging fanbase.
IMSA
The USA Network got 233,000 viewers and a 0.1 rating for the IMSA WeatherTech Race from Road America, down significantly from last year. The IMSA race drew less than the MotoGP and SRX races, and one has to wonder how the participating manufacturers justify their participation due to such low viewership.
TV Rating Data
| Network | Event | Location | Total Viewers |
18-49 Viewers |
Ratio: 18-49 Yr Old/ Total Viewers |
2023 Rating |
2022 Rating |
Rating % Chg. |
2022 Network |
2022 Viewers |
2022 18-49 Viewers |
Total Viewers % Chg |
18-49 Viewers % Chg |
| USA | NASCAR Cup race | Michigan | 2,603,000 | 455,000 | 17% | 1.50 | 1.45 | 3.45% | USA | 2,621,000 | 513,000 | -0.69% | -11.31% |
| NBC | NASCAR Xfinity race | Michigan | 1,630,000 | 300,000 | 18% | 1.00 | 0.62 | 61.29% | USA | 1,002,000 | 195,000 | 62.67% | 53.85% |
| NBC | IndyCar Race | Nashville | 1,113,000 | 195,000 | 18% | 0.70 | 0.68 | 2.94% | NBCSN | 1,200,000 | 288,000 | -7.25% | -32.29% |
| NBC | MotoGP Race | Silverstone | 612,000 | 130,000 | 21% | 0.40 | No Data | ||||||
| ESPN | SRX Series Race | Berlin, MI | 377,000 | 143,000 | 38% | 0.20 | No Race in Berlin Michigan last year | ||||||
| USA | IMSA Race | Road America | 233,000 | 78,000 | 33% | 0.10 | 0.18 | -44.44% | USA | 266,000 | 62,000 | -12.41% | 25.81% |