TV News: USA Weekend Motorsports TV Ratings
USA TV Ratings for the NASCAR TV broadcasts from Phoenix this past weekend as well as the Sao Paulo GP Formula 1 race in Brazil.
–by Mark Cipolloni
TV Ratings Analysis
NASCAR
NBC drew 2.92 million viewers for the NASCAR Cup Championship race at Phoenix Sunday, down 9.12% from 2022 also on NBC.
The all important 18-49 age group viewers was a miserable 14%, down 27.57% from 2022
The NASCAR Xfinity finale from Phoenix on Saturday and the Truck finale on Friday had similar results.
Formula 1
Last year’s race was on ABC and averaged 1.4 million and 477K, so of course the viewership was down 35%
Compared to 2021 on ESPN like 2023, average viewership was up 9.39 pct (831K on ESPN2)
Audience peaked at 1.098M between 12:45-1pm ET
The race was the most-viewed telecast on ESPN platforms (including sports on ABC) on Sunday across total viewers and the all important 18-49 age group. The 38% of the viewers were in this age group, 171% better than the NASCAR Cup race
Through 20 races, F1 races averaging 1.11M total viewers, down 8 pct from 2022’s record season average of 1.21M
This is still on track to be the second most-viewed F1 season ever in the U.S.
Formula 1 vs IndyCar
Once the NFL season started IndyCar was only able to draw 535,000 viewers on NBC for their season finale in Laguna Seca. And they only drew 85,000 in the all important 18-49 age group, i.e. 15.9%.
Compare that to F1 which has been drawing near or over 1 million viewers for every race on a cable channel going head-to-head with NFL games. In Fact, the last race from Brazil on ABC drew 1.4 million viewers and peaked at almost 2 million viewers.
Formula 1 is held back in the USA because most of it races air early Sunday mornings and some races, like Australia and Japan air at 2:00am. Even the huge Las Vegas GP will air at 1:00am – not good for USA TV ratings.
Conclusion: F1 popularity has far surpassed that of IndyCar in the USA, and it is just getting started.
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 2021 Network |
2022 2021 Viewers |
2022 2021 18-49 Viewers |
Total Viewers % Chg |
18-49 Viewers % Chg |
| NBC | NASCAR Cup race | Phoenix | 2,920,000 | 423,000 | 14% | 1.60 | 1.86 | -13.98% | NBC | 3,213,000 | 584,000 | -9.12% | -27.57% |
| USA | NASCAR Xfinity race | Phoenix | 951,000 | 141,000 | 15% | 0.55 | 0.58 | -5.17% | USA | 994,000 | 225,000 | -4.33% | -37.33% |
| ESPN2 | F1 Brazil Race | Sao Paulo | 909,000 | 345,000 | 38% | 0.50 | 0.74 | -32.43% | ABC 2022 | 1,401,000 | 477,000 | -35.12% | -27.67% |
| ESPN2 | F1 Brazil Race | Sao Paulo | 909,000 | 343,000 | 38% | 0.50 | 0.44 | 13.64% | ESPN2 2021 | 831,000 | 359,000 | 9.39% | -3.90% |
| FS1 | NASCAR Truck Race | Phoenix | 415,000 | 78,000 | 19% | 0.24 | 0.25 | -4.00% | FS1 | 408,000 | 102,000 | 1.72% | -3.90% |
| ESPN2 | F1 Brazil Sprint Race | Sao Paulo | 399,000 | 136,000 | 34% | 0.24 | No Data | ||||||
| ESPN2 | F1 Brazil Qualifying | Sao Paulo | 337,000 | 117,000 | 35% | 0.20 | No Data | ||||||