Sports Media Watch
NASCAR Daytona "Roval" is lowest rated race at the track since at least 1997 and least-watched since at least 2000 (including makeup races).
Having said that, a solid draw under the circumstances. Topped a competitive sports weekend.
https://t.co/JAIwbVgJrJSunday's NASCAR Cup Series Daytona road race averaged a 2.0 rating and 3.24 million viewers on NBC, marking the lowest rated race at Daytona since at least 1997 and the least-watched since at least 2000, including makeup races.
There are a number of caveats to that statistic. The race was a late addition to the schedule after New York barred NASCAR from racing at Watkins Glen; it was an entirely new event with none of the tradition of the Daytona 500 or Firecracker 400; and it was the first Daytona race since 1981 that did not either kick off the season or take place over the July 4 holiday.
As such, there are no real apples-to-apples comparisons. The closest is to last year's second Daytona race, which also aired on a Sunday on NBC. Ratings fell a tick and viewership 1% (from 3.29M), but that was a makeup race and as such below typical levels. Compared to the previous year's race, which was run as scheduled on a Saturday night, ratings fell 26% (from 2.7) and viewership 27% (from 4.44M).
Another comparison is to the Watkins Glen race it replaced. Ratings jumped 18% and viewership 19% from last year's 1.7 and 2.72 million, but that race aired on NBCSN. Compared to the 2018 Watkins Glen race on NBC, ratings and viewership fell 13% and 12% respectively from a 2.3 and 3.67 million.
Compared to another oval-turned-road course, ratings and viewership topped last year's Charlotte "Roval" by 9% and 7% respectively (1.8, 3.02M). Compared to the "Roval" debut in 2018, ratings were flat and viewership inched up 1% (from 3.22M). Keep in mind Charlotte's "Roval" has to compete with NFL games.
For the season, Sunday's race ranks as the highest rated and most-watched race since the Brickyard 400 on July 4 weekend (2.7, 4.34M). Not coincidentally, it was also the first race since the Brickyard to air on broadcast television.
Notably, Daytona was the highest rated and most-watched sportscast of a weekend that included an NBA playoff play-in game, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the end of the PGA Tour regular season. It ranked second behind the NBA game in adults 18-49.