VIEWERSHIP FOR FIRST-EVER INDIANAPOLIS 500 ON NBC IS UP 11% VS. 2018

"Greatest Spectacle in Racing" Averaged Total Audience Delivery of 5.446 Million Viewers on NBC, NBCSports.com & NBC Sports App

Race Peaked at 6.7 Million Viewers As Simon Pagenaud Outdueled Alexander Rossi in Thrilling Conclusion

Household Rating of 3.43 is Best in 3 Years

103rd Indianapolis 500 is NBC Sports' Most-Streamed INDYCAR Race Ever

STAMFORD, Conn. - May 27, 2019 - With a thrilling finish and 300,000+ fans in attendance, the star-studded 103rd Indianapolis 500 -- the first ever broadcast on NBC -- delivered an 11% viewership increase vs. 2018, its best household rating in three years, and is now NBC Sports' most-streamed INDYCAR race ever, according to Fast National data from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

The "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 5.446 million viewers yesterday afternoon across NBC, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app (12:43-4:03 p.m. ET), up 11% vs. the 2018 race (TV-only 4.913 million, ABC). Viewership peaked in the final quarter-hour (3:45-4 p.m. ET) when 6.700 million viewers watched Team Penske's Simon Pagenaud outduel Andretti Autosports' Alexander Rossi in a thrilling finish to take the checkered flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NBC's TV-only viewership averaged 5.414 million viewers and delivered a 3.43 household rating, which is the best for an Indy 500 in three years (3.88 in 2016).

Yesterday's Indy 500 also stands as the most-watched Sunday afternoon sporting event on NBC in more than four months, since the NFL Wild Card game between the Eagles and Bears on Jan. 6 (36.0 million viewers). It was also the most watched sporting event of the day across all TV.

Digitally, the 103rd Indianapolis 500 is now NBC Sports' most-streamed INDYCAR race ever, setting records with 161,000 uniques, 8.4 million live minutes, and an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 31,700 viewers.

Locally, Indianapolis led all markets with a 10.98 HH rating for its primetime replay. Dayton (9.77), Sacramento-Stockton (7.97), Cincinnati (7.34), and Ft. Myers-Naples (7.30) rounded out the top five for live coverage in the afternoon.

Following are the Top 10 markets for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 on NBC:

Rank Metered Market HH Rating
1 Indianapolis* 10.98
2 Dayton 9.77
3 Sacramento-Stockton 7.97
4 Cincinnati 7.34
5 Ft. Myers-Naples 7.30
6 West Palm Beach 6.94
7 Louisville 6.77
8 Columbus, OH 6.36
9 Richmond 6.34
10 Tulsa 6.18

*Live coverage of the Indy 500 was blacked out in Indianapolis. The rating above is for the replay that is shown in primetime. Ratings for all other markets are for live coverage of the race in the afternoon.

NBC Sports has presented six INDYCAR races this season -- two on NBC and four on NBCSN. Those six races have averaged a TAD of 1.717 viewers, up 363% vs. NBC Sports' first six races of 2018, all on NBCSN (371,000 TAD). All NBC and NBCSN races are live streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

The two NBC races - the INDYCAR Grand Prix and the 103rd Indianapolis 500 - have combined to average a TAD of 3.722 million viewers, up 15% vs. last year (TV-only 3.224 million, ABC).

Earlier this month, the INDYCAR Grand Prix from Indianapolis Motor Speedway - the first-ever NTT IndyCar Series race to air on the NBC broadcast network - averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.071 million viewers, making it the most-watched INDYCAR Grand Prix in five years.

The four races on NBCSN this season have averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of nearly 400,000 viewers (397,000), up 21% vs. its first four races of 2018 (327,000) and NBCSN's second-best start to a season in eight years.

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The 2019 season is the first of a new media rights agreement that was announced in March 2018 between INDYCAR and NBC Sports Group in which NBC Sports acquired the exclusive rights to all NTT IndyCar Series races, qualifying and practice sessions, and Indy Lights races across its numerous platforms. Prior to this season, NBC Sports only had cable rights to a portion of the season. Click here for more information.