ABC's coverage of the Indianapolis 500 drew a 6.8 overnight
rating, a 21% drop from last year and the lowest Indy overnight
ever, according to Michael Hiestand of USA TODAY. Yesterday,
ESPN projected a 3.0 cable rating for its coverage of the rival
U.S. 500 (USA TODAY, 5/29).
RATINGS BREAKDOWN: The following analysis, from Nielsen
Sports Marketing Service, compares this year's Indy 500
rating/shares to the '95 race (THE DAILY). NOTE: As these
numbers are preliminary, they may differ slightly from later
readings cited by networks and other news outlets.
MARKET '95 '96 MARKET '95 '96
New York 4.5/14 3.4/10 Denver 9.3/31 9.0/25
L.A. 10.9/33 7.8/24 Pittsb. 8.4/23 7.1/19
Chicago 9.4/28 7.5/22 St Louis 11.3/35 6.9/21
Phila. 8.1/23 6.2/18 Sac'mento 9.4/29 7.5/28
S.F.-Oak-S.J. 6.9/24 6.6/23 Orlando 8.6/25 8.5/23
Boston 3.9/17 4.0/15 Baltimore 7.8/22 5.0/13
Washington 7.1/21 6.4/18 Portland 9.5/32 8.7/30
Dallas-FW 9.9/26 7.8/21 Indian. 17.7/33 15.8/27
Detroit 9.8/25 6.9/20 Hartford 6.1/24 5.5/19
Atlanta 9.0/23 5.7/15 San Diego 8.5/27 7.7/24
Houston 8.2/21 7.2/19 Charlotte 10.3/28 7.8/21
Seattle 9.9/35 7.1/24 Cincy 12.9/35 9.9/28
Cleveland 11.9/30 5.6/15 Milwaukee 12.6/39 10.9/35
Minn-St Paul 8.6/27 5.6/20 K.C. 9.0/27 8.5/24
Tampa-St Pete 9.6/26 6.7/20 San Ant. 6.7/18 7.2/18
Miami-Ft Laud 5.7/17 6.1/17 W Palm Bch 9.7/26 6.6/18
Phoenix 11.7/34 10.1/29 AVERAGE 8.6/25 6.6/18
