NBC's first Indy 500 drew higher than last year's record low average of 4.913 million viewers on ABCGETTY IMAGES
NBC on Sunday drew a total audience delivery of 5.446 million viewers for Simon Pagenaud's win in the Indianapolis 500, the first time the net had broadcast rights to the race. Sunday's race is up from a record low last year on ABC TV only, which averaged 4.913 million. The '17 race on ABC drew 5.457 million viewers. Sunday's audience peaked at 6.7 million viewers in the final quarter hour of the race, from 3:45-4:00pm ET. Sunday's race drew a TV-only number of 5.414 million viewers and marks the most-watched Sunday afternoon sporting event on NBC since the Eagles-Bears NFC Wild Card game on Jan. 6 (36.0 million viewers). The 500 was also the most-watched sporting event of the day across broadcast TV (Josh Carpenter, THE DAILY). In Indianapolis, Mickey Shuey noted this was the race's "best television performance" from a ratings standpoint (3.9) since the 100th running in '16, when the live blackout in the Indianapolis market "was lifted because the race was considered a sellout." NBC is in the first year of a multiyear broadcasting contract, and "significantly bolstered advertising for the Indy 500 compared to ABC’s handling of the race in recent years" (IBJ.com, 5/27). In Indianapolis, Jim Ayello notes despite the blackout, local fans "owned the biggest chunk of the overnight rating, delivering a 10.98 household rating by watching the tape-delayed version Sunday night" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/28).
ONE DOWN, MORE TO GO: CNBC's Jim Cramer said it is "good to see something up" from a viewership perspective, as it has been "tough for broadcasters” in recent years (“Squawk on the Street,” CNBC, 5/28). The STAR's Ayello notes in a "fast-changing media landscape where solid TV ratings are growing more and more difficult to come by, NBC delivered." Ayello: "Is NBC thrilled by a 3.9? I doubt it. I didn't see executives taking victory laps around IMS today nor anyone making public declarations of victory." But for Year 1, a double-digit bump "isn't bad." Ayello: "We'll have to see what they can do next year for an encore" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/28).
PERFECT MATCH: FORBES' Dave Caldwell writes the Indy 500 broadcast team was "solid, and the former drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick clicked." The "engaging and folksy Earnhardt," was a "coup for NBC’s Indy 500 coverage, and the network used him a lot Sunday." However, Patrick, "friendly but intense, put this team over the top." Placed with NBC's Mike Tirico in a pit-lane booth, Patrick and Earnhardt "fed off each other as if they’d done this before, with Earnhardt hitting the human-interest angles that developed during the race, and Patrick supplying smooth and succinct race analysis" (FORBES.com, 5/28). In L.A., Tom Hoffarth wrote it was "very wise to work Danica Patrick into the race flow for her strategical insights" after her "rather rah-rah prerace show contribution that came off as more of an excitable Rose Parade airtime filler" (L.A. TIMES, 5/27).
WHEELS OVER PUCKS: In Indianapolis, Kelly Hwang noted local NBC affil WTHR aired the Indy 500 Victory Banquet last night instead of the national feed of Blues-Bruins Stanley Cup Final Game 1. That game aired on WALV-MTV, causing "some confusion for fans" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/28).
