MOORESVILLE, N.C. — An early start on a holiday paid big dividends for NBC and the NTT IndyCar Series Sunday.
The Fourth of July telecast of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course averaged more than 1.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched IndyCar race on NBC, excluding the annual telecast of the Indianapolis 500.
That has NBC Sports off to its most-watched NTT IndyCar Series season ever. Through nine races, including six on NBC and three on NBCSN, the IndyCar Series has produced a Total Audience Delivery of 1.582 million viewers. That makes it the most-watched start to an IndyCar Series season ever and up 30 percent versus last year’s comparable coverage.
Last weekend’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on July 4 on NBC averaged a TAD of 1.303 million viewers, marking NBC’s most-watched INDYCAR race ever, excluding the Indianapolis 500, and the most-watched Mid-Ohio race since 2008.
Mid-Ohio supplanted the season-opening race on the Streets of St. Petersburg, which averaged 1.225 million viewers to rank as the most-watched afternoon race on NBC to that point and was the most-watched Grand Prix of St. Petersburg since 2016.
This year’s Indianapolis 500 on NBC drew a TAD of 5.581 million viewers to rank as NBC Sports’ most-watched IndyCar Series race and the most-watched Indy 500 since 2016.
The REV Group Grand Prix at Road America on June 20 on NBCSN averaged a TAD of 807,000 viewers to rank as NBCSN’s third most-watched IndyCar race on record and the most-watched on cable since 2016.
Through three races, the 2021 NTT INDYCAR Series on NBCSN has produced a TAD of 530,000 viewers, up 59% vs. 2020 and up 38% vs. 2019, to rank as the network’s best start to an IndyCar season.
The following at the top 10 markets for the NTT IndyCar Series on NBC and NBCSN through nine races in 2021:
Rank, Market, HH Rating
1 – Indianapolis, 5.96
2 – Dayton, Ohio, 2.22
3 – Cincinnati, 2.19
4 – Knoxville, TN, 2.07
T-5 – Fort Meyers, Florida; Columbus, Ohio, 2.05
7 – Louisville, 1.98
8 – Greenville, 1.68
9 – Nashville, 1.55
10 – Sacramento, 1.53