The start of the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Al Steinberg photo)
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Indy 500 Draws 3.737 Million Viewers For NBC

August 25, 2020

STAMFORD, Conn. – NBC Sports’ presentation of the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday from Indianapolis Motor Speedway averaged a total audience delivery of 3.737 million viewers.

The race was NBC Sports’ second-most watched IndyCar race on record and NBC’s second-most watched sports event since January, according to Fast National Data from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

Sunday’s race was the first Indianapolis 500 to take place in August, following 103 runnings in May, and the first Greatest Spectacle in Racing to run without spectators. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato won his second Indianapolis 500 under caution following a late-race duel with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon.

Following are additional viewership highlights from Sunday’s Indy 500 (2:31-5:45 pm ET), which faced uncommon competition from the NBA, PGA Tour and NASCAR:

  • The total audience delivery of 3.737 million viewers is NBC Sports’ second-most watched INDYCAR race on record behind only last year’s Indy 500 — the first ever on NBC — which averaged a total audience delivery of 5.489 million viewers and was up 11% vs. the 2018 race on ABC (4.913 million TV-only). Last year’s race did not face any significant sports competition.
  • TV-only coverage of the race peaked at 4.641 million TV-only viewers towards for the race’s conclusion (5:30-5:45 pm ET).
  • Sunday’s race is NBC Sports’ second-most watched sporting event since an NFL Divisional Playoff game on Jan. 11 (Min-SF, 30.2 million).
  • The 104th Indianapolis 500 is also the most-watched motorsports race to take place in August in three years, since a NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol (2017, 3.838 million).
  • It delivered a 2.29 household rating.
  • Across NBC Sports streaming platforms, the 104th Indianapolis 500 averaged an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 17,800 viewers, making it the second-most streamed IndyCar race on record, behind only last year’s Indy 500 in May (45,600).
  • Indianapolis delivered a local rating of 24.9 to lead all markets.

The following are the Top 10 local markets for Sunday’s Indy 500:

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