MOORESVILLE, N.C. – The switch from NBCSN to NBC for Saturday night’s Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway produced the most-watched NTT IndyCar Series race other than the Indianapolis 500 since 2016.
It was the most-watched IndyCar season opener since 2016 and the first IndyCar race to be shown in primetime on NBC.
The ratings are according to Fast National data provided by The Nielsen Company and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
The season-opening race of the 2020 season from Texas Motor Speedway on NBC (8-10 p.m. ET) averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 1.285 million viewers, ranking it as the most-watched non-Indy 500 IndyCar race since the 2016 Dual at Detroit Race 2 on ABC (1.397 million viewers).
Saturday night’s race on NBC surpassed last year’s Road America race (1.110 million TAD) to rank as NBC Sports’ most-watched IndyCar race on record and was up 38 percent vs. last year’s average viewership on NBC, both excluding the 2019 Indy 500.
Last night’s race on NBC also delivered IndyCar’s most-watched season-opener since 2016 (St. Pete; 1.391 million viewers; ABC). The race produced a 0.82 HH rating.
SPEED SPORT contacted Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles, who helped negotiate the current television contract between IndyCar and NBC.
“The Genesys 300 provided the 2020 NTT INDYCAR Series with the strong start we were hoping to see,” Miles said. “Our next race, the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis on July 4th will also be on NBC and will be our first doubleheader event, with IndyCar running with NASCAR the same day. We hope to have another strong audience and continue the season with great momentum.”
Indianapolis led all local markets with a 4.36 HH rating. Following are the top local markets from Saturday’s race:
| Rank | Metered Market | HH Rating |
| 1 | Indianapolis | 4.36 |
| 2 | Orlando-Daytona Beach | 2.11 |
| 3 | Columbus, OH | 2.07 |
| 4 | Salt Lake City | 1.81 |
| t-5 | Denver | 1.57 |
| t-5 | West Palm Beach | 1.57 |
| 7 | Dallas-Ft. Worth | 1.50 |
The Genesys 300 kicked off NBC Sports’ second season as the exclusive home of the NTT INDYCAR Series, including the Indianapolis 500, which will now take place on Sunday, August 23 on NBC.
NBC Sports continues its coverage of the NTT INDYCAR Series on Saturday, July 4, with the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on NBC.
The remainder of the 2020 television schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.