CUP: Overnight TV Ratings Up 13 Percent For Daytona 500

Sprint Cup

CUP: Overnight TV Ratings Up 13 Percent For Daytona 500

Last Sunday's Daytona 500 posted an 8.7 overnight rating, up 13 percent from the 2010 edition of NASCAR's biggest race...

SceneDaily.com | Posted February 22, 2011 Charlotte, NC

The 2012 Sprint Cup season officially kicks off with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

The 2011 Daytona 500 posted an 8.7 overnight rating, a 13 percent increase over the 2010 event that was interrupted for more than two hours because of a pothole.

The live broadcast on FOX reached 30.1 million viewers, one percent higher than the 2010 audience and 15 percent better than 2009, according to a FOX news release.

The 2010 audience got a boost from the pothole because the delay lengthened the event. But the rating, which takes into account an average of viewers over the entire telecast, was impacted last year by the pothole and possibly the Olympics.

This year’s race averaged 15.6 million viewers throughout the race, a 17 percent increase over last year’s 13.3 million.

The number of fans tuning in for the start of the race was seven percent higher than last year and the ratings peaked at 10.9, with 19.8 million viewers for the 30 final minutes.

In the key male 18-34 demographic, ratings improved 46 percent from 2.6 in 2010 to 3.8 in 2011 while male teen viewership nearly doubled by going from 1.6 to 3.1 – the best rating among males 12-17 in six years.

Other key demographics gains included men 18-49 up 16 percent and men 25-54 up 4 percent.

Nine of the top 10 metered markets saw double-digit increases from last year, including Chicago (up 61 percent), Los Angeles (46 percent), New York (32 percent), San Francisco (21 percent), Boston (20 percent), Philadelphia (19 percent) and Dallas (18 percent).

Dayton (Ohio) was the country’s No. 1 market with a rating of 20.4, followed by Greensboro, N.C., at 20.1.

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