Indy 500 records 5.3m viewers on NBC for rain-delayed race

• 8% increase on 2023 and 10% increase on 2022
• Viewership peaked at 6.46m

The Indianapolis 500 recorded an impressive average of 5.34 million viewers for last weekend’s rain-delayed race across NBC and Peacock.

Getting underway nearly four hours later than planned, the race saw a peak audience of 6.46 million.

The average viewership is an eight per cent increase on 2023, which averaged 4.93 million viewers, and a ten per cent increase on 2022, which averaged 4.84 million viewers.

It is also the most-streamed IndyCar race ever, with an average minute audience (AMA) of 286,000 across Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms.

The race also benefitted from a rare lifting of the local blackout, which prevents the Indy 500 airing to the TV audience in Indiana. In the last 70 years it has only been lifted in 2016, when a sellout crowd saw the 100th edition of the race, and in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

NBC reports that, through the first six races of the 2024 season, IndyCar is averaging a total audience delivery (TAD) of 1.95 million. The average of the publicly reported viewership figures is currently 1.51 million.

BlackBook says...

Breaking five million viewers for just the fourth time since 2017 while navigating a four-hour weather delay is extremely impressive for IndyCar.

Compare it to Nascar's iconic race, the Daytona 500. In 2014, rain delayed the race start by six hours resulting in a 44 per cent drop in viewership compared to the previous year. The 2021 Daytona 500 suffered a record-low average viewership of 4.91 million after its weekend schedule was wrecked by rain.

The Indy 500 is also the crown jewel of IndyCar and far and away the main contributor to its annual viewership figures, so the importance of a year-on-year increase in the face of rain delays cannot be understated.

Also helping to boost attention on the race was Kyle Larson, arguably the best driver currently in Nascar, attempting to race in both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

Known as 'The Double', the inclement weather put paid to his ambitious plan but that doesn't mean it was a failure. Larson actually led all merchandise sales for drivers in the Indy 500 and his involvement in the race certainly contributed to the audience boost.

Above all, this highlights the benefits that can come from collaboration between motorsport series. You only need to look back to Nascar's Garage 56 entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans to be reminded of this potential. It would likely be beneficial for series if this became more commonplace across more global championships.