Nascar Cup Series viewership dips 5% in 2023

Stock car racing's top-tier series averages 2.86m viewers across NBC, Fox, FS1 and USA Network.

  • Posted: November 10 2023
  • By: BlackBook Motorsport
Nascar Cup Series viewership dips 5% in 2023

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The 2023 Nascar Cup Series saw a five per cent viewership drop compared to last year, averaging 2.86 million viewers across NBC, Fox, FS1 and USA Network.

Confirmed:

  • Viewership down from 3.03 million in 2022 (from Daytona 500 in February through to finale in Phoenix last weekend)
  • Championship race in Phoenix on 5th November averaged three million viewers, the best for any of the playoff races this season
  • NBC’s audience peaked at 3.8 million viewers on Sunday
  • Cup Series on NBC, USA Network, Peacock and NBC Sports Digital scored a total audience delivery (TAD) of 2.47 million viewers across 20 races
  • The inaugural Cup Series race on the streets of Chicago drew 4.79 million, marking NBC’s most-watched Nascar race and the second-most watched race of the season behind the Daytona 500 on Fox
  • Race at Pocono on 23rd July averaged 2.83 million viewers, making it the most-watched Cup Series race on cable TV in 2023 and the most-watched Cup Series race on any cable network since 2021
  • Overall viewership for the second-tier Xfinity Series was flat at one million viewers, while the Truck Series saw a drop of five per cent compared to 2022
  • NBC Sports’ coverage of the second half of the 2023 Xfinity Series delivered a TAD of 1.04 million viewers, up nine per cent on 2022, making it NBC Sports’ most-watched Xfinity Series season since 2017

Context:

Despite some dips for Nascar, it is still well ahead of Formula One when it comes to viewership in the US. The Liberty Media-owned series averaged 1.24 million viewers per Grand Prix across ESPN, ESPN 2 and ABC for the 2023 season’s opening 12 races.

Coming next:

Fox chief executive Lachlan Murdoch confirmed earlier this month that a new media rights deal with Nascar is imminent.

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