US viewership: Nascar and F1 deliver solid audiences for Nashville and Austria races

Formula One and Nascar recorded strong US viewership figures for last weekend’s races in Austria and Nashville, respectively.

Confirmed:

• Austrian Grand Prix averaged 1.078 million viewers on ESPN, the second-highest ever behind last year’s audience of 1.086 million
• Nascar’s Nashville round enjoyed a small increase on the 2023 figure as 3.24 million tuned in on NBC

Context:

It was more of the same for both series in terms of viewership, as Formula One saw a one per cent fall and Nascar saw a marginal 0.3 per cent increase. Consistency is a good sign for the respective series at this stage of the season, especially Formula One which has looked strong in recent weeks.

Indeed, this is the third consecutive race to record over one million viewers following Monaco (1.97 million), Canada (1.8 million) and Spain (1.1 million). Formula One is now averaging 1.24 million viewers so far in 2024. 

Nascar viewership was solid despite rain delays and coverage concluding on USA Network, with total viewership of the race reportedly reaching 3.3 million including streaming data measured by Adobe Analytics.

Coming next:

This weekend sees the return of IndyCar and there will be much intrigue around the introduction of hybrid engines at Mid-Ohio. Similarly, Nascar stages its second-ever Chicago Street Race, which averaged an impressive 4.63 million viewers last season.

Formula One goes racing at one of its most iconic circuits as Silverstone hosts the British Grand Prix, which should continue the series' strong run of averaging over one million viewers.

Go deeper:

• The SkyPad, Martin Brundle interviews, and remote production: Inside Sky Sports’ award-winning F1 coverage
• IndyCar CEO Mark Miles on the Fox media rights deal, expanding into new markets, and plans for an international series