NBCSN's live coverage of the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix, highlighted by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel earning his first win with his new team, was the most-watched overnight F1 race on cable in 18 years, averaging 384,000 viewers.
Viewership of Sunday's race, which aired overnight from 2:30-4:55 a.m. ET, was up 55% vs. 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix average viewership (248,000), and up 217% vs. the 2013 viewership on
NBCSN (121,000). It was the most-watched overnight F1 race since 1997 (ESPN, Grand Prix of Germany).
The race delivered a 0.24 household rating, up 41% from last year's rating (0.17). Including the Australian Grand Prix, which was the first race of the season, NBCSN's 2015 F1 coverage has averaged 324,000 viewers, up 31% vs. 2014 through two races (248,000), and up 163% vs. 2013 through two races (123,000).
Sebastian Vettel held off Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to capture his first grand prix win as a member Team Ferrari, and first win since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix, which capped his fourth consecutive World Drivers' Championship. Vettel's win also
SNAPPED Mercedes' streak of eight straight victories, dating back to last season, and was Ferrari's first grand prix win since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix.
In addition, NBCSN's live presentation of qualifying on Saturday morning (5:00-6:43 a.m. ET) averaged 193,000 viewers, up 58% from last year's Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying session on
NBCSN (122,000).
The 2015 F1 season continues on
NBCSN on Sunday, April 12 at 1:30 a.m. ET with live coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix from Shanghai.
NBCSN and
NBC Sports Live Extra will provide comprehensive live coverage of all practice and qualifying sessions throughout the week.
THIS WEEK'S MOTORSPORTS COVERAGE
NBCSN's coverage of the Indy Lights series begins this week on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET, with the season's inaugural race from St. Petersburg. Kevin Lee calls the action, alongside analyst Anders Krohn and pit reporter Katie Hargitt.
NBCSN will also provide coverage of the first race of the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season from Kern County Raceway Park on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
NBC Sports Group lead NASCAR race announcer Rick Allen calls the action, alongside analyst and former driver Jeff Burton, former Dale Earnhardt Jr. crew chief Steve Letarte, and reporter Heather DeBeaux.
NASCAR TALK:
NBC Sports Digital has added NASCAR Talk to the already established SportsTalk franchises on NBCSports.com. Fans can visit NASCAR Talk for the most comprehensive and up-to-date NASCAR coverage, including Sprint Cup, XFINITY, and Camping World Truck Series. The site also promotes videos from NBCSN's NASCAR AMERICA. Fans can follow @NASCARTalkNBC on Twitter.
MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on Formula One, the Verizon
INDYCAR Series, and other open-wheel and off-road racing from around the world. The site also serves as the destination for all news, analysis and video from
NBC and
NBCSN productions of
INDYCAR and F1, including contributions from on-air commentators.
Content on NASCAR Talk and MotorSportsTalk is provided by top racing journalists and expert analysts, including:
Nate Ryan serves as lead writer on NASCAR Talk and an on-air reporter for
NBC and NBCSN's NASCAR coverage, following nine years with
USA Today Sports as an auto racing writer. He will also contribute long-form stories to MotorSportsTalk and
NBC SportsWorld. Ryan has covered 12 seasons of the Sprint Cup Series, and more than 300 races, beginning in 1997. Follow him on Twitter at @nateryan.
Dustin Long joins
NBC Sports Group as the managing editor and writer for NASCAR Talk, providing content focused on the Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series. Long is a former Motor Racing Network contributor and was named 2011 NMPA Writer of the Year. Prior to joining MRN, he spent 13 seasons covering NASCAR for the Landmark chain of newspapers that includes the Virginian-Pilot, the Roanoke (Va.) Times and the News and Record in Greensboro, N.C. Follow him at on Twitter @DustinLong.
Luke Smith is creator and editor at Richland F1, which begins its second season this year. Smith works alongside Tony DiZinno in providing F1 content on MotorSportsTalk He's on Twitter at @LukeSmithF1, primarily handling the F1 scene from Europe in great detail.
Tony DiZinno has most recently served as web editor for RACER Magazine and provides open wheel coverage on MotorSportsTalk. DiZinno has more than seven years of experience in the industry. Follow him on Twitter at @TonyDiZinno.
Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran NASCAR reporter with more than 30 years of experience, and works alongside Ryan, Long and Estrada on editorial content for NASCAR Talk. He has contributed to
USA Today, Yahoo! Sports and other websites over the course of his career. Follow him on Twitter @JerryBonkowski.
Comments
To post a comment, you must
register and
login.
