NBCSN Scores Best FORUMULA ONE Season in Two Decades
By: Tyler Peterson Dec. 03, 2015
In its third season presenting Formula One™, NBC Sports Group's 2015 coverage of all 19 races across NBC, NBCSN and CNBC produced its highest viewership, highlighted by NBCSN delivering the most-watched F1 season for a single cable network in two decades, according to The Nielsen Company.
Overall, NBC Sports Group's F1 coverage on NBC/NBCSN/CNBC averaged 521,000 viewers, up 14 % vs 2014 (457,000), and up 42% from its inaugural season of F1 coverage in 2013 (366,000).
NBCSN averaged 418,000 viewers for its live coverage of 13 races this season, up 9% vs. 2014 (385,000), to rank as the best F1 season for a single cable network since 1995 (ESPN; 755,000 viewers).
With many live races beginning before 8 a.m. ET, time-shifted viewing for NBCSN's F1 coverage drove viewership even higher in the 2015 season. Including all available Live+7 data on NBCSN, F1 races averaged 521,000 viewers, up 14% from Live+7 viewership on NBCSN last year (458,000).
An NBCSN record five races averaged more than 500,000 viewers (Bahrain, Spain, Austria, Belgium and Singapore), highlighted by 630,000 average viewers for the Bahrain Grand Prix on April 19, which was the most-watched non-domestic F1 race on cable in eight years (2007 Brazilian Grand Prix; 662,000 on SPEED).
| 2015 F1 RACES ON NBCSN WITH 500,000+ VIEWERS | ||||
| Date | Race | '15 Viewers | '14 Viewers | % Diff |
| April 19 | Bahrain Grand Prix | 630,000 | 594,000 | 6% |
| May 10 | Spanish Grand Prix | 543,000 | 455,000 | 20% |
| June 21 | Austrian Grand Prix | 525,000 | 413,000 | 27% |
| August 23 | Belgian Grand Prix | 524,000 | 435,000 | 21% |
| September 20 | Singapore Grand Prix | 510,000 | 406,000 | 26% |
In addition, nine of 12 races that aired on NBCSN in both 2014 and 2015 posted year-over-year viewership gains. NOTE: Does not include the Brazilian Grand Prix, which aired on CNBC in 2014.
NBC Sports Live Extra also delivered its best F1 season ever, streaming 10.7 million minutes for live races, up 76% vs. 2014 (6.1 million). Live Extra's 19 F1 races in 2015 averaged 12,600 uniques and 565,000 minutes, up 55% and 76% vs. those same metrics in 2014, respectively.
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