NBCSN Scores Best July Yet with NASCAR

NASCAR and NBC Sports Group kicked off their 10-year partnership in July with more than 100 hours of trackside coverage, which fueled the best July Total Day and Primetime viewership in NBCSN history.

With the full NASCAR slate plus milestone-setting INDYCAR and Tour de France race coverage, NBCSN posted its most-watched July ever in Total Day (218,000 average viewers) and Primetime (368,000) viewership, according to live plus same day data released by The Nielsen Company.

Highlighting the month, this past Sunday's live telecast of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the network's most-watched telecast ever, averaging 4.7 million viewers. Viewership peaked at 5.6 million from 6:30-6:45 p.m. ET as Kyle Busch raced to his third consecutive victory.

"We are pleased to finish off a great month highlighted by an excellent start with our NASCAR partners, as well as compelling INDYCAR and Tour de France racing," said NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus. "NBCSN's most-watched telecast ever and best July ever are just the start of things to come as the NASCAR competition heats up for the rest of the summer and into the postseason Chase."

In the key demographic for the month (June 29-July 26), NBCSN averaged 57,000 Total Day viewers among Adults 18-49 (up 68% from 2014) and 93,000 Primetime A18-49 viewers (up 60%).

JULY HIGHLIGHTS:

• NBCSN averaged 218,000 Total Day (6 a.m-6 a.m.) viewers - marking the best July in NBCSN history. The July 2015 record viewership jumped 91% from the network's Total Day viewership last July (114,000) and is up 25% from the prior record for the month (175,000) set in July 2012, which included coverage of the opening days of the 2012 London Olympics.

• NBCSN also posted its best July ever in primetime viewership with an average of 368,000 viewers - up 95% from last year (189,000) and a 7% increase from the prior best (345,000) set in July 2003.

• Viewership grew each week for NASCAR Sprint Cup on NBCSN, as the July 26 Brickyard 400 viewership was up 27% from New Hampshire (3.7 million) and up 47% from Kentucky (3.2 million).

• NASCAR America posted its most-watched month ever, averaging 106,000 viewers. The show's average topped July 2014 viewership by 43%.

• NBCSN posted the best viewership for its live morning Tour de France telecasts since 2010 (the last year Lance Armstrong rode in the race), averaging 365,000 viewers - up 27% from last year (288,000).

• NBCSN's coverage of the Verizon INDYCAR Series posted viewership milestones in succeeding weeks. The July 18 primetime telecast of the Iowa Corn 300 averaged 541,000 viewers, making it the network's most-watched INDYCAR race in four years (Sept. 4, 2011, 591,000 viewers, Baltimore), and eclipsing the milestone hit just six days earlier for the network's INDYCAR presentation from Milwaukee (532,000 viewers). Dating back to the Fontana race on June 27, three consecutive INDYCAR races on NBCSN have topped 500,000 viewers - a first since NBC Sports Group acquired INDYCAR cable exclusivity in 2008.

NBCSN's August programming schedule is highlighted by a full slate of NASCAR Sprint Cup and XFINITY series competition, INDYCAR and Formula One racing, and the eagerly-anticipated kickoff of the 2015-16 Premier League season next Saturday, August 8.

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