NBC Ratings UPDATE 2 National News: NBCs coverage of the Pepsi 400 from Daytona on Saturday night delivered a 5.8 overnight rating/11 share for the 8 p.m.-11:15 p.m. broadcast, making it the highest-rated primetime NASCAR race ever, according to figures released today by Nielsen Media Research. The 5.7 overnight rating represents a 41% increase over last years 4.1 overnight rating/9 share on CBS and surpassed the previous record 4.9 overnight rating/10 share for the Lowes 600 May 27 on Fox to become NASCARs highest-rated primetime race to date. The rating, which increased every half-hour until the races dramatic conclusion, peaked with a 7.0/13 while Dale Earnhardt Jr. was making his move from sixth-place to first on the races final five laps and crossing the finish line to NBC play-by-play announcer Allen Bestwicks call of Dale Earnhardt Jr., using lessons learned from his father to go from sixth to first and score the victory in the Pepsi 400. Earnhardts win came on the same track where his father perished in a final lap crash Feb. 18 at the Daytona 500 and, as lead pit reporter Bill Weber told him in his Victory Lane interview, 11 years to the day from his fathers first Winston Cup win at Daytona on July 7, 1990. The Pepsi 400 was the first race in NBC and TNTs new six-year agreement with NASCAR to telecast The Race for the Championship over the second half of the NASCAR season. National ratings are expected to be available Tuesday.(NBC PR)(7-8-2001) UPDATE: The overnight rating for the Pepsi 400 on NBC was a 5.8 — a 41 percent increase from last year’s Pepsi 400. It was the first race for NBC as part of the $2.4 billion NASCAR television deal with NBC and Fox. The tune-in increased each half-hour during the race, going from 5.0 to 7.0. An overnight rating measures households in the country’s 50 largest markets, about 60 percent of the country. The market with the largest audience was Greensboro, N.C., at 14.2, followed by Orlando with a 13.5. New York was the country’s lowest market at 2.8.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(7-9-2001) UPDATE 2: NBCs coverage of Dale Earnhardt Jr.s dramatic victory at the Pepsi 400 from Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night was the highest-rated primetime NASCAR race in history. It delivered a 6.1 national rating/13 share for the 8-11:15 p.m. ET broadcast, according to figures released today by Nielsen Media Research. NBC Sports research estimates that 25 million viewers watched all or part of the telecast, which was network televisions highest-rated program Saturday night. The Pepsi 400 was the first race in NBC and TNTs new six-year agreement with NASCAR to telecast The Race for the Championship over the second half of the NASCAR season. NBCs 4.4 rating among the highly coveted 18-49 adult demographic from 8-11 p.m. also lapped the field as CBS registered a 1.6, ABC a 2.2 and Fox a 2.5 in that desired demographic Saturday. The strong performance by the Pepsi 400 propelled NBC to a primetime ratings victory Saturday night. From 8-11 p.m. ET, NBCs 6.1 rating/13 share easily outdistanced the competition. ABC and Fox each averaged an identical 4.1 rating/8 share while CBS posted a 4.0/8. NBCs 6.1/13 for the Pepsi 400 represents a 17% increase over last years 5.2/12 on CBS. The previous primetime record for a NASCAR race was a 5.4/13 for the July 3, 1999 running of the Pepsi 400 on CBS. The rating, which increased every half-hour until the races dramatic conclusion, peaked with a 7.4/15 from 10:30-11:00 p.m. ET while Dale Earnhardt Jr. was making his move from sixth-place to first on the races final six laps(NBC PR)(7-11-2001) (7-10-2001)
