the Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series race from Daytona International Speedway scored a 6.14 over night rating on Sunday, February 21st. The race was broadcast on FOX (ShowBuzzDaily). In 2015 the overnight rating was 7.3 with a final rating of 7.7 and and average audience of 13.36 million. In 2014 the number were down mainly due to the race being postponed by rain and running from 8:25pm/et to 11:23pm/et, scoring an 5.6 rating with 9.3 million viewers. in 2013 the overnight was 10.0, with a final of 9.9 and 16.651 million average viewers.(2-22-2016)
UPDATE: Ratings for the Daytona 500 neared a record-low despite the closest finish in race history. The 2016 Daytona 500 earned a 6.6 final rating and 11.4 million viewers on FOX, down 14% in ratings and 15% in viewership from last year (7.7, 13.4M) but up 18% and 23%, respectively, from 2014, when coverage was delayed to primetime due to rain and faced the Winter Olympics (5.6, 9.3M). Denny Hamlin’s narrow win was the second-lowest rated Daytona 500 since live start-to-finish coverage began in 1979, ahead of only 2014. That spot was previously held by the 1990 race (7.3). It also scored the second-smallest audience for the race since 1991 (10.9M), again ahead of only 2014. Five of the ten lowest rated Daytona 500 telecasts have taken place in the past seven seasons. Compared to other sports, the Daytona 500 drew a lower rating and fewer viewers than every game of last year’s NBA Finals, World Series, Final Four and College Football Playoff, horse racing’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and the final round of The Masters.(Sports Media Watch)
