NASCAR Beats F1 in the TV Ratings, but F1 Wins the Most Coveted Demo

May 9, 2023
11:44 am
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Joshua Lipowski

While NASCAR TV ratings remained Stagnant over the weekend, F1 Ratings plummeted, giving NASCAR the win in this battle over TV ratings.

What’s Happening

In the first true TV ratings battle between NASCAR and Formula One, NASCAR seemed to have the upper hand this weekend. F1 saw a 20% ratings decrease overall on network TV.

.@ABCNetwork earned a 0.90 rating and 1.646 million viewers for the full @F1Miami window Sunday, including pre-race, down from a 1.08 rating + 2.066 million viewers for the direct comp from last year.

🔲 @ESPN will have a race-specific number, excluding the pre-race show, today. pic.twitter.com/uVAlChgXNh
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) May 9, 2023

NASCAR on a cable channel beat F1 in terms of viewership by around 700,000. However, F1 still beat NASCAR in the critical 18-49 demographic

.@NASCAR beat @F1 in total viewers Sunday, while F1 beat NASCAR in the 18-49 demo — though NASCAR was on cable.

1) NASCAR (FS1): 1.35 rating and 2.352 million viewers
🔳 18-49 demo: 430,000 viewers

2) F1 (ABC, including pre-race): 0.90 rating and 1.646M
🔳 18-49 demo: 625,000 pic.twitter.com/USKL3JThEe
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) May 9, 2023

Even with F1 being a fast-growing motorsport in the U.S., it rarely goes head to head with NASCAR due to the bulk of F1 races being run in Europe. This was the first of three times this season where the series will be competing against each other for TV ratings, with the other two being October 22nd (NASCAR Playoffs at Homestead-Miami and F1 at Circuit of the Americas) and October 29th (NASCAR Playoffs at Martinsville and F1 at Mexico). All races these two weekends will be on network TV with NASCAR on NBC and F1 on ABC.
Despite still not getting quite the viewership of NASCAR, F1 has found more viewership amongst the younger audience. Even if the overall viewership is down, some believe that F1 could still continue to gain traction in the U.S. if it keeps the younger audience.
NASCAR fans are excited to see this increase, with many calling out the racing product of Formula One.

In the Stands

Ross is happy to take the blame for this.

That is a good question and a good point.

Aaron watched both series this weekend

Chance Scott explaining why some younger viewers did not watch NASCAR

Tony Sopranos says he feels there was younger people watching NASCAR

Not so fast it seems on F1 overtaking NASCAR

Mike Chase was one of many who did not like the product that F1 put on the track last weekend.

Calvin also agrees that the F1 racing product is not very good.

Austin Weaver feels that F1 cannot sustain viewership in the US with the current product on track.

On Your Screen

S1apSh0es gives his take.

Darian believes that it is just a matter of time before NASCAR pulls away from F1

F1 on ABC went down while NASCAR on FS1 went up?

Once NASCAR gets its marketing together it’s over.
— Darian Gilliam (@BlackFlagMatter) May 9, 2023

From the Pressbox

Jeff Gluck says that he believes NASCAR is pleased with how the ratings shook out over the weekend.

Time will tell whether or not F1 will overtake NASCAR in the United States when it comes to TV ratings. However, this weekend was a big win for NASCAR. It will be interesting to see how the ratings compare come October.