Last Sunday, ABC’s broadcast of the Canadian Grand Prix hit the airwaves. And listen, it pulled in 1.9 million pairs of eyeballs — in the race-only part (that’s from 2 to 3:45 pm ET, if you’re clock-watching). Biggest crowd they’ve seen on U.S. TV for this event. Crazy, right?
So, picture this: last year’s crowd was 1.8 million. It had set the record back then. And this year? Even more folks tuned in. I keep thinking maybe it was the hype, or lemme say just because folks love the roar of those engines? Oh, and ages 18 to 49 — like 854,000 of them. That’s huge.
Now, let’s talk about this season, yeah? Nine races in, and all but Miami — don’t ask me why Miami — had more fans watching year-over-year. Five of them (Australia, China, Monaco, Spain, and Canada) smashed their own records. Monaco, by the way, slipped into third place for the largest live audience for an F1 race on U.S. television. Third’s still a podium finish, right?
Anyway — jumping to ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC — F1’s clocking 1.3 million viewers on average. That’s up 6% from the current season’s average and a whopping 16% over last year’s total season average. Talk about a rise, huh?
For the 18-49 crew, we’re seeing 507,000, which is up 13% this season and 23% over the whole last year. I mean, what’s the secret sauce? More action? Better coverage? Hmm. Would love to know what pulls everyone in.
