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WeatherTech Championship on NBC Sports Produces Significant Viewership Gains for Third Straight Year

STAMFORD, Conn. – NBC Sports delivered significant viewership gains and milestones for the third consecutive year for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2021, doubling the series’ viewership in three years and delivering the most-watched IMSA race in 13 years.

NBC Sports’ 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Championship coverage across NBC and NBCSN averaged 254,000 viewers, according to Nielsen. NBC Sports has doubled the viewership for the IMSA WeatherTech Championship in three years since acquiring the rights in 2018 (128,000 viewers on FOX/FS1/FS2).

Season-long IMSA viewership highlights were led by NBC Sports’ coverage of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 31, which averaged 1.23 million viewers on NBC – up 24% vs. 2020 – to rank as the most-watched IMSA race since 2008 (Rolex 24 At Daytona; 1.272 million).

Additional 2021 NBC Sports IMSA viewership highlights:

  • Complete Rolex 24 At Daytona coverage on NBC (Jan. 30-31) averaged nearly 1.1 million viewers (1.096 million), up 30% vs. the two comparable telecasts on NBC last year (846,000);

 

  • Season-long viewership on NBC (four telecasts) averaged 679,000 viewers, up 6% vs. 2020 and up 52% vs. 2019;

 

  • The Rolex 24 delivered NBCSN’s most-watched IMSA telecast on record, averaging 398,000 viewers on Jan. 30;

 

  • Season-long viewership on NBCSN was up 3% vs. 2020, averaging 179,000 viewers.

NBC Sports’ IMSA coverage joins its NASCAR and INDYCAR presentations in producing viewership gains in 2021. The 2021 NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series produced year-over-year viewership increases and NBC Sports’ most-streamed seasons for both series on record. The 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES delivered NBC Sports’ most-watched INDYCAR season on record and INDYCAR’s best combined broadcast/cable viewership for the series in five years.