BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRANDPRIX BECOMES MOST-WATCHED NTT INDYCAR SERIES CABLE RACE IN NBC SPORTS HISTORY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 10, 2021) – Sunday’s inaugural Big Machine Music City GrandPrix became the most-watched NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on cable in NBC Sports history dating to 2009 with the highly anticipated event in Music City averaging a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.212 million viewers on the NBC Sports Network.
The Big Machine Music City GrandPrix, the first new temporary street circuit on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule since the GrandPrix of Baltimore debuted in 2011, also is believed to be the most-watched INDYCAR cable race in 23 years (2.218 million – ESPN in 1998). The race, won by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson, surpassed NBC Sports’ previous cable rating record of 934,000 viewers for Mid-Ohio in 2016.
The streaming across NBC Sports’ digital platforms delivered an Average Minute Audience of 11,500 viewers, another NBC Sports record for an INDYCAR race excluding the Indianapolis 500.
On a local front, the city of Nashville delivered an outstanding 5.6 rating that was tops nationally. Following Nashville among the nation’s top five markets were Indianapolis (2.6), Knoxville (2.0), Greenville-Spartanburg and Louisville (both at 1.7).