By Mark Robinson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Rolex 24 At Daytona last weekend became the most-watched IMSA telecast in 13 years and set viewership records on both NBC and NBCSN, continuing the upward viewership trend of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship telecasts since NBC Sports acquired broadcast rights in 2019.
The NBC broadcast of the thrilling closing hours of the Rolex 24 endurance race, from 2-4 p.m. ET Sunday, averaged 1.23 million viewers, marking a 23 percent increase from last year’s comparable coverage. It ranks as the most-watched IMSA telecast on NBC Sports and the most-watched telecast on any network since the 2008 Rolex 24 on FOX.
Wayne Taylor Racing won the race for the third consecutive year. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 DPi, co-driven by Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Alexander Rossi and Helio Castroneves, outlasted a host of star-studded teams to win the 59th running of the historic 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway.
NBC also had network coverage from the opening hour of the iconic race on Saturday. The two NBC broadcasts combined to average 1.096 million viewers, an increase of 30 percent from a year ago. The one-hour Saturday broadcast jumped 58 percent in viewership to 829,000.
In addition, NBCSN telecast 15.5 hours of live race action in between the NBC broadcasts. The NBCSN telecasts averaged 255,000 viewers, logging another year-over-year increase, this one of 18 percent. Combined, the NBC and NBCSN telecasts posted an average viewership of 391,000, up 19 percent from 2020.
The positive ratings from the 2021 WeatherTech Championship season opener continued the viewership growth the series has witnessed since partnering with NBC Sports at the beginning of the 2019 season. Viewership averaged 242,000 for races airing on NBC Sports last year, according to Nielsen. That marked a 21 percent increase from the prior year, despite the 2020 schedule being significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Viewership of WeatherTech Championship events on NBC Sports has nearly doubled – an increase of 89 percent – since series races last aired on another network in 2018.
The next WeatherTech Championship race is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts. Flag-to-flag coverage will air live on a combination of TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold, the NBC Sports App and NBCSN starting at 10 a.m. ET Saturday, March 20.