NBC SPORTS DRAWS 16 MILLION VIEWERS FOR KENTUCKY DERBY
STAMFORD — NBC Sports’ coverage of last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, which was highlighted by the victory of 80-1 longshot Rich Strike, was watched by an average total of 16 million viewers.
Stamford-based NBC Sports’ viewership for the 148th Run for the Roses across the NBC network and digital platforms improved by 8 percent on the average audience for the 2021 derby, according to data released Tuesday by Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. Not including the 2020 edition, which was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it marks the eighthconsecutive year that the race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., has attracted more than 15 million viewers.
An average of 15.8 million TV viewers watched the race, ranking as NBC’s mostwatched program since the Super Bowl on Feb. 13. Viewership on NBC peaked at 19 million between 7 and 7:15 p.m., shortly after Rich Strike made his charge to cross the finish line as the winner. It represented the derby’s highest peak audience since 2017, exceeding the 18.5 million who watched the controversial disqualification of Maximum Security in the 2019 race.
For the first time, the derby was livestreamed on Peacock, helping the race to a record an “average minute audience” of 247,300 viewers across NBCUniversal streaming platforms.
The overhead replay of the race with announcer Larry Collmus’ call has been seen more than 36 million times across NBC Sports’ flagship Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok accounts and its YouTube channel — ranking as the most-viewed Kentucky Derby video ever on
NBC Sports’ social media platforms.
Overseeing NBC Sports’ Kentucky Derby coverage was senior producer and New Canaan native Lindsay Schanzer. She was the first woman to produce the derby’s TV broadcast.
“The Kentucky Derby is the biggest event in American horse racing and something I’ve always loved and enjoyed attending,” Schanzer said in an interview last week.
Next week, Rich Strike will embark on the next stage of his bid to win the Triple Crown when he competes at the Preakness Stakes. The race at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore is scheduled for 4 p.m. on May 21, with NBC Sports carrying the race on the NBC network and Peacock.