Kentucky Derby: NBC records double-digit gain in overnight ratings

The overnight rating for the last hour of the Kentucky Derby broadcast on NBC on Saturday was up 16 percent compared with the overnight rating for the same portion of the telecast last year, NBC Sports said on Sunday.

The overnight rating was a 10.4, NBC said, equaling the best rating for the broadcast in 21 years. Share, a measure of the number of televisions in use at the time that were tuned to the broadcast, was a 23, up 15 percent compared with the same figure for 2012.

Last year, ratings and share were up slightly compared with the 2011 broadcast.

NBC broadcast live from Churchill Downs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern, while its sister network, NBC Sports, broadcast live from Churchill from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. The race went off at 6:33 p.m.

From 5-6 p.m., the rating was a 6.2 with a 15 share, NBC said, up 15 percent compared with last year. From 4:30 to 5 p.m., the rating was a 4.1 with a 10 share, and from 4 to 4:30 p.m., the rating was a 3.1 with an eight share.