Kentucky Derby TV viewership off sharply from year ago

The Kentucky Derby broadcast on NBC-TV on Saturday peaked at 9.8 million viewers, a steep fall from the viewership for last year’s broadcast when the race was held in May.

According to NBC, the viewership number was derived from a “fast national” rating of a 4.8 with a 14 share. Last year, the broadcast had a national rating of a 10.9, with a 25 share. Share measures the percentage of televisions in use watching a specific broadcast.

Still, NBC said that the 9.8 million viewership number made the broadcast the most-watched sporting event since the Super Bowl was held in early February. Of course, most sporting events were canceled for most of the spring and summer, though the NBA and NHL playoffs started in the past month, along with an abbreviated baseball season. The PGA Tour has been playing for three months.

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NBC also said that the broadcast was the most-watched sporting event on a Labor Day weekend ever. Labor Day is typically a weekend when many people travel or enjoy outdoor activities, although college football is usually held over the holiday. Last year, the most-watched sports broadcast on Labor Day weekend was a college football game between Auburn and Oregon, with 6.9 million viewers, NBC said.

This year’s Derby was rescheduled to Saturday from its traditional place on the calendar, the first Saturday in May, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Handle on the race this year fell more than 50 percent.

An official for NBC said that the final rating will likely be released on Wednesday.