As we navigate a global pandemic that has disrupted so many aspects of our lives, one of the many things impacted has been sports viewership consumption. Most of the jewel sporting events since March 2020 have decreased significantly in viewership, including Super Bowl LV in February.
This decline in viewership is why I was so interested in this year’s Kentucky Derby. The race portion of last year’s event averaged 9.26 million viewers on NBC, the least-watched Kentucky Derby on record, and down 43 percent in viewership from 2019. It was a stunning number for viewership geeks but also explainable: The race was moved from May to September, and it lost its place as the first Triple Crown event. With the race returning to its normal place in the calendar, how would it fare?
Last week we received the answer. The race portion averaged 14.
